How To Recover Unsaved PSD Files With Best Working Methods

Have you forgotten to save PSD file which was quite important and doesn’t have time to prepare it again? Well, if this kind of scenario takes place then do not worry just go through this blog and learn how to retrieve unsaved PSD files with ease.

Well, not only the recovery solution but also you will learn here about PSD image file format, its causes of corruption and its related issues.

Without wasting a single minute, I would like to provide you a clear-cut solution which is to use PSD File Recovery Tool. Yes, this tool will allows to recover photoshop file in an easy way.

This tool also helps you to:

• Recover other image file formats like BMP, PNG, TIFF, JPEF, RAW, JPG, etc
• Preview the recovered media files within the software interface
• supports media file recovery from external storage devices like memory card, SD card, USB flash drive, external hard drive, memory stick, etc
• Also, restore various video and audio files format
• Recovery software is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating system
• 100% risk-free, user-friendly interface & read-only program

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* Free version of the program only scans and previews recoverable items.

It is sure that you must be now looking for the steps to recover unsaved photoshop files. But, before proceeding towards its user guide, I would like to share a scenario after reading which I decided to write on this topic.

Practical Scenario

Hi ,

I’m a matte painter and I’m facing a problem concerning photoshop. I was working on a PSD. file and after finishing my work I press ctrl+s to save it but unfortunately in the middle of the saving process the c.p.u. has been turned off because of the u.p.s fault

After restarting the system, I try to open my same PSD file but I got an error msg. (could not complete your request because the file is not compatible with this version of photoshop). I’m using photoshop cs4. plz, let me know if there is any possibility to get my data back. Even as jpeg file… I worked so hard on that project. Thanks.

Source: https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/106788

What is a PSD Image?

PSD is a kind of layered image file that is generally used in Adobe Photoshop, PSD. It is abbreviated as Photoshop Document, it is the default format that is used by Photoshop to save data.

This file format is a proprietary file that used to allow the users to work with the images’ individual layers even after the PSD file has been completely saved.

After the image is completed, Photoshop allows the users to flatten the layers and then convert the flat image into a GIF, JPEG, TIFF and other non-proprietary image file formats so that it can be easily shared.

After the PSD image has been flatten by conversion, it cannot be converted back to the PSD and the user can no longer work with the layer of the PSD image.

However, sometimes it might get corrupted due to several reasons so to know the reasons, look at the below section of this blog.

What Causes PSD Files Loss?

There could be several reasons for losing PSD files but the most common causes of losing PSD files are as follows:

• System or Application Corruption: A system crash or abrupt power failure is the major cause of corruption in the system. This is where power backups can save you tons of worries. But, it is possible to do a recovery although it may also bother you at some point of time.
• Accidental Deletion: Accidental deletion of any data is a common cause of losing them. However, for this, I think it is better to learn to save the work as you move along with editing. In some cases, you become unaware when you remove duplicates or free some disk space.
• Partition Deletion: It may be possible that the partition you have just deleted contains your PSD file. After conforming and click the button, you would have wiped all the files.

How To Recover Unsaved Photoshop Files?

Well, there are several solutions with the help of which you will be easily able to recover unsaved PSD files. Some of the most effective solutions are using Adobe Photoshop auto recovery, using Adobe Creative Cloud, recovery from temp files, recovery from backup and recent folder.

However, the best option you can try is to use PSD File Recovery Tool which I have already mentioned before. This tool is perfect for PSD file recovery solution. So, without wasting any time, just try this tool once and see the results.

Let’s go through the steps to recover Photoshop file…

Step 1: Select Desired Location

Firstly, select the drive, external media or volume from which you want to recover deleted media files. After selecting, click on 'Scan'.

Step 2: Preview Recovered Media Files

Next, you can preview the recoverable media files after the scanning process is completed.

Step 3: Recover Media Files

Lastly, you can select the images, audio, video files you want to restore and click on 'Recover' option to save them at the location you want.

Other Alternatives To Recover Unsaved PSD Files

Method #1: Restore By Photoshop Auto Recovery

On Adobe Photoshop, there is a great feature available that allows Photoshop application to save a backup copy of PSD files that users are working on a regular basis. With this feature, you can easily get back unsaved PSD files after system crash or power failure or other issues.

Remember: This feature is not available on Adobe Photoshop CS5/CS4/CS3 or earlier.

