'Windows File Recovery' Is Microsoft's Official Undelete Utility To Recover Lost Files

Windows File Recovery logo

When information is digitized, it's no longer 'visible' to the human eyes. Made of bytes, the most horrifying thing about them is when they get lost, or corrupted.

From work documents, precious photos of the past, decade-old game saves and more, data loss can be nerve wrecking.

In the past, Microsoft Windows users can use various third-party products to help recover those files. But this time, Microsoft is giving its own official solution.

Simply called the 'Windows File Recovery', the tool works similar to other undelete utilities, which is by scanning local storage for files that can't be restored from the Recycle Bin.

When ran, the tool will scour users' physical storage for erased files and attempts to restore them. Users can also use the tool on external storage drive, such as USB flash or SD cards.

Because the tool is made by Microsoft and can only be downloaded from the company's official storefront, users can be sure that they're not downloading some malware in disguise. In other words, no more scouting for third-party solutions on sketchy websites, dealing with scams, file size limits for recovery, or buying premium versions of the app.

On the app's page, Microsoft wrote:

"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."

"For photos, documents, videos and more, Windows File Recovery supports many file types to help ensure that your data is not permanently lost."

The tool has three modes:

  1. Default 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," said Microsoft.
  2. Segment mode: this doesn't require 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," the company said.
  3. Signature mode: This mode requires that the data is present, and it only searches for specific file types. This mode uses slightly different search methods to find traces of data. "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," explained the support note.

The Microsoft tool is capable of recovering MP3 audio files, MP4 and MPEG videos, PDF documents, JPEG and PNG images, Office files, ZIP files, and more.

To recover recently deleted files, Microsoft recommends running the utility in Default mode. But if the files have been deleted a while ago, or the dist has been corrupted, or if users are attempting to recover a file from a formatted disk, Microsoft said that they can try to use the Default mode first, then Segment mode.

And if the two modes couldn't recover the files, Microsoft recommends using Signature mode on drives with FAT, exFAT, or ReFS file systems (typically USB flash drives and SD cards).

Windows File Recovery tool
Windows File Recovery from Microsoft is a command line tool, meaning that it isn't the most user-friendly undelete solution out there.

Apps capable of restoring deleted or corrupted files are plenty. But this Windows File Recovery Tool is the first time that Microsoft has built for Windows 10.

Previously, Microsoft already provides a feature in Windows 10 that lets users recover deleted documents, or restore files from backup, but users have to specifically enable this.

With the Windows File Recovery tool, this is the first time that Microsoft is fully supporting users who want to recover their files.

But still, there are some drawbacks.

First, Microsoft's tool is a command line tool, meaning that it is not user friendly. This is a contrast to most third-party solutions that are built with graphical interface. In other words, the tool from Microsoft is for the more advanced Windows users who are already familiar with its command-line interpreter, Command Prompt (cmd).

And second, this tool cannot recover files deleted from online cloud storage.

Another thing to consider is that, it's a lot better for users to have undelete tools installed, before actually using them.

Every program users install to a drive after accidentally deleting a file will reduce the likelihood that it can be restored. This is because of the way NTFS works: each time a physical storage is used, removed or corrupted data that is still available and wanted to be recovered can get permanently overwritten.

"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 overwrite this free space at any time."

This is also why the Microsoft's tool requires that users select different source and destination drives when running the utility.

Microsoft has put together a dedicated support page for Windows File Recovery users can read if they need more specific instructions.

Published: 
01/07/2020