Microsoft has released a useful tool for Windows 10 users who have accidentally deleted or otherwise lost data. Windows File Recovery is available as a free download from the Microsoft Store. The tool uses a command line interface to recover photos, documents, videos, and other types of data.
Microsoft notes that recovery is possible even if you have erased data from the drive and it can no longer be recovered from the Trash. You can also recover data on USB-connected devices and SD cards. Network and cloud storage are not supported. Many file types are supported including JPEG, PDF, PNG, MPEG, Office files, MP3, MP4 and ZIP, NTFS, FAT, exFAT and ReFS file systems.
Many people have been in a situation where they accidentally deleted an important document that was not backed up or was out of date. A third-party program designed to recover deleted data could help in this situation. Now developers from Microsoft have launched their own utility, which, as the source notes, can be used to recover files deleted from a hard drive, USB drive or even an SD card.
To restore documents, photos, videos and other files the program uses a command line interface, so you’ll need a certain skill to interact with it. Three operating modes are supported, each of which performs data recovery in its own way.
The Default mode uses the Master File Table, a database containing information about the contents of an NTFS volume. This mode works well when MFT is present and there are File Record Segments.
The Segment mode does not require MFT, but does require File Record Segments, which are a set of data stored in the MFT, if the volume with the NTFS file system is being processed.
In “Signature” mode, the utility requires only data and specifies a certain type of files to recover. Attempting to recover a file on an external storage device, such as a USB flash drive, is possible only in this mode.
Windows File Recovery is distributed free of charge through the Microsoft Store. Once installed, it will be available as a command-line tool winfr.exe. The program is compatible with Windows 10 (19041) and later versions. For the correct operation of the utility you need to run it with administrator privileges.