New free tool from Microsoft to recover files in Windows

If you’ve never had to recover a file in Windows, you’re in the minority. At some point, many of us have accidentally deleted a file on a drive or in removable storage, such as an SD card or USB memory.

While there are plenty of third-party tools that Google will show, you never know if these tools will work or worse, if they are installing malware or crypto mining software in the background. That’s where professional services come in, but those options can be expensive and, depending on the task, completely overreacting.

Microsoft has a new application that makes it easy to recover files, and below is a tutorial on how to use the application. If you need additional documentation, you can find it here.

Request:

The first thing you should do is download the recovery tool. You can download the application from the following link:

Download: Microsoft Windows File Recovery Tool

Recovery modes:

It is important to understand what file system your device is using as this will help determine which mode to use. The file recovery tool supports FAT / exFAT / ReFS / and NTFS. Use the table below to determine which mode to use.

Command line syntax:

When entering your commands, here is a breakdown of the parameters you will need to know:

• / r – Uses segment mode, which examines file log segments (FRS).
• / n – – Search for a specific file using a file name, file path, or wildcards. For example:
  • File name: / n myfile.docx
  • File path: / n / users // Documents /
  • Wildcard: / n myfile. *
    / n * .docx
    / n ** *
• / x – Uses signature mode, which examines file types and works on all file systems.
• / and: – Search for files with specific file types. Separate multiple entries using commas. For a list of extension groups and corresponding file types, see the table “Signature mode extension groups and file types” in the “About file systems and modes” section.
• / #: Shows the signing mode extension groups and corresponding file types in each group.
• /? – Shows a quick summary of syntax and modifiers for general users.
• /! – Shows a quick summary of syntax and modifiers for advanced users.

How to recover lost files in Windows 10

If you need to recover files in Windows 10, the first thing to do is download the app from the store.

• After installing the application, press the Windows key, enter Windows File Recovery in the search box, and then select Windows File Recovery.
• At the command prompt window, enter the command in the following format: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/switches]
  • Note: The source and destination files must be different to retrieve the object.
• The tool will automatically create a recovery folder for you called, Recovery_ in the destination drive.
• To change the ‘modes’, use / n by default / r for the segment and / x for the signature
• Example of default mode: to retrieve a file from your C: drive to your E: drive, you must enter the following command:
  • winfr C: E: / n Users Documents Importantinfo.docx
• If you want to recover an entire folder, use the following command:
  • winfr C: E: / n Users Documents
• Segment mode example: 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
• Example of signature mode:
  • winfr C: E: / x / y: JPEG, PNG

Important to remember:

If you are trying to recover a file from your device, you should stop writing content to disk immediately. For best results, once the file is deleted, you should try to recover the content at that time, the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to recover the file.

By default, you should always create full backups of your devices and not rely on a tool like this to recover files. This type of application works best to recover content immediately, without trying to recover a file from three weeks ago.