Ensure Recuva is installed on the system. Launch the command prompt with administrative privileges to avoid access denial errors for certain disk sectors.
Press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
Navigation and Basic Commands
Use the cd command to change to the Recuva installation directory. The default path varies.
For 64-bit systems:
cd "C:\Program Files\Recuva"
For 32-bit Recuva on a 64-bit OS:
cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Recuva"
Display the full list of available switches and their syntax.
recuva.exe /?
This command reveals options for file type filtering, scan modes, and output management.
Advanced Scanning Parameters
Initiate a basic scan of an entire volume, for example, drive D:.
recuva.exe d:
Recover only files marked by the filesystem as deleted, ignoring existing ones.
recuva.exe d: /deleted
Scan a specific folder and attempt to reconstruct its original directory tree.
recuva.exe "D:\Work\Projects" /structure
Limit the scan to specific file extensions, such as PDF documents.
recuva.exe d: /ext .pdf
Perform a deep scan of the drive. This signature-based analysis takes considerable time but can find fragments of heavily damaged or overwritten files.
recuva.exe d: /deep
Output Management and Saving Data
Define a target directory for recovered files. The tool places all restored data into this location.recuva.exe d: /output "E:\Recovered_Data"Generate a detailed log file of the entire recovery operation. This log lists processed files, their recovery status, and any encountered errors.
recuva.exe d: /output "E:\Recovered_Data" /log "C:\recovery_log.txt"
Automation and Batch Processing
Incorporate Recuva commands into scripts for automated or scheduled recovery tasks. A batch file can execute a series of targeted recoveries.@echo off cd "C:\Program Files\Recuva" recuva.exe d: /ext .docx /output "E:\Recovered_Docs" recuva.exe d: /ext .jpg /output "E:\Recovered_Images" pause