Disk recovery programs are used to recover files, regardless of their type or size – be they photos, music, videos, documents or spreadsheets.
To do this, these tools explore the drive, tracking down all recoverable data and assembling its damaged parts into a recoverable format.
The best disk recovery programs offer a preview of the recovered files, filtered and searchable results, easy restoration and additional features.
What is the best program to recover files?
With so many alternative programs for recovering a disk, how do you decide which ones are worthwhile and which ones to ignore?
Simply compare their performance, compatibility, features, usability, price and security.
Let’s take a look at each of these factors:
- Performance: prefer a disk recovery program that supports all major file formats and storage devices and doesn’t take hours to recover data. Some tools offer various features to speed up the process, while others don’t require you to wait for the recovery process to finish, allowing you to access the deleted files as soon as they are found.
- Features: there are many disk recovery programs that include additional features such as data backup, real-time disk integrity check and bootable data recovery. Whenever you can, prefer these.
- Usability: the disk recovery program should be intuitive and easy to use, making it obvious what each of its options is for, without forcing you to read a lengthy manual.
- Price: even though there are several excellent data recovery applications that cost absolutely nothing, their features, ease of use and customer support are lower compared to paid data recovery software. The good news is that most paid disk recovery programs allow you to try them out for free by providing a trial or demo version.
Finally, first remember security when downloading any software from the internet.
There are many shady sites that distribute malware disguised as legitimate software, and avoiding them isn’t always easy.
So if you are searching for the best program to recover your disk because you’re having data recovery problems, a safer alternative is to trust a specialized data recovery service.
Recuva (Windows)
Recuva is a disk recovery program for Windows systems that can restore files with its deep scan option – which searches your drive for traces of deleted data.
The tool is useful for recovering music files, photos, documents, emails and any other type of lost document.
The software also has a feature that employs military-standard deletion techniques to securely erase your data.
Pros
- Simple user interface;
- You can safely delete confidential files;
- Ability to preview files before recovery;
- You can recover an unlimited amount of data for free.
Cons
- Abandoned by its developers
- Limited raw photo recovery capabilities.
Disk Drill
This disk recovery program was developed by CleverFiles and tailored to scan external and internal storage devices – from your local disk drive to portable USB drives and SD cards.
Disk Drill is an easy-to-install, user-friendly and intuitive piece of software, packed with wizards and tools to ensure an efficient recovery process.
Pros
- Modern user interface;
- Free version recovers up to 500 MB;
- Fast scanning with stop/resume option;
- Recovers files from all major file systems;
- Supports numerous file formats.
Cons
- There is no telephone customer support.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a disk recovery program that allows you to recover data that has been accidentally deleted from a drive or lost due to incorrect formatting of a partition.
It can easily perform file recovery on an empty Windows Recycle Bin and can be used on many types of external storage.
With EaseUs, you can restore lost files, photos and videos in a variety of file formats.
Pros
- Reliable data recovery performance;
- Recovers a large number of file formats;
- Fast deep scanning algorithm;
- Supports over 1,000 file formats.
Cons
- Includes unrecoverable files alongside recoverable files;
- Expensive paid licenses.
PhotoRec
PhotoRec is another disk recovery program that can be used to recover files on any system, restoring the underlying data.
The difference with this software is that it performs recovery in read-only mode, for additional data security during the process.
This tool can recover data from many types of storage devices and is especially proficient at recovering data from digital cameras.
It is a complement to the TestDisk application, designed to repair damaged or lost partitions.
Pros
- Multi-platform software;
- Supports over 300 file formats;
- Open source and completely free.
Cons
- Not intuitive;
- Restores all files automatically.
R-Studio
R-Studio is a disk recovery program that offers users various recovery options and has versions for Windows, Mac and Linux.
As a cross-platform solution, it allows files to be recovered from any compatible operating system, regardless of the operating system hosting the tool.
This offers additional flexibility and eliminates the need to purchase more than one version of the software in multi-platform environments.
The software can recover data from local and removable disks, as well as from machines connected to a LAN or the Internet.
Pros
- It has a demo version;
- Cross-platform support for various operating systems;
- Offers a simplified version of the tool called R-Undelete;
- Customizable known file types;
- Recovers data over a network.
Cons
- It is more expensive than other solutions;
- It has an extremely technical interface and features, which can be confusing for lay users.
Conclusion
As we have seen, the best disk recovery programs are those that offer support for the main file formats and storage devices, as well as fast performance.
They should also provide additional features and have good usability.
Finally, if you are interested in a paid version of a disk recovery program, consider trying the trial version before deciding.
Unfortunately, there is no data recovery software program that offers a complete guarantee of successful recovery.
If you try the different programs we’ve looked at in this article and still can’t recover your files, trust the experience of a professional data recovery service like ours.
With us, your device will have all its data recovered, safely and efficiently, with a quote within 48 hours!
Fill in this form to start your data recovery with us – it takes less than 1 minute.
