If you have a Windows PC and you have deleted files or folders, and you don’t have a backup of it, and also if it’s not in the Recycle Bin, then there is still a chance to recover it. There are a few steps to follow to recover all of your files.
To recover, you can use Windows Files Recovery.
In this blog, I’m going to show you how to install it and how to use it properly to get your lost files back. But you must follow these steps below very carefully.
First, we are going to install Windows Files Recovery, then I’m going to show you exactly how I’d recover my files if they get lost.
- Installing Windows Files Recovery
First, open Windows Store and search for Windows Files Recovery, install and run it.
- Starting Windows Files Recovery
If you don’t want to run it instantly, then close the Windows Store or browser and search for it in the search box by typing Windows Files Recovery. When you open it, it will ask you to allow because it always runs in administrator mode. To confirm, just allow it.
- Important Command Line Options
When Windows Files Recovery opens, it will show you some examples of how to use it. There will be two options we are going to talk about here. The first one is Regular, and the second one is Extensive.
You will use the Regular option when you have just deleted a file not very long ago, and use the Extensive mode on non-NTFS volumes and also for NTFS volumes that might be corrupted, or if you deleted the files a long time ago. The Extensive option will search all the drives for these files, and you will have a better chance of recovering them.
In most cases, the Regular one is sufficient.
I’m going to show some test folders I’m going to be working on. So here I’m going to open File Explorer.
- Demo Setup
I’m going to show you how it’s done. First, I will open Windows File Explorer, and let’s say I have files on D drive and I somehow deleted them and want to recover them back. So I will delete a file from my D drive and then recover it on F drive because I can’t use the same drive to recover my file. The reason is simple: files get corrupted.
- Important Rules to Follow
Before starting the simulation, I’m going to inform you about two rules that you must follow if you want to increase your chances of successfully recovering the deleted files.
The first rule is whenever you delete a file, try not to write anything anymore on that drive.
The second rule is when you want to recover a file or a folder, never recover it on the same drive that you deleted it from. This is because when Windows deletes a file, it doesn’t delete it on the drive; it just deletes the pointer to the file and the data remains on the drive. So if you perform any write operation on the drive, you might corrupt the data.
Let’s start the simulation.
- Recovering a Deleted File
Let’s say you have deleted a file. Go to Windows Files Recovery terminal.
I’m going to delete a file from my G drive and restore it back on F drive. To start the simulation, first open Windows Files Recovery and type this prompt just like I did.
Then press Enter to start the simulation. It will ask for yes/no to continue. Press yes, and it will automatically restore your file on the chosen drive. Open the recovery folder it just provided you after the simulation, and you will find your lost file.
- Recovering a Deleted Folder
Let’s say you by mistake deleted a folder. Go to Windows Files Recovery terminal again.
Type this prompt: winfr g: f: /regular /n my work\
If you don’t put anything after /regular, it will recover all the old files you have deleted, not just the specific one.
This is the folder that I deleted. You have to select your original folder that you have deleted. It will automatically create a folder on my F drive because I chose to recover my file on that drive.
