Last updated: December 26, 2022
Have you ever deleted important files by accident? We've all been there one day, haven't we? If you have a safeguard, you can restore the files, but if not, hardly lost.
To resolve this issue, Microsoft has released a new tool called Windows File Recovery which allows easily recover data deleted by accident.
This is an exclusive Windows 10 app, which you can download from the Microsoft Store.
The utility operates in command prompt, and allows you to recover your documents, photos, videos and more, accidentally deleted.
The tool is capable of recovering erased data from most storage media, hard drives, USB drives, memory cards, etc.
How does this tool recover your files?
In detail, Recovery File supports three different modes:
- Default : To recover recently deleted data from hard drives, SSDs, and storage media larger than 4 GB.
- The segment mode : to recover data from media that have been formatted or corrupted. Microsoft recommends trying it first before the last Signature Mode.
- Signature mode : If you need to recover photos from your device or SD card, Microsoft recommends using Signature mode
How to use it to recover your deleted files?
Windows File Recovery does not have a graphical interface, so you have to use a command line tool.
Once installed, the application starts in command line mode with all the available options.
To use it, follow these steps:
- First download and launch the app from the Microsoft Store.
- Then press the Windows key, enter Windows File Recovery in the search box, then select Windows File Recovery.
- Then in the window Command Prompt , enter the command in the following format:
winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/options]
To refine the search, there are 4 main options: / r, / n, / x, and / y.
- / n allows you to filter the search
- / r to recover files with segment mode
- /x to recover files with the signature mode
- / and recover file types with specific extensions in signature mode.
Examples of use in default mode
Here I will get jpeg and png photos from my Images folder to drive D. So the command will look like this:
winfr C: D: /n \Utilisateurs\Aministrateur\Mes images\*.JPEG /n \Utilisateurs\Administrateur\Mes images\*.PNGDepending on the size of your source drive, this may take a while.
When the process is complete, press y to view recovered files in Explorer.
Unfortunately, the program was unable to correctly retrieve the images I used in my test.
However, it should be noted that no recovery tool isn't perfect, and with the amount of paid recovery tools out there, I think it's good to have a free one. And when it comes from Microsoft, that's a nice bonus.