BONUS: Well, to know how to recover deleted Adobe Photoshop CS3 file, you can click here. Also, you can recover deleted Adobe Photoshop CS4 file using the solutions mentioned in this blog.

On Adobe Photoshop CS6 and above, AutoSave option is enabled by default. So, if your system crashes accidentally then do not panic, just try to recover PSD file not saved with this feature. For this, you have to relaunch Photoshop and the autosave version of the unsaved work will appear on the screen automatically. However, if you are unable to see the unsaved PSD file then make sure that your AutoSave option is enabled.

To check this, you have to go to File -> Preferences -> File Handling -> File Saving Options and then check if “Automatically Save Recovery Information Every” is enable or not.

However, if your AutoSave option is already enabled but you are unable to see the autosaved PSD files then you can also search the unsaved PSD files on AutoRecover.

• Photoshop AutoSave Location on PC:

C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2017\AutoRecover （the specific path is slightly on different versions of Photoshop)

• Photoshop AutoSave Location on Mac:

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe

Photoshop CC 2017/AutoRecover （the specific path is slightly on different versions of Photoshop)

Method #2: Recover From Adobe Creative Cloud

If you have Abode Creative Cloud account then you can easily restore unsaved PSD files from this online storage. It is very helpful if you accidentally delete the Photoshop PSD files or the system has crashed accidentally. Abode Creative Cloud allows you to access work from anywhere and on any device like a tablet, computer, smartphone. As it syncs the data with other devices, any deletion or modification is reflected on all synced devices.

So, if your PSD filed get deleted accidentally then you can restore your files from a deleted folder in Adobe Creative Cloud with the help of below steps:

Step1: First of all, open your Abode Creative Cloud account

Step 2: Now, you need to navigate to the Deleted Folder

Step 3: After this, select the PSD files and then click the Restore icon

How To Recover Photoshop File Not Saved Creative Cloud?

If you see that the PSD files have been deleted from the Creative Cloud then do not worry because it still presents there in the Archive files of the File page. You can browse their archived files in the Files view of the Creative Cloud Assets site and if you find your unsaved PSD files there then restore them.

Method #3: Recover PSD Files From Temp Files

When you create new PSD files then its temporary file is also created to contain information. Generally, a temporary file gets deleted automatically after you close the Adobe Photoshop app. But, sometimes because of Photoshop’s crappy file management, the temporary file may still stick there. And, in that case, you can just follow the below-mentioned steps and get back unsaved PSD files:

Step 1: First of all, go to the below path and you will be navigated to the Temp folder on PC.

For Windows Users: C:\Users\Your Username\AppData\Local\Temp

For Mac users to navigate to Temp folder, you can simply open Terminal application, type “open /tmp”, and then press Enter.

Step 2: In the next step, you can then locate the PSD temp file and change its extension to .psd. After this, open the file with the Photoshop app and you can then save your file.

Method #4: Restore From Backup

It is quite possible to recover unsaved PSD file for free from the PSD file backup option. But, this option is only helpful if you had backed up the files earlier before you lose them. If you have the backup on any external storage then you can easily get them back. Besides, Windows backup utility can also help you to keep backup of PSD files. For this, you just have to enable the feature and to do so you can follow the below steps:

Step 1:  First of all, go to the option Control Panel and then click on System Protection

Step 2: Now check on a drop-down menu and then pick on Protection Settings and set it to ON

Step 3: Now click on Create to create a restore point and then simply click on OK option to restore the PSD files back.

Method #5: Restore From Recent Folder

Most of the Adobe Photoshop users may not know that unsaved PSD files can be recovered directly in Adobe Photoshop app. Below are the steps to be followed to restore unsaved PSD files.

Step 1: Open the Photoshop app on your Mac or Windows PC

Step 2: Now click “File” in the menu bar and then select the option “Open Recent”

Step 3: After this, the app will list all the files that are opened recently. You can then choose the preferred PSD file you want to get back. Now open the file in edit mode and save with the name you want in PSD or other formats you want.

Final Words

It is so heartbreaking to lose Adobe Photoshop file especially when you have been working on it for a long time. Being on a safer side, it is always suggested to always have an Adobe Creative Cloud account and keep a backup of all the PSD files you need.

Also, before you start working on Photoshop app, make sure that you enable the Photoshop Auto Recovery feature. However, if you lose your PSD file then you can try the above-mentioned solutions to recover unsaved Photoshop file with ease using PSD File Recovery Tool and other alternatives.