If you're looking to recover files that were previously on your Windows 10 computer but are now missing (perhaps deleted, corrupted, or lost), you can often use built-in tools like Windows File Recovery. This tool helps you restore files from various data loss situations.
Missing files can mean different things. If you need to download files that were never on your computer (like program installers, documents from cloud storage, or updates), you would typically use a web browser or specific software/services. However, if you are referring to files that were present and are now gone, file recovery is the process needed, not downloading.
Here’s how you can access and start using Windows File Recovery for restoring lost files, based on the provided information:
Using Windows File Recovery
Windows File Recovery is a command-line application available from the Microsoft Store that can help retrieve files from local storage devices.
Here are the steps to open the application:
- Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
- In the search box that appears, enter "Windows File Recovery".
- From the search results, select Windows File Recovery.
- When the User Account Control prompt appears asking if you want to allow the app to make changes to your device, select Yes.
Once the application is open, you will use command-line arguments to specify the drive you want to scan, the files you want to recover, and the destination for the recovered files.
Recovery Modes
Windows File Recovery offers different modes depending on your file system and the data loss scenario. The tool provides 2 basic modes you can use to recover files:
- Regular mode: This mode is suitable for common file recovery scenarios, such as recently deleted files on drives formatted with the NTFS file system.
- Extensive mode: This mode is more thorough and can recover files from drives formatted with FAT, exFAT, and ReFS file systems, or files deleted a while ago on NTFS drives.
Choosing the correct mode and syntax requires understanding command-line prompts, which you can learn more about in the tool's documentation or online guides from Microsoft.
Remember, file recovery success depends on many factors, including how much data has been written to the drive since the files went missing.
