How to Recover Deleted Files from SD Card Without Software

Is It Possible to Recover Deleted Files on SD Card?

Losing files from your SD card can feel frustrating, especially when the photos, videos, or documents hold significant value. Is it possible to recover deleted files on SD card? Yes! Of course. There are many ways to recover deleted data from an SD card, and professional data recovery software is one of the effective methods among them.

If you want to recover deleted files from an SD card without using software, it may be a bit difficult, but not entirely impossible. This article will provide multiple built-in methods to help you recover data from your SD card. None of them require professional technical skills, just follow the comprehensive guide to get back your lost files from any SD card (old or new) without installing a single program!

How to Recover Deleted Files from SD Card Without Software

Before rushing to third-party programs, you can first try free, built-in solutions available on Windows and Mac. These methods don’t require extra installation and may work if your files weren’t permanently overwritten. You can restore lost data from backups or use command-line tools to recover it. Let's explorer them one by one.

Method 1. Restore from Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is a legacy Windows built-in backup tool which is still available on Windows 10 and 11. It allows you to back up the data on external hard drive and you can restore lost files from the backup if needed.

Step 1. Open "Backup Settings" and click "Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)".

Step 2. Choose "Select another backup to restore files from" and select a created backup including the lost data on SD card.

Step 3. Check the "Select all files from this backup" option to restore all files. You can also select specific file or folder to restore by clicking "Browse for files/folders".

Step 4. Choose a safe location to save the recovered files, then click "Restore" to start the process.

When the process is completed, the message "Your files have been restored" will pop up. You can check the recovered files in the destination folder by clicking "View restored files".

Method 2. Restore from Cloud backup

Many users sync their files automatically to cloud services like OneDrive or Google Drive. If you have ever used a cloud backup tool to create a backup, you can restore directly from OneDrive (here take OneDrive as an example).

Step 1. Sign in to your OneDrive account.

Step 2. Select the "Recycle bin" section, browse through the deleted items and select the one you want to recover.

Step 3. Click "Restore" in the upper left corner to recover the lost files to its original location.

Method 3. Restore from Recycle Bin (Only for Mac Users)

Unlike Windows, files deleted from an external hard drive will go to the Mac Trash. However, there is an exception: if the external hard drive is in NTFS format (commonly used on Windows), the deleted files will be permanently removed on Mac, as macOS has limited write support for NTFS. If the files are deleted from Mac, you can recover deleted files on SD card from Mac Trash.

Notes:✎...

When you delete files from an external hard drive on Windows, those deleted files will be permanently removed.

Step 1. Insert the SD card into your Mac.

Step 2. Open the Trash Bin from the dock.

Step 3. Select the deleted files you want to recover, right click on them and choose "Put Back". Then the files will be recovered to their original location.

Method 4. Run CHKDSK Command

Sometimes, file system corruption on an SD card can also cause files to disappear. You can use the CHKDSK command to repair the corrupted file system and recover readable files from the SD card.

Step 1. Open "Command Prompt" and run it as administrator.

Step 2. Type the following command "chkdsk G: /f /r" and press "Enter". Replace the drive letter "G" with your actual SD card drive letter.

Wait for the process to complete and check if your files reappear.

Method 5. Run Attrib Command

Sometimes files are hidden rather than deleted. In this case, you can use the Attrib command to recover hidden files from the SD card.

Step 1. Open "Command Prompt" and run it as administrator.

Step 2. Type the command "attrib -h -r -s /s /d drive E:\*.*" and press "Enter". Replace the drive letter "E" with your actual SD card drive letter. Once it's finished, you can check if your hidden files are restored.

Method 6. Recover with Windows File Recovery

Windows File Recovery is a built-in command-line tool developed by Microsoft, designed to retrieve lost or deleted files even without backup. But it only compatible with Windows 10 and later versions.

Step 1. Download and install Windows File Recovery on your computer from Microsoft official channel.

Step 2. Open "Command Prompt" and run it as administrator. Connect the SD card to your computer with a card reader.

Step 3. Type the following command "winfr F: E: /regular" and press "Enter". Replace the drive letters "F" and "E" with your actual drive letters.

★Tips:

F: the source drive letter (your SD card drive letter).

E: the destination drive letter.

/regular: the scan mode. You can switch to "extensive" mode to perform a more comprehensive scan.

Wait for the scan to finish and check the restored files in your destination folder.

A Smarter Way to Recover Deleted Files: MyRecover

While the none of above methods requires downloading software, they don’t always work, especially if your files were permanently deleted, the SD card is not detected, or you need a more user-friendly approach. This is where MyRecover—a professional SD card data recovery software—comes in.

MyRecover offers a simple yet powerful solution to recover deleted files from SD card. With its advanced scanning algorithms, you can recover permanently deleted files and even restore data from damaged or formatted SD cards. It features a simple user graphical interface, allowing even novices to complete data recovery with just a few clicks on the icons.

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer from a secure channel. Connect the SD card to your computer.

Step 2. Launch it and choose the SD card drive to scan for lost files, then click "Scan". After the quick scan, you can click "Deep scan" to find more file fragments if needed.

Step 3. Choose the files you intend to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".

Step 4. Select a safe location (not the SD card drive) to save the recovered files.

Upon completion of the recovery process, the message indicating successful recovery will pop up. You can check the recovered files by clicking the destination folder path or "Browse" button.

The End

Recovering deleted files from an SD card without software is possible through backups, system tools, and command-line utilities. However, these approaches may not always guarantee success. If your data is irreplaceable, turning to MyRecover can greatly improve your chances.

Its Professional edition supports unlimited recovery, file content previews, and even data recovery from unbootable systems, making it a reliable companion for anyone who needs SD card data recovery free from stress and hassle.