Use this workflow for a source that Windows recognizes as a stable disk, partition, or external device. Stop if the device disconnects, changes capacity, overheats, clicks, or causes repeated system stalls.
Prepare
XRecovery 3.1.6 runs only on Windows. Install it on a disk other than the source of the loss. Attach a separate healthy destination with enough free space. Do not format, initialize, repair, or write to the source.
If the source is readable but deteriorating, consider a direct disk or partition byte copy. XRecovery can scan a loaded image and can save or restore scan sessions. Unreadable regions may time out and be skipped so later regions can still be examined.
Select the source
Open XRecovery and compare the device model, capacity, partition layout, and connection. Choose the physical disk when the partition structure is damaged, or the relevant volume when the case is limited to that volume. An attached disk containing a supported Mac or Linux file system can be scanned only through Windows; XRecovery does not run on macOS or Linux.
Scan
Start scanning by double-clicking the source or selecting it and pressing the scan button. Quick scan begins first and deep scan starts automatically afterward. Do not interrupt deep scan merely because useful files already appear unless preserving an unstable source requires stopping.
Camera Enhancement is a separate entry. Its enhanced algorithm begins automatically when that entry is selected. It is not applied to an ordinary partition scan.
Review
Inspect file-system results for names and folders and signature-based results for supported content whose metadata is missing. Filter by relevant file types and preview representative files where available. XRecovery supports common photo, video, and document formats, not every format.
Recover and verify
Select a destination on a different physical device. The program blocks the scanned source by default and shows a warning if the user tries to override it. Do not override the warning.
Recover a small sample first. Open full documents, extract archives, inspect photos at full resolution, and play videos at several points with audio. After validation, recover the remaining selection. The free allowance is 2 GB in total.
Keep the original source or first image unchanged until the exported set is verified and backed up. Scan results and previews are evidence; usable exported files are the final result.