Microsoft has launched a new command-line tool, Windows File Recovery for the Windows 10 version 2004 and higher in Microsoft store. The tool, as the name suggests helps in recovering lost files on your Windows 10 PC.
Windows File Recovery supports recovering files that you may have deleted from your local storage device (including internal drives, external drives, and USB devices) and can’t be restored from the Recycle Bin. However, recovery on cloud storage and network file shares is not supported.
You can download and install this tool by clicking on the app box below.
How to use Windows File Recovery:
Here are some of the basic steps and information as enumerated by Microsoft. Read more by clicking here.
General
- If necessary, download and launch the app from the Microsoft Store.
- Press the Windows key, enter Windows File Recovery in the search box, and then select Windows File Recovery.
- When you are prompted to allow the app to make changes to your device, select Yes.
- In the Command Prompt window, enter the command in the following format:
winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/switches] The source and destination drives must be different. When recovering from the operating system drive (often C: ), use the /n <filter> and /y:<type<(s)> switches to specify the user files or folder.
Microsoft automatically creates a recovery folder for you called, Recovery_<date and time> on the destination drive.
There are three modes you can use to recover files: Default, Segment, and Signature.
Default mode examples
Recover a specific file from your C: drive to the recovery folder on an E: drive.
winfr C: E: /n \Users\<username>\Documents\QuarterlyStatement.docx Recover jpeg and png photos from your Pictures folder to the recovery folder on an E: drive.
winfr C: E: /n \Users\<username>\Pictures\*.JPEG /n \Users\<username>\Pictures\*.PNG Recover your Documents folder from your C: drive to the recovery folder on an E: drive.
winfr C: E: /n \Users\<username>\Documents\ Don’t forget the backslash (\) at the end of the folder.
Segment mode examples (/r)
Recover PDF and Word files from your C: drive to the recovery folder on an E: drive.
winfr C: E: /r /n *.pdf /n *.docx Recover any file with the string “invoice” in the filename by using wildcard characters.
winfr C: E: /r /n *invoice* Signature mode examples (/x)
When using signature mode, it’s helpful to first see the supported extension groups and corresponding file types.
winfr /# Recover JPEG (jpg, jpeg, jpe, jif, jfif, jfi) and PNG photos from your C: drive to the recovery folder on an E: drive.
winfr C: E: /x /y:JPEG,PNG Recover ZIP files (zip, docx, xlsx, ptpx, and so on) from your C: drive to the recovery folder on an E: drive.
winfr C: E:\RecoveryTest /x /y:ZIP - When you are prompted for confirmation to continue, enter Y to start the recovery operation.
Depending on the size of your source drive, this may take a while.
To stop the recovery process, press Ctrl+C.
