Users must have the latest Windows 10 update (May 2020).Īs always, users who need to retrieve an accidentally deleted file should act quickly. In addition, the Recycle Bin holds only a limited amount of data and removes the oldest files first as new files are sent there.Īlthough it is not listed as such, the new tool appears to be a beta offering given its version number is 1.0. The same applies to files deleted from the Windows command prompt. Only those files deleted from fixed disks are sent there deleted files originating on removable media, USB drives or other external drives are not sent to the Recycle Bin but are deleted immediately. Windows 10 users have an alternative to undelete utilities: the Recycle Bin. That is because those drives, unlike traditional hard disk drives, immediately wipe out deleted files. The Recovery Tool has only limited usefulness on solid state drives. The third mode, Signature, is the preferred option for retrieving files stored on external devices using FAT, exFAT and ReFS file systems. The default setting is used mainly for NTFS file systems and is ideal for resurrecting recently deleted files.Ī more aggressive Segment mode may do a better job retrieving older deleted files, though it will likely take longer.

The new Windows File Recovery Tool offers three modes of recovery.

Instead, the computer merely removes pointers to the locations of the 'erased' data, notifying the system that the containers holding those data are available for use should they be needed to store newer files. It's a command-line only tool, which means it doesn't sport the attractive interface most popular undelete utilities have.īut it relies on the same principle more sophisticated shareware and professional undelete utilities have long used: deleted files are not actually immediately erased.

Microsoft is offering its new Windows 10 File Recovery tool for free online.

Victims of accidental erasures have long relied on either old shareware programs or more comprehensive professional tools-Recuva, EaseUS Data Recovery, Disk Drill, Stellar Data Recovery, among others-to recover deleted data.Ĭuriously, Windows never offered users its own version of an undelete utility. Today, decades after the first personal computers rolled off assembly lines, a deleted file still stirs those same old fears.

Windows 10 recovery tool