Why Windows file recovery recovered files are open blank?

Question

Hello, I recently encountered a problem, when I use the Windows file recovery application to recover files, the recovered file opens blank, as shown below, its size is not lost. I immediately went to create a test folder, which stores pictures, documents, and videos. After I permanently deleted the folder, I used the Windows file recovery application to restore the files. After the file was restored, I found that the file size did not change, but opened All appear blank.

Answer 1

Hello @Rubia

Which version is your system? This app requires Windows 10 build 19041 or later

Windows File Recovery can recover lost files that have been deleted from your local storage device (including internal drives, external drives, and USB devices) and can’t be restored from the Recycle Bin. Recovery on cloud storage and network file shares is also not supported.

If you used Regular mode, try again in extensive mode if the file type is supported. It's possible that the free space was overwritten, especially on a solid-state drive (SSD).

Regular mode is designed to recover recently deleted files.
Extensive mode is designed to recover files that were deleted a while ago, after the drive has been reformatted, or if the disk itself has been corrupted.

Important: If you want to increase your chances of recovering a file, minimize or avoid using your computer. In the Windows file system, the space used by a deleted file is marked as free space, which means the file data can still exist and be recovered. But any use of your computer can create files, which may over-write this free space at any time.

Reference articles:

Recover lost files on Windows 10
How to Recover Deleted Files in Windows

Best Regards
Karlie

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