Best Data Recovery Software

Regardless of the full feature set, the basic principle of any data recovery software is always the same. Whenever data is deleted by a user, it is not actually removed from the storage drive. Instead its space marked as available to reuse, and it isn’t until that space is overwritten by new data that the deleted file is no longer available. This means that if you act within a reasonable time – a matter of hours or days – then the data recovery tool can still find and restore lost data.

Thankfully, operating such a program is child’s play as all it takes is to determine where and what kind of files the software should look for and whether you want a quick scan or a more thorough deep scan. There is also often the option to look for files on lost partitions or to create a virtual image of a drive for recovery purposes to protect a drive that is already failing. Once the scanning process is complete, the search results can often be filtered to help you to pick out and recover the files you lost.

Regardless of the full feature set, the basic principle of any data recovery software is always the same. Whenever data is deleted by a user, it is not actually removed from the storage drive. Instead its space marked as available to reuse, and it isn’t until that space is overwritten by new data that the deleted file is no longer available. This means that if you act within a reasonable time – a matter of hours or days – then the data recovery tool can still find and restore lost data.

Thankfully, operating such a program is child’s play as all it takes is to determine where and what kind of files the software should look for and whether you want a quick scan or a more thorough deep scan. There is also often the option to look for files on lost partitions or to create a virtual image of a drive for recovery purposes to protect a drive that is already failing. Once the scanning process is complete, the search results can often be filtered to help you to pick out and recover the files you lost.

Although data recovery is considered to be tampering with the device’s system – which is something experts strongly discourage users from – it’s a reasonable choice for two particular reasons. The first is the price: where a data recovery tool costs between $20 and $100, professional data recovery services will charge hundreds of dollars to revive lost files. Granted, data recovery apps often have to be paid for on an annual basis to continue receiving future software updates and priority customer support, but even then it’s still the cheaper solution.

The other benefit of data recovery software is convenience. Unlike professional services where you have to wait for the evaluation of your case, finding files with a data recovery tool is immediate. In fact, if all your drives are working fine and the deletion of important data occurred only recently, a quick scan with data recovery software is more than enough to bring back missing files. Moreover, the most advanced data recovery solutions are all equipped with professional tools like virtual disk image creation.

It’s virtually impossible to say exactly how many file types a data recovery app bring back from oblivion as these solutions each handle different file categories, covering documents, audio and video files, emails, and images.

However, since general data recovery tools search for a wide array of files, scans and recovery may take longer than expected, unless the chosen software is advanced enough to allow specific file type searches. Certain data recovery service providers often offer specific recovery tools that focus on recovering particular types of files, whether that is photos, videos, and the like. Granted, these programs do their jobs faster and they are cheaper but the value for money is not as good as a slower yet more thorough general data recovery program – especially if it can search for certain file types.

Most major data recovery companies provide free versions of their software that demonstrate the scanning capabilities and sometimes even allow the recovery of a limited amount of data. This may seem unfair at first – especially seeing how certain solutions like Recuva can be enjoyed for free without limitations – but there is a reason for this policy. If a demo cannot recover your lost files, then purchasing the paid version would be a waste of money.

Alternatively there is the option to turn to freeware and open-source data recovery apps, but doing so isn’t necessarily the best idea. This is because while these tools are just as capable as data recovery, freeware programs constantly bother users with ads and open-source solutions often lack the professional design and are therefore harder to use.