We all accidentally delete files. But not everyone has a way to recover these files. Of course, there are various applications to help you recover deleted files, but why weren’t they built into Windows? These apps have been around for decades. Microsoft, you probably could have done this a long time ago!
Well, Microsoft finally did it. Like. The new Windows file recovery app doesn’t look like a regular mouse app. No, this is a command line interface (CLI) utility. Therefore, you need to learn how to work in the command window.
Where can I get Windows File Recovery?
Windows File Recovery is available right now in the Microsoft Store app on your Windows 10 computer.
You can also download Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store online.
The question is, do you really want this?
Windows File Recovery requires at least Windows 10 2004 to run. This version was released on May 27, 2020. You may need to update Windows You can get the update here:
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https: //www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-dovnload/windovs10
What can I do with Windows File Recovery?
If you read Microsoft’s own press, it looks like you can do anything with Windows File Recovery. They say that you can recover regular deleted files, resurrect wiped hard drives and fix corrupted data Sounds good. They go on to say that it can recover files from SSDs (TRIM will limit this), cameras, SD cards, and USB drives This is amazing.
Microsoft tells us that Windows File Recovery also works with a wide variety of file systems. It supports NTFS, FAT, exFAT and ReFS file systems.
How do I use Windows File Recovery?
Open a command window as administrator.
Please note that you cannot recover a file from one disk partition to the same partition. For example, you cannot restore a file from the C: drive to the C: drive. Recovering from drive C: to drive F: if you have one will work.
The following is the basic syntax for the Windows file recovery command:
To recover deleted files from desktop to F: drive your command will look like this:
winfr C: F: / n Users User Desktop where
This is the main command that runs in default mode. There are three different modes.
What are the Windows file recovery modes?
Three mods for Windows file recovery command include:
The default is Basic Search, which uses the Master File Table (MFT) to find files. The default is best for most situations right after the file is deleted.
Segment – On an NTFS disk, file information is stored in segments, which are like a summary of file information. Segment mode is best for files that were deleted some time ago, or if the disk has been formatted or damaged.
Signature – Used if your file system is FAT, exFAT or ReFS You can try this mode on NTFS if segment mode doesn’t work.
What are the Windows file recovery switches?
Available switches that can be used with the Windows file recovery command include:
/ r – segment mode.
/ n
/ x – signature mode.
/ y:
/ # – Shows signature mode extension groups and file types.
/? – Shows help text.
/! – Displays advanced features.
Read the Microsoft Windows File Recovery support page for details.
Is Windows File Recovery Worth Using?
It is up to you to decide if Windows File Recovery is right for your situation. However, in our testing, we created 3 simple text files filled with lorem ipsum text and deleted them. They were then removed from the recycle bin. Finally, we used the restore command as shown above to try and restore the files.
Windows File Recovery was unable to reliably recover all 3 plain text files.
After 5 attempts, it only recovered all 3 files twice. Below is an example of restoring only one file.
Our test was conducted on a fresh installation of Windows 10 2004, with no additional programs or other user files installed. It was essentially a new Windows computer.
If you do not have access to another file recovery program and you already have Windows file recovery software installed on your computer, you may want to use it first. If a regular file recovery application cannot recover files, it might be worth trying Windows File Recovery as a backup solution.
Why is Windows file recovery so important news?
There are only two real reasons why Windows file recovery has become big news. Partly because it’s shocking that Microsoft even bothered to create this after a couple of decades. This is also partly due to the fact that it provides a tiny grain of hope that Microsoft will continue to develop this utility and possibly create a complete, unrivaled file recovery tool. Time will tell.
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