While the world advances in technology, people get access to tools that are considered smarter for personal and business use. CCTVs come in handy as they help to provide unwavering monitoring to personal and business premises.
They are therefore modern antitheft tools that everyone wants to install in their premises. However, they also face challenges with data loss and you must be prepared to face them to ensure you are getting the best from your CCTV installation.
If you ever accidentally delete CCTV footage or lose them by chance, you should never lose hope. This is because there are several methods to regain deleted CCTV footage just like there are methods to recover deleted files from other storage devices.
In this article, we will show you some of the top methods to use in case you lost CCTV files and need to recover them. We will also show you how to recover deleted video from CCTV with data recovery software, one of the best methods we recommend you use when in urgent need to restore lost footages.
How Are CCTV Footages Lost?
Other than deletion, which can be intentional or accidental, there are many other ways people lose CCTV footages. Just for example, your old footages could be overwritten by new ones! Other ways you can loss footage include:
- CCTV damaged by fire
- CCTV damaged by water or bad weather
- Damaged or corrupted CCTV SD card
- Hard drive failure
- Virus attack
It is possible to recover lost data from all the scenarios listed above including accidental deletion. However, the success depends on the timing and the tools used. Although not listed, people can also lose CCTV footage from theft! If your CCTV gadgets are not properly or safely installed, they could also become victims of theft. In that case, you may not recover recordings unless you have a backup system for all your footages.
How to Restore Deleted CCTV Footage
Ideally, there are several methods to restore deleted CCTV footage. In this section, we will show you some of these methods including how to use data recovery software to restore deleted CCTV footage. Read on and be sure to choose only the best method or one that you can perfectly execute without requiring to engage a paid up professional.
Method 1: Restore Deleted CCTV Footage from Backup
This is probably the easiest and effortless way to recover deleted CCTV footage. It just shows you how important it is to back up all your files including CCTV footages. Whether these are footages for your business premises or just home area, you must regard all the files with high importance. Backing them up regularly will demonstrate how important the videos are to you.
If you have some form of backup already, check the folders where the footage was backed up and search for the files you need. You could search by date to make your search faster and more efficient.
Remember, backup can either be local or cloud-based. If you use local backups on your personal computer, it is easier and quicker to recover them. Still, cloud backups are easier to recover too. Cloud backup is however better as it gives you timeless access to your footages regardless of your location.
Method 2: Restore Deleted CCTV Footage with Command Prompt
You may have just realized that you do not have any backups for your footages. Not the end of it at all. You can still restore your CCTV footages after accidental deletion. This time, you will use the Control Command Prompt.
To proceed with this method, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Press “Win + R” to launch and run CMD.
Step 2: In the open window, type “cmd.exe” then tap “Ok.”
Step 3: Now type “chkdsk X:/f” in the command to check for bad sectors and hit Enter. You will need to replace letter “X” with the specific drive letter for the drive with your footage.
Step 4: Type “Y” if the drive is in use and hit Enter. In case you cannot see any prompt, go to the next step.
Step 5: Run the command “attrib – h -r -s/s/dH:*-*” and hit Enter to restore deleted footage.
Method 3: Restore Deleted CCTV Footage with Data Recovery Software
If you are still not able to restore the deleted CCTV footages with command prompt, then you may need a more versatile approach. Data recovery software is a better way to restore lost files from a wide range of storage devices including CCTV.
Disk Drill by CleverFiles is one such software. It is one of the best-rated popular video recovery solutions you can trust today. Built with powerful features including quick scan and file preview, the software is trusted by many for offering the highest success rates in the market today.
Some of the top features that make it the go-to data recovery software for virtually all scenarios include:
- Multiple file formats including video, audio, documents, photos supported
- Quick scan and deep scan features
- It offers seamless preview for search results
- You can pause, continue or stop the scan process at any time
- User-friendly interface makes it good for learners and experts alike
- Free version available
If you want to proceed with data recovery with the best video recovery software, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Begin by downloading and installing Disk Drill on your windows computer.
Step 2: If your CCTV camera uses an SD card, connect it to the windows computer.
Step 3: Double click on Disk Drill to launch it and choose the drive with your CCTV footage from the list of available volumes.
Step 4: Tap the “search” button to start scanning for deleted videos.
Step 5: Preview the displayed results at the end of the recovery process. Disk Drill also allows you to observe progress and stop scanning when the videos you want have been identified.
Step 6: Hit the “Recover” button to restore the selected footages.
Conclusion
While it is easy to restore deleted CCTV footage, we recommend backing up all your videos so that you do not find yourself in a compromising situation next time. Also, we encourage that you use Disk Drill immediately if you lose data to ensure you always have a higher recovery chance.
