Can I recover metadata from a video that was deleted years ago?

Yes, recovery is possible, but it really depends on the type of hard drive and how much it's been used since you deleted the file. When you delete a file, it’s not completely wiped from the disk; rather, the system just marks that space as available. If nothing has been written over that space, you might be able to recover the video along with its metadata. However, if the hard drive has been heavily used since then, the chances of recovery go down significantly. Mechanical drives have a better chance of data recovery compared to SSDs, which usually delete data shortly after it’s been removed.

If your hard drive was heavily used daily and you deleted the video about 3 or 4 years ago, it might be tough to get it back. The more you use the drive after deleting something, the higher the chance that the data has been overwritten. It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but I’d recommend weighing the hassle and cost of recovery against how valuable that video is to you.