Microsoft quietly created a Windows 10 File Recovery tool, how to use

[tarekma7]

Microsoft has created a Windows 10 File Recovery Tool that recovers deleted files and forgot to tell anyone.

Everyone has deleted a file by accident and then realized that they had no backup. If this file was critical, then you may get lucky using a third-party file recovery, or undelete, program to recover the deleted data.

Windows sleuth WalkingCat recently discovered a program created by Microsoft called the 'Windows Recovery Tool.'


This tool states it is a file recovery program that allows you to undelete files on a hard drive, USB drive, and even an SD card.

"Accidentally deleted an important file? Wiped clean your hard drive? Unsure of what to do with corrupted data? Windows File Recovery can help recover your personal data."

Microsoft's Windows File Recovery Tool supports three modes of operation: 'Default,' 'Segment,' and 'Signature.'

Each of these modes attempts to recover deleted files from a storage device in a different way, as described below.

Default mode: This mode uses the Master File Table (MFT) to locate lost files. Default mode works well when the MFT and file segments, also called File Record Segments (FRS), are present.

Segment mode: This mode does not require the MFT but does require segments. Segments are summaries of file information that NTFS stores in the MFT such as name, date, size, type and the cluster/allocation unit index.

Signature mode: This mode only requires that the data is present and searches for specific file types. It doesn't work for small files. To recover a file on an external storage device, such as a USB drive, you can only use Signature mode.

When installed, the program will be installed as a command-line tool called winfr.exe.

Below we have provided some examples of how to use the winfr tool in Windows 10.

How to use Microsoft's Windows File Recovery tool

To use the Windows 10 File Recovery Tool, you need to install the app first from the Microsoft Store.

As this program requires administrative privileges, once installed, you need to launch a Windows 10 elevated command prompt to use it.

In the command prompt, you can type winfr and press enter to see a list of the available commands.

Continue reading HERE