JPG files are ubiquitous in daily life, appearing on mobile phones, computers, and SD cards. Precisely because of their wide presence, JPG file loss and corruption can occur at any time. This article will delve into the challenges of recovering JPG files on Windows 10/11, addressing two common scenarios: accidental deletion and picture corruption.
JPG (or JPEG) is a popular image format known for lossy compression, which reduces file size by sacrificing some image quality. Widely used for digital photos, it balances storage efficiency with reasonable quality and is supported by almost all devices and platforms. You can find it in almost all electronic devices. With such a wide range of usage scenarios, JPG file loss is hardly avoidable.
Before diving into specific recovery methods, you might wonder: Can I recover deleted or corrupted JPG files on Windows? Absolutely yes, in most cases. Fortunately, there are several reliable methods to recover JPG files on Windows. Whether the images were mistakenly deleted or damaged due to a system error, file transfer failure, or virus, you still have a chance to get them back.
Deleted JPG files may not be permanently lost immediately. You still have a chance to retrieve the deleted JPG files before they get overwritten. This section will provide 6 methods to recover deleted pictures on Windows, covering both scenarios with and without backups. Additionally, a powerful third-party tool will be introduced. There's bound to be a method that helps you retrieve the images you need.
When you deleted a JPG file on Windows —whether by right-clicking and choosing "Delete" or pressing the "Delete" key, you may be able to undo the action instantly. This method only works if no other file operations have occurred yet since the deletion.
Step 1. Right click a blank area in the folder or on the desktop where the images were deleted.
Step 2. Choose "Undo Delete" from the context menu or just press "Ctrl + Z" immediately to cancel the deletion.
If you performed other operations after deleting the file, the "Undo Delete" method will no longer be available. However, Windows stores deleted files in the Recycle Bin before they are permanently removed or the Recycle Bin is emptied. This is the most common and easiest way to recover JPG files.
Step 1. Double click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop to open it.
Step 2. Browse through the items and select the JPG images you wish to recover.
Step 3. Right click the selected files and choose "Restore" to return them to their original location.
If the built-in feature File History was turned on before the file was deleted, and you added a specific folder containing the deleted JPG files to backup plan, you can restore an earlier version of the folder containing the JPG.
Step 1. Type "Restore your files with File History" in the Start menu and open it.
Step 2. Browse through the items and select the folder with the deleted JPG files, then choose a version based on the backup date.
Step 3. Click the green "Restore" button to recover it to previous version.
The legacy Backup and Restore tool (originally from Windows 7) remains available in Windows 10 and 11. If enabled, it can help recover deleted JPG files from system backups. Follow these steps to recover JPG files.
Step 1. Type "backup settings" in the Start menu and open it.
Step 2. Select "Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)", then click "Select another backup to restore files from".
Step 3. Choose a created backup to restore files from and click "Next".
Step 4. Select the files or folders you want to recover by clicking "Browse for files/folders". You can also recover all files in the backup by checking the "Select all files in this backup" option.
Step 5. Choose a safe destination folder (preferably different from the original location) to save the recovered files and click "Restore" to begin the process.
When the process is finished, you can click "View restored files" to check them.
If your JPGs were synced with Google Photos, you can retrieve them easily—even after deletion on your PC. Google Photos automatically syncs your images online, simplifying the recovery of deleted images on any devices including Windows.
Step 1. Go to Google Photos official site and sign in with your account.
Step 2. Select "Trash" section and select the images you want to recover.
Step 3. Click "Restore" to recover them.
If no backup is available and you can't find the deleted JPG files in the Recycle Bin, it means they have been permanently deleted. That's exactly why the professional third-party data recovery tool MyRecover was designed. It can recover permanently deleted files without requiring any backups. What makes MyRecover stand out are these remarkable features.
✅No Command Line Needed – Simple GUI (graphical interface) for easy file recovery.
✅Smart scan modes – Choose from Quick Scan for recent deletions or Deep Scan for formatted/corrupted drives.
✅500+ Devices Support - Recover files from all types of devices like SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, SD card, cameras and more.
✅Handle 500+ Data Loss Scenarios - Recover from deleted or formatted partition, emptied Recycle Bin, system crash, virus attack, etc.
✅OS Compatibility – Work not only on Windows 11 /10, but also on Windows 8.1/ 8/ 7 and all Servers.
4 steps to recover deleted JPG files on Windows
Step 1. Download and install MyReccover on your computer from secure channel.
Step 2. Launch it and select the drive where the JPG files were stored, then click "Scan". If you are recovering data from an SD card, you will need an additional card reader.
Step 3. Choose the files you want to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".
Step 4. Select a safe location (not the original one) to save the recovered files.
Once the process is finished, the message "Files have been recovered successfully" will pop out. You can access and check them by clicking the destination folder.
Damaged or corrupted JPG files may fail to open, show glitches, or display error messages. This often happens due to power outages, file transfer errors, or bad sectors on your drive. Here are several solutions to repair JPG files and restore them to working condition.
The CHKDSK command is a built-in Windows utility designed to scan storage drives for file system errors, bad sectors, and metadata corruption. If the JPG file corruption is caused by storage device issues, CHKDSK can help repair the corrupted JPG files.
Step 1. Type "command prompt" in the Start menu, right click on it and choose "Run as administrator".
Step 2. Enter the command "chkdsk G: /f /r" and press "Enter" key. Replace the drive letter "G" with your actual drive letter.
After the scan completes, navigate to the drive and attempt to open the JPG file.
Alternatively, Windows also provides a graphical user interface (GUI) approach for fixing storage device errors. For users uncomfortable with command-line operations, this GUI-based method offers a simpler alternative.
Step 1. Navigate to the drive where the corrupted JPG files are stored in File Explorer.
Step 2. Right click the drive and choose "Properties" from the context menu. Then switch to the "Tools" tab.
Step 3. Click "Check" under the "Error checking" section and click "Scan drive" to initiate the error scan.
Upon detecting device errors, the tool will initiate an automatic repair routine. Once completed, restart the system to verify photo accessibility.
There are instances where JPEG/JPG images fail to open, and converting them to an alternative format can resolve the issue. Simply changing the file extension (e.g., from ".jpg" to ".png") may restore accessibility by bypassing corrupted header data.
Step 1. Open the damaged JPG file in Microsoft Paint or another image editing software.
Step 2. Click "File" tab and select "Save as", choose an alternative format like PNG.
Step 3. Select a new folder, rename the file and click "Save" to convert the file format. Then you can try to access it in the destination folder.
Sometimes, the crash of an image may not be due to the image itself, but rather the image editor. Try opening the corrupted image with a different image editor. Many advanced image editors like Photoshop can open partially damaged files and help you re-export them.
Step 1. Open the damage JPG file in Photoshop.
Step 2. If the file opens, click "Export" and save it under a new name.
Deleting or corrupting JPG files is never pleasant—but not all hope is lost. Whether the file is deleted or corrupted, the above methods provide a structured way to recover and repair your images. Make sure to back up your important files regularly to avoid future data loss, and always act quickly for the best chances of full recovery.
When you have no backups available, consider using MyRecover, a professional data recovery software that supports scanning for lost files on various hard drives. If you have advanced needs, such as recovering data from an unbootable computer or dealing with larger data volumes, you can upgrade to the Professional version of MyRecover.
