Windows File Recovery: How to Recover Files for Free on Windows [Step-by-Step]
📚 Losing important files can be stressful, but Windows File Recovery offers a free solution to recover deleted files on Microsoft Windows. This guide details how to use Windows File Recovery to recover your lost files for free on Windows.
This tool isn’t pre-installed on Windows by default; you’ll need to download it first from the Microsoft Store, and it’s compatible with all common data loss scenarios, from accidental deletion to drive formatting.
📥 Download Windows File Recovery
🚨 What Scenarios Does It Fix?
Windows File Recovery is designed to help recover deleted or lost files in common situations, such as:
- Recover files deleted after emptying the Recycle Bin
- Data lost after drive formatting
- Files deleted from USB drives, SD cards, and other storage devices.
However, Windows File Recovery only works through Command Prompt. Since it does not provide a graphical interface, many users find it challenging to use, especially if they are unfamiliar with command-line syntax.
That’s where this guide comes in.
Below is a step-by-step, scenario-based guide to using Windows File Recovery, with all commands and tips you need to recover your files successfully.
Simply browse the table of contents below and jump directly to the case that matches your situation.
💻 Video Tutorial: Check out this YouTube video to see Windows File Recovery in action.
Part 1. Windows File Recovery Command Explained
The basic Windows File Recovery command format is:
winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
You only need to replace each element with the correct information for your recovery task. When you open the Windows File Recovery window, a brief command guide will display the basic syntax and available recovery modes for reference.
🔸winfr: Short for Windows File Recovery.
🔸source-drive: This is the drive letter where the lost data were originally stored.
🔸destination-drive: This is the destination drive where the recovered files will be saved. Note that the destination must be different from the source drive and should have enough free storage space to store the recovered files.
🔸[/mode]: Windows File Recovery offers two main scanning modes:
🔸Regular Mode — Best for recovering recently deleted files from a healthy NTFS drive.
🔸Extensive Mode — Used for more complex data loss scenarios and non-NTFS file systems, or situations where Regular mode cannot find the lost files.
💡If you don’t know which mode to use, start with Regular mode. If it doesn’t find your files, switch to Extensive mode for a deeper scan.
🔸[/switches]: Switches are optional filters that help narrow down the search results and improve recovery accuracy. By adding filters, you can specify:
- File types (*.jpg, *.mp4, etc.)
- File or folder paths
- Multiple files or folders at once
Part 2. How to Recover Files Using Windows File Recovery?
In my tests, F: is used as the source drive and G: as the destination drive. The following examples demonstrate how to recover files from F: to G: under different scenarios in Windows 11. Follow the steps below to see how the recovery commands work in each case.
‼️Remember to replace the drive letters with the ones on your own system.
🎯Case 1: Recover Recently Deleted Files from NTFS Drive
Step 1. Install and open Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store. If it is already installed, simply search for Windows File Recovery in the Start menu and open it.
Step 2. Once launched, a command-line window will pop up. Type the following command and press Enter:
Winfr F: G: /regular
This command instructs Windows File Recovery to use Regular mode to scan Drive F for all recently deleted files and recover any found items to Drive G.
Step 3. When prompted, type “Y” to start the recovery process or “N” to re-enter the command.
If you want to stop the scan during the process, press Ctrl + C.
Step 4. After the scan reaches 100%, press “Y” to open the destination folder. The recovered files are usually saved in a folder named in this format:
Recovery_[date-time].
Step 5. Open the folder and check whether the deleted files have been successfully recovered.
🎯Case 2: Recover Specific File Types from Source Drive
Step 1. Start Windows File Recovery.
Step 2. To recover specific file types, e.g., .mp4, .mp3, and .png, input the following command and press Enter:
winfr F: G: /regular /n *.mp4 /n *.mp3 /n *.png
This command tells Windows File Recovery to use Regular mode to scan Drive F for MP4, MP3, and PNG files only, then recover any found items to Drive G.
Step 3. Press “Y” to start scanning.
Press “N” to cancel it.
If you want to stop the scan during the process, press Ctrl + C.
Step 4. Once the scan is complete, check the output folder on Drive G for your recovered files.
🎯Case 3: Recover Specific Files by Filename
Step 1. Launch Windows File Recovery.
Step 2. To recover a specific file, you can type its filename in the command. If the filename or path contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.
For example, to recover a document named About RecoveryFox AI.docx from Drive F to Drive G, enter:
winfr F: G: /regular /n “About RecoveryFox AI.docx”
This command uses Regular mode to scan Drive F for the specified file and recover it to Drive G.
If you want to recover multiple specific files, you can add additional /n “filename” parameters, like this:
winfr F: G: /regular /n “About RecoveryFox AI.docx” /n “Project Plan.docx”
Step 3. Press “Y” to start scanning.
Press “N” to cancel it.
If you want to stop the scan during the process, press Ctrl + C.
Step 4: After the scan completes, check the output folder on Drive G for your recovered file.
🎯Case 4: Recover an Entire Folder from Source Drive
Step 1: Launch Windows File Recovery.
Step 2: To recover an entire folder, type the folder path in the command. Use quotes if spaces exist.
For example, to recover a folder located at \TEST Files Folder\Testfiles2\ from Drive F to Drive G, enter:
winfr F: G: /extensive /n “\TEST Files Folder\Testfiles2\”
This command uses Extensive mode to scan Drive F and recover all files within the specified folder to Drive G.
Step 3. Press “Y” to start scanning.
Press “N” to cancel it.
If you want to stop the scan during the process, press Ctrl + C.
Step 4: Once the scan is complete, check the output folder on Drive G for the recovered folder and its contents.
🎯Case 5: Recover Specific File Types from a Folder
Step 1: Launch Windows File Recovery.
Step 2: To recover only certain file types from a folder, type the folder path and file extension in the command. If the folder path contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.
For example, to recover all PNG files from the folder Testfiles on Drive F to Drive G, enter:
winfr F: G: /extensive /n Testfiles\*.png
This command uses Extensive mode to scan the Testfiles folder on Drive F and recover all .png files to Drive G.
Step 3. Press “Y” to start scanning.
Press “N” to cancel it.
If you want to stop the scan during the process, press Ctrl + C.
Step 4: Once the scan is complete, check the destination folder on Drive G for your recovered PNG files.
Bonus: A Better Alternative for GUI Users (No Command Line!)
Windows File Recovery is powerful, but its command-line interface is a barrier for many users.
If you prefer a visual, one-click recovery experience with no syntax to learn, try RecoveryFox AI to enjoy:
✅ 3 simple recovery steps: Select location > One-click scan > Preview & Recover
✅ Free scan & preview: Quickly scan your drive in read-only mode protecting what’s left of your data, then preview recoverable files for free before saving
✅Smart filters: Locate files by type, name, modification time, or size in seconds
✅Wide format compatibility: Recover videos, images, documents, audio, compressed files, and more file types
✅Various-storage support: Internal hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, external hard drives, and more storage devices
✅ Main file system support: AI Scan supports all major file systems (FAT12/16, EXT2/3/4, XFS, HFS+, APFS) and can recover data even from unrecognized file systems.
✅ RAW/Uallocated/Formatted drive recovery: Enable direct scanning of deleted or lost partitions, unallocated space, and RAW hard drives recovery without requiring formatting or partition rebuilding.
📥 Download RecoveryFox AI (100% Safe)
( Run a free scan & preview before recovery )
Author’s Note
If your data loss scenario isn’t covered in this guide, or you run into issues with the commands, leave a comment below. I’ll be happy to help troubleshoot!
Thanks for reading, and happy file recovery! 📂
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