What Is the best photo recovery software for Windows 10?

Here are the step-by-step instructions for using Windows File Recovery as photo recovery software for Windows 10:

Step 1: Install the tool

Open the Microsoft Store on your PC, search for "Windows File Recovery," and click the Get or Install button to download it for free.

Step 2: Launch it

Open the app from your Start menu—it'll pop up as a Command Prompt window.

Step 3: Know your modes before writing the command

You'll pick between two main modes:

• Regular mode (/regular) – Use this if your photos were deleted recently from an NTFS drive (like your main C: drive). It's faster.
• Extensive mode (/extensive) – Use this for older deletions, formatted drives, USB sticks, or SD cards. It's slower but digs deeper.

Step 4: Write the recovery command

The basic command structure is:

text

winfr source-drive: destination-drive: /mode /n filters

For example, to recover all JPEG photos from your D: drive and save them to an E: drive, you'd type:

text

winfr D: E: /regular /n *.jpg

Or if you want to be thorough:

text

winfr D: E: /extensive /n *.jpg /n *.jpeg /n *.png

Step 5: Run it and confirm

Press Enter, then type Y when it asks for confirmation to start the scan. Wait for the process to finish—it can take a while in Extensive mode.

Step 6: Find your recovered files

Once done, Windows File Recovery creates a folder on your destination drive called Recovery_<date and time>—open it up and your photos should be inside.

A couple of golden rules when you using photo recovery software for Windows: never recover files to the same drive you're scanning from (that can overwrite what you're trying to save), and the sooner you run this after deletion, the better your chances.