If you can’t locate a lost file from your backup, then you can use Windows File Recovery, which is a command line app available from the Microsoft Store. Use this app to try to recover lost files that have been deleted from your local storage device (including internal drives, external drives, and USB devices) and can’t be restored from the Recycle Bin. Recovery on cloud storage and network file shares is not supported. Note This app requires Windows 10 build 19041 or later (See which version of Windows 10 you have). Important: If you want to increase your chances of recovering a file, minimize or avoid using your computer. In the Windows file system, the space used by a deleted file is marked as free space, which means the file data can still exist and be recovered. But any use of your computer can create files, which may over-write this free space at any time. Windows File Recovery - Winter 2020 release
The following information can help you decide which file system you have and which mode to use. File systems
There are several file systems supported by Windows that vary depending on the storage device or operating system. Recovering files from non-NTFS file systems is only supported by extensive mode. To see which file system you have, right click a drive in File Explorer and select Properties. Deciding which mode to use Use the following table to help you decide which mode to use. If you are not sure, start with Regular mode.
General syntax The following table summarizes what each advanced switch is used for.
Advanced syntax The following table summarizes what each advanced switch is used for.
File extension filter list The following file types are filtered from results by default. Use the /e switch to disable this filter or the /e:<extension> filter to specify file types not to filter. _, adm, admx, appx, appx, ascx, asm, aspx, aux, ax, bin, browser, c, cab, cat cdf-ms, catalogItem, cdxm, cmake, cmd, coffee, config, cp, cpp, cs, cshtm, css, cur, dat, dll, et, evtx, exe, fon, gpd, h, hbakedcurve, htm, htm, ico, id, ildl, ilpdb, iltoc, iltocpdb, in, inf, inf_loc, ini, js, json, lib, lnk, log, man, manifest, map, metadata, mf, mof, msc, msi, mui, mui, mum, mun, nls, npmignore, nupkg, nuspec, obj, p7s, p7x, pak, pckdep, pdb, pf, pkgdef, plist, pnf, pp, pri, props, ps1, ps1xm, psd1, psm1, py, resjson, resw, resx, rl, rs, sha512, snippet, sq, sys, t4, targets, th, tlb, tmSnippet, toc, ts, tt, ttf, vb, vbhtm, vbs, vsdir, vsix, vsixlangpack, vsixmanifest, vstdir, vstemplate, vstman, winmd, xam, xbf, xm, xrm-ms, xs, xsd, ym Can you give some tips to help me use the correct syntax?
winfr C: E: /regular /n "\Users\<username>\Documents\Quarterly Statement.docx" What does <username> mean in the command examples? In the File Explorer address bar, enter C:\users to see a list of potential users on your computer. There may be several users on your computer, including you, the administrator, and the default account. When you see <username> in a file path, it is a placeholder for the current username on your computer. Why am I getting this message: "Source and Destination cannot refer to the same physical partition?" The source and destination drive or partition path should not be the same. If you only have one drive, use a USB or external hard drive as your destination path. Don’t create a partition after losing data, because this reduces the chance of a successful recovery. Why does the recovery operation take so long? Depending on the size of the disk, it may take some time to recover the file, especially if you are using Extensive mode. Why are additional files recovered from my operating system drive? Behind the scenes, Windows is constantly creating and deleting files. By default, Windows File Recovery filters out these files, but some slip through. To prevent this, use the /n <filter> as per examples in this article. What is the $Recycle.Bin folder? For NTFS and segment modes, you may also see lost files recovered from the Recycle Bin (files either in the recycle bin or that were permanently deleted) with the name $files.xxx and stored in a folder called $RECYCLE.BIN. What happens if the destination drive is full? If you see the following message: "Destination disk is full, please free up space before resuming: (R)esume, (S)kip file, or (A)bort," free up drive space on the destination drive, and then choose one of the options. I was not able to recover the file, now what? If you used Regular mode, try again in extensive mode if the file type is supported. It's possible that the free space was overwritten, especially on a solid-state drive (SSD). If you need help, contact your administrator. Windows File Recovery - Summer 2020 release
The following information can help you decide which file system you have and which mode to use. File systems There are several file systems supported by Windows that vary depending on the storage device or operating system. Recovering files from non-NTFS file systems is only supported in signature mode. To see which file system you have, right click a drive in File Explorer and select Properties.
Deciding which mode to use Use the following table to help you decide which mode to use. If you're not sure, start with the default mode.
Signature mode extension groups and file types The following table summarizes the extension groups and the supported file types for each group when you use the /y:<type(s)> switch
General syntax The following table summarizes what each basic command line parameter and switch is used for.
Advanced syntax The following table summarizes what each advanced switch is used for.
Can you give some tips to help me use correct syntax? Here are some suggestions:
What does <username> mean in the command examples? In the File Explorer address bar, enter C:\users to see a list of potential users on your computer. There may be several users on your computer, including you, the administrator, and the default account. When you see <username> in a file path, it is a placeholder for the current username on your computer. Why am I getting this message: "Source and Destination cannot refer to the same physical partition?" The source and destination drive or partition path should not be the same. If you only have one drive, use a USB or external hard drive as your destination path. Don’t create a partition after losing data, because this reduces the chance of a successful recovery. Why does the recovery operation take so long? Depending on the size of the disk, it may take some time to recover the file, especially if you are using signature mode. Why are additional files recovered from my operating system drive? Behind the scenes, Windows is constantly creating and deleting files. By default, Windows File Recovery filters out these files, but some slip through. To prevent this, use the /n <filter> switch in default and segment modes and the /y:<type(s)> switch in signature mode. What is the $Recycle.Bin folder? For default and segment modes, you may also see lost files recovered from the Recycle Bin (files either in the recycle bin or that were permanently deleted) with the name $files.xxx and stored in a folder called $RECYCLE.BIN. What happens if the destination drive is full? If you see the following message: "Destination disk is full, please free up space before resuming: (R)esume, (S)kip file, or (A)bort", Free up drive space on the destination drive, and then choose one of the options. I was not able to recover the file, now what? If you used default or segment mode, try again in signature mode if the file type is supported. It's possible that the free space was over-written, especially on a solid state drive (SSD). If you need help, contact your administrator. |