FREE FILE RECOVERY 8.1.0

Bring your files back.

GET STARTED

1. Extract the complete portable folder to a drive other than the one that lost
   your files. Keep the Engine folder, brand.ini and Licenses folder beside
   FreeFileRecovery.exe.
2. Open FreeFileRecovery.exe. Choose Disk image to open a local .img, .raw or .dd
   image. To read an actual Windows drive, first close the app, run it as an
   administrator, then choose Drive and select the affected volume.
3. Choose a folder for recovered files. When reading an actual drive, this must
   be on a different physical disk. A second partition on the affected disk is
   not a safe destination.
4. Choose a recovery mode and the file groups you need, then select Start scan.

WHICH MODE SHOULD I USE?

NTFS deleted files
Looks for deleted file records on NTFS. After the scan, use the name search and
file-type filter to find candidates. Tick individual files or use Select all,
then choose Recover selected. Surviving records may include original names and
folders. A found record does not prove its original contents are still intact.

Deep recovery
Uses PhotoRec to search file contents and save matches as the scan runs. This
mode does not wait for you to select files after scanning. Original filenames
and directory structure may be unavailable. Scanning a whole partition can
also find files that were not deleted. For broad format coverage, keep all file
groups selected.

CHECK THE RESULTS

Open Recovered files to see files saved in this session. Open folder takes you
to the current recovery output folder. Each operation creates a new folder and
does not replace the source files. Open recovered copies and check their
contents before relying on them.

Cancel stops the current operation. Completed output files are kept. A new scan
starts from the beginning; this version does not resume a stopped scan.

APPEARANCE AND BRANDING

Choose Settings to switch between Dark and Light. Dark is the default. The app
remembers the theme on this PC when it can do so without writing to the affected
physical disk.

You can edit the UTF-8 brand.ini beside the executable before opening the app:

[Brand]
Name=Free File Recovery
Tagline=Bring your files back.
WebsiteUrl=https://www.free-file-recovery.com/

[Appearance]
DefaultTheme=dark

Use DefaultTheme=light for a light default. An existing saved theme preference
takes priority over the default.

BEFORE RECOVERING IMPORTANT FILES

Stop using the affected disk and avoid installing software or downloading files
onto it. The recovery engine opens its selected source for reading only and
saves recovered files as new copies. Windows and other software may still write
to a mounted drive. Work from an image or another computer where practical.

Data already overwritten or erased by SSD TRIM cannot be reconstructed by this
app. Encrypted, compressed or physically failing media can require separate
handling. This app does not repair partitions or offer guaranteed recovery.

OPEN-SOURCE ENGINE

The native engine is based on CGSecurity TestDisk / PhotoRec 7.2 under GPL v2 or
later. See the included license notices, corresponding source and build
instructions. Lucide icon notices and .NET runtime notices are also included.

INSTALLATION AND RUNTIME

Windows 10 version 2004 or later or Windows 11 x64 is required. The .NET desktop
runtime is included. Install and run this app from a drive other than the one
that lost your files. Save recovered files to another physical drive.

The native engine includes zlib and libiconv statically and does not need
adjacent zlib1.dll or libiconv-2.dll. Keep the Engine folder beside the main EXE.
The app checks the engine components before a recovery operation.

OPTIONAL RESEARCH INVITATION

The interactive installer may offer an optional RelevantKnowledge research
invitation. Clicking Next on the setup welcome page opens its official invitation,
which provides its own terms and Agree/Decline choice. You can skip the download or
decline and still install and use Free File Recovery. Unattended installation
skips this offer. See https://www.free-file-recovery.com/privacy-policy/#optional-offer

VALIDATION AND BOUNDARIES

Synthetic-image tests cover scanning, selective recovery, deep recovery,
cancellation and restarting. Recovered sample contents are verified by SHA256.
Physical hardware compatibility, BitLocker, hardware faults and hardware TRIM
recovery have not been qualified. Results depend on data remaining on the source.

SOURCE AND LICENSE

The modified native engine and this GUI are provided under GPL v2 or later,
subject to the original component notices. Corresponding source and build
instructions are available at https://www.free-file-recovery.com/source/
The source includes the exact library sources used for the static build.
Microsoft .NET and Lucide retain their own licenses. See COPYING, NOTICE.txt
and the Licenses folder.
