Lost videos on Windows 10? Learn how to recover deleted or lost footage with AOMEI FastRecovery – plus practical tips to protect your data going forward.
Video files can take hours to record, edit, or export, making their loss especially frustrating. Accidental deletion, drive formatting, file system errors, malware, and system crashes can all cause videos to disappear from a Windows 10 computer or connected storage device.
If you have lost important videos, stop using the affected drive as soon as possible. Then, try these simple solutions to see if you can retrieve the lost files.
✅ Check the Recycle Bin
If you deleted the videos from your computer using Windows File Explorer, open the Recycle Bin and search for the missing files. If you find them, right-click the videos and select Restore. This method may not work for files deleted using Shift+Delete, files removed from some external devices, or files deleted when the Recycle Bin was bypassed.
✅ Search for Missing Videos
Make sure the videos have not simply been moved to another folder or saved under a different name. Use Windows Search to look for the file name or a common video extension such as .mp4, .mov, or .avi.
✅ Check Your Backups
If you previously backed up the videos, restore them from the backup rather than relying solely on recovery software. Check any external backup drive, cloud storage account, or backup task created with a tool such as AOMEI Backupper.
If these solutions don’t work, it’s time to go for professional video file recovery software.
AOMEI FastRecovery is a Windows data recovery tool that can help recover deleted or lost videos from supported storage devices. It is an option to consider when videos disappear after accidental deletion, formatting, or other data loss events.
🌟 Important: Recovery software cannot guarantee that every deleted video can be restored. Results depend on factors such as whether the data has been overwritten, the condition of the storage device, and the type of data loss.
Before starting, keep these precautions in mind:
Then, follow these steps to recover permanently deleted videos with AOMEI FastRecovery.
Step 1. Download and install AOMEI FastRecovery on a healthy drive other than the one where the videos were lost. Launch the software and select Deleted Files Recovery.
Step 2. Select the drive or partition that contained the missing videos, then click Scan.
Step 3. Allow the scan to run. When the program displays the discovered files, you can search for the video's name or a particular extension (e.g., .mp4, .mov, .mvk).
Step 4. Select the desired videos and click Recover. Choose a different healthy drive or storage device as the destination rather than saving the files back to the original location.
💡 Notes:
Step 5. When recovery finishes, open the destination folder and check whether the restored videos play correctly.
Video recovery software can be helpful after data loss, but maintaining backups is a more dependable way to protect important recordings. Consider the following practices.
1. Can I recover videos after formatting a hard drive?
Video recovery may be possible after a quick format if the original data has not been overwritten. Stop using the formatted drive and scan it with compatible recovery software. Recovery can be more difficult after a full format or extensive subsequent use. If the videos are irreplaceable, consider professional recovery before attempting repairs.
2. Why can't video recovery software find my deleted videos?
Several factors may explain why the videos do not appear in scan results. The data may have been overwritten, the drive may have file system problems, or the software may not support the file system or storage device. Check that you scanned the correct drive and try any additional scan mode the software provides. If the drive shows signs of physical failure, stop scanning and seek professional assistance.
3. Can I recover a corrupted video file?
Possibly. If the video file still exists but will not play, the problem may involve file corruption rather than deletion. Try opening a backup or another copy first. Recovery software may help if the original file was lost, but recovering a file does not necessarily repair its contents. The outcome depends on the cause and extent of the corruption.
Choosing suitable video recovery software for Windows 10 can help you attempt to retrieve videos lost through accidental deletion, formatting, or other data loss events. AOMEI FastRecovery provides scanning and file-selection features for recovering supported files from compatible storage devices.
For the best chance of recovery, stop using the affected drive, avoid writing new data to it, and save recovered videos to a different destination. If the videos are irreplaceable or the storage device may be physically damaged, professional data recovery may be the safer option. Regular backups remain the most reliable way to reduce the impact of future video loss.