Is a Free Tool That Can Be Used to Recover Windows Files?
Is a free tool that can be used to recover Windows files? This guide shares three file recovery tools with you.
Is a free tool that can be used to recover Windows files?
Are there any recovery tools that can recover the deleted files? It isn’t an emergency, but I have lost several files in the last six months. What’s worse, I failed to bring them back even though I did everything recommended to prevent data loss.
-A user from TenForums
Is a free tool that can be used to recover Windows files? Of course, there is. That is the Windows File Recovery from Microsoft. This command-line software is freely available for Windows 10 2004 and later. This tool contributes to retrieving your files from your local storage devices (including hard disk drives and USB devices).
So how can I recover my files for disk data recovery? If you have the same doubts as this reader, please scroll down.
How can I recover my files with Windows File Recovery?
Windows File Recovery works with the command lines due to a lack of GUI (Graphical User Interface). So you need to type the correct command based on your file system and the relevant mode. You can choose the Default mode, Segmented mode, Signature mode, or Extensive mode.
- Pay attention that the basic command format: winfr source-drive: destination-drive [/mode] [/switches].
- Please note that the recovered files need to be saved in a new location.
- Perhaps recovering the deleted files using the command prompt can give you more details.
Step 1. Download and install Windows File Recovery on your PC.
Step 2. Enter Windows File Recovery in the search bar and click "Run as administrator."
Step 3. Check your file system and select a corresponding mode.
File systems
File system |
Examples |
FAT and exFAT |
SD cards, flash or USB drives (<4GB) |
NTFS |
Computers (HDD, SSD), external hard drives, flash or USB drives (> 4GB) |
How to select a suitable mode? The following tips maybe can help you.
- If you deleted your NTFS files recently, the Default mode is your best option.
- Expect for the deleted recent files, you have to use Segmented mode or Signature mode. If you are not sure, you can also choose the Default mode first.
Step 4. Look through the General and Advanced syntax, then resemble your needed command line. Here are some practical syntaxes below.
General syntax
Parameter /switch |
Description |
Supported mode(s) |
/regular |
Regular mode, the standard recovery option for non-corrupted NTFS drives |
Regular |
/extensive |
Extensive mode, a thorough recovery option suitable for all file systems |
Extensive |
Advanced syntax
Switch |
Description |
Supported mode(s) |
/ntfs |
NTFS mode, a fast recovery option for healthy NTFS drives using the master file table |
NTFS |
/segment |
Segment mode, recovery option for NTFS drives using file record segments |
Segment |
/signature |
Signature mode, recovery option for all file system types using file headers |
Signature |
For example, if you want to recover the JPEG and PNG pictures from the C drive to the E drive, the command line is winfr C: E: /n \Users\Pictures\*.JPEG /n \Users\Pictures\*.PNG.
Step 5. Input “y” to go on. Please wait patiently. Then your recovered files will be saved in the destination drive which you’ve chosen.
Fee alternative: Recover files with WinfrGUI
If your proficient computer skills allow you to enter all sorts of command lines, Windows File Recovery is just for you. However, faced with a clutter of command lines, many users cannot keep these command lines in mind and type them out correctly. That implies Winfr cannot react to your disk data recovery. “Could you offer me an easier way to recover my files?” “Yes!”
WinfrGUI (Windows File Recovery GUI) provides the user interface for users. This free software makes it easier to recover the deleted files within clicks instead of using CMD. Please note that WinfrGUI is only compatible with Windows 11/10. Let’s perform how to utilize this free tool.
Step 1. Download and install WinfrGUI on your PC, then select one partition for scanning and another partition for storing the recovered files.
Step 2. You can choose Quick Scan or Deep Scan as your preferences. Then click “Advanced Settings” and select the file types you need.
Step 3. Click “Start Recovery” to start the scanning process. After that, the recovered files will be stored in a new folder of your destination drive.
Efficient alternative: MyRecover
This part aims to offer you another Windows data recovery software. That is the MyRecover. Here comes several highlights of this trustable software.
❥Use Quick Scan and Deep Scan to detect all the deleted/lost files.
❥Recover the deleted files from SSD/HDD in their original file names and format.
❥Recover 200+ types of data: MS Office, Photos, Videos, Audios, Emails, Webpages, and Compressed files.
❥Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS in Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server.
❥Apply to comprehensive data loss scenarios with a higher recovery rate.
Since this groundbreaking software offers you so many fascinating functions, why not download and verify it by yourself?
Step 1. Install and run MyRecover on your PC.
Step 2. Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan to scan.
Step 3. You'll see all the deleted files and other lost files after performing Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically.
Step 4. Confirm your scanning results and click "Recover x files". Then specify a new location to save your retrieved data.
In conclusion
Windows files are an indispensable part of our career in the digital age, carrying many points. In theory, Windows File Recovery could guide you to recover the deleted files using command lines. In reality, this software cannot promise that you can recover 100% of your data, let alone make tiny mistakes when typing the command line.
Thus you can utilize Windows Data Recovery for Windows. It does improve the possibility of disk data recovery.
Besides, maybe you have realized the importance of valuable backups. Here comes a highly-praised free windows backup software. That is AOMEI Backupper. You can utilize it to make backups to update and enrich your data. This tool also allows you to get deleted files back. More conveniently, you are allowed to clone an old disk to a new disk or clone HDD to SSD for better performance.