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Ahmados's avatar
Ahmados
Brass Contributor
May 25, 2026

What is the best data recovery software for PC on Windows 11?

Hi Microsoft Community, I recently experienced an unfortunate situation where I accidentally deleted a folder of important documents and photos on my Windows 11 PC, and the files were not in the Rec...
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Roricony's avatar
Roricony
Iron Contributor
May 25, 2026

You mentioned your external drive is "partially corrupted." Do not run CHKDSK on it yet before using free data recovery software for PC.

Search results show that running CHKDSK /f on a corrupted drive can actually make things worse. It often converts your lost files into generic File001.chk files that are difficult to open, or it may fail to recover them entirely due to space limitations. Stick to the recovery tools listed above instead of using repair commands.

Windows File Recovery is an excellent choice for a free data recovery software for PC, as it is an official, powerful command-line utility published by Microsoft for Windows 10 and 11 users. this is the ideal built-in solution for your situation. It can recover permanently deleted files and is also designed to work with corrupted external hard drives like the one you mentioned.

Crucial Tips for Success

  • Stop using the affected drives immediately: Any new data saved to your PC's C: drive or your external HDD can permanently overwrite the files you want to recover.
  • Use a different destination drive: The destination folder for recovered files must be on a different drive. If recovering from your C: drive, save to an external USB or your D: drive.
  • Try Regular first, then Extensive: For your PC's deleted folder, try /regular first. For your corrupted external drive, go directly to /extensive.