10 Best Hard Drive Recovery Software

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best hard drive recovery software

Did you mistakenly delete important files from your hard drive? Realizing that you need to recover those files can be a disappointing experience. Data loss can occur due to various reasons such as emergency deletion, disk formatting, or failure. Luckily there is a hard drive recovery software program available which can help you get lost files even if you do not have a backup.

In this article, we have listed 11 recommended hard drive recovery programs based on our own performance, price, and experience. If these software tools are unable to recover your data, you can consider using professional hard drive data recovery services.

1. WinfrGUI (Windows)

WinfrGUI is a great tool designed to help users recover their valuable data. Whether you are losing data due to a failure of formatted disk, lost disc partition, or having problems with distraction recognition, this software can help you recover your data.

One of the best advantages of WinfrGUI is that it works for free without any limitations. Here are some important features:

  • Recover data from hard drive due to deleted formatting, failure or damage.
  • Recover data from various branded hard drives such as Seagate, WD, Toshiba, Sony, SanDisk and Samsung.
  • Effective in recovering deleted photos and other files such as audio, video documents and emails from hard drives.
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Steps for recovering HDD data using WinfrGUI:

  • Download and install WinfrGUI on your Windows PC or laptop. Start the program and select the recovery options in the main panel. Select the hard drive you want to recover data from and click on the “scan” button to start scanning.
  • WinfrGUI will perform a quick scan to find the deleted files. When the rapid scan is complete, you can find the recoverable files and select the files you want. If you can’t find the desired files, please wait for deep scanning to find all your missing information.
  • After selecting the target file, you can view the pre-recovery sample. Click on the “recover” button and select the target folder on a different drive from where you are recovering from to save the recovered file.

Note: It is important to stop using the hard drive you want to recover data from to prevent data being overwritten as this can reduce the chances of successful data recovery.

WinfrGUI Advantages:

  • A 3-step recovery process.
  • Ability to repair JPEG, PNG, BMP and other corrupted files from hard drive.
  • Virus Free Software and Plugins
  • Fast scanning speed and high quality data recovery.
  • Supports all common brand hard drives.

>>Also Read: Data Recovery on Hard Drive: 5 Methods

2. Recuva – Hard Disk Recovery for Windows

Recuva by Piriform is a popular choice among users who accidentally lost files. What separates Recuva from other hard drive recovery software is that it’s natural that the Recuva interaction takes you through the file recovery process by asking you questions, making it easier to use.

Advantages of Recuva:

  • Unlimited free data recovery with standard version
  • Deep Scan Mode for Hard-to-Find Files
  • Portable version
  • 100% Free Data Recovery Software

Disadvantages of Recuva:

  • The interface isn’t up-to-date.
  • Could not see results during scanning

Free Version Limit: Unlimited Free Recovery

Overall experience:

Recuva is inexpensive and easy to use, although it may not have a depth of recovery capabilities as well as higher-priced software. It is suitable for basic needs such as image recovery, searching for removed music, video documents, and email. We have used Recuva to recover missing Excel files. Recuva can be used for free for personal purposes.

3. Disk Drill (Windows & Mac)

Disk Drill by Cleverfiles is a well-known hard drive recovery software that supports data recovery that has been deleted, erased, and lost from the hard disk. In addition to data recovering, Disk drill also has additional features such as data protection and drive backup.

Advantages of disc drilling:

  • Additional features such as data protection and drive backup
  • Manage Files by Type
  • Filters results by size and information
  • Multi-file system support

Disadvantages of Disk Drill:

  • Windows version could not recover data from iOS and Android devices
  • Complex setup process with failure during custom installation.

Limit of free version: 500MB of free recovery. The Pro version is worth $89 and has no recovery limit.

Overall experience:

Disk Drill provides an easy-to-use interface for fast data recovery. Experienced computer users attract recovery capabilities. The software also includes a free data protection tool that helps recover recently lost data. The Recovery Vault feature enables increased protection by defining specific folders and files. It can also create drive-level backups for recovering. However, the free version can recover up to 500MB of data, and the scan process takes longer than other similar software, so fewer files are found.

4. Wise Data Recovery

Wise Data Recovery is a free data recovery tool that allows you to retrieve information such as photos, videos, audio files, documents, and more from local hard drives and removable devices such as USB flash drivers, SD cards, digital cameras, cell phones, and MP3 players. This softwareuses advanced algorithms to provide powerful data recovering from supported devices.

Advantages:

  • Free to use.
  • Lightweight and space-saving.
  • Fast scanning speed
  • There’s a portable version.
  • Filter files by type

Disadvantages:

  • Limited file system support (only supports FAT, exFAT, and NTFS).
  • Unsupported code may appear in the sample bar for unsupported formats.

Free version limitations: Unlimited free recovery. RAW recovery and deep scanning features are not available in the free version. The Pro version is worth $44.96 and there are no recovery limitations.

Overall experience:

This Software is compatible with both Windows 64-bit and 32-bit systems, including Windows 10 and earlier versions such as Windows XP. The free version allows for quick scanning and recovery of recently deleted files. However, if you want to permanently recover delete files from Windows 10, this freeware program may be inefficient. The user interface is simple even for less experienced users. The ability to view deleting files and display detailed information including file headers is appreciated.

5. Ontrack EasyRecovery (Windows & Mac)

Ontrack EasyRecovery is a leading option for disk data recovery, supports data recovering from SSD hard drives, memory cards, USB disks and optical media after deletion, formatting, corruption, and so on. Easyrecovery also has advanced features for RAID recovery.

Advantages of Ontrack EasyRecovery:

  • Recover photos, videos, documents, and more.
  • Multi-device storage support
  • View results before recovery.
  • Recover files after deleting, formatting, hard drive damage and damage.

Disadvantages of Ontrack EasyRecovery:

  • Personal information is required to download the software.

Limit of the free version: 1GB of free recovery. The Pro version costs $87.81 and has a recovery limit.

Overall experience:

Ontrack EasyRecovery is a simple file recovery software for finding lost images or removing videos and so on from various storage devices. It has fast and deep scanning options to maximize recovery efficiency. OnTrack also provides manual recovery and repair with the help of experts. The cost of recovery depends on the complexity of the data and the recovery process. Downloading software can be a little tricky as it requires personal information.

6. Recover My Files (Windows)

Recover My Files is a reliable data recovery software specifically for Windows. It allows users to recover files from a variety of storage devices such as hard drives, SD cards, USB drivers, drives floppy, iPods, and so on. It works great in various recovery situations, including rescue tanks, recycling, file recovery, reinstallation forms of the operating system, RAW partition repair, etc.

Advantages of Recover My Files:

  • Supports traditional storage devices such as SD, USB, and iPod hard drives.
  • The ability to scan backup files of partitions
  • Sort Files by Date
  • Option to configure item scheduling

Disadvantages of Recover My Files:

  • An old software interface
  • Complex operations compared to competitors.

Free version limit: Unlimited free recovery. Pro version costs $69.95 and has few recovery limitations.

Overall experience:

My File Recovery is a file recovery program that uses file cutting to extract missing files from an unallocated group. The recovery process involves interpreting the contents of the file. It usually goes through back-type engineering. The software interface is not as user-friendly as described, making it a challenge for ordinary users. Also, the latest version of Recover My Files is version 6, which shows that the original developer has stopped updating.

7. PhotoRec (Windows, Mac, and Linux)

PhotoRec is a powerful open source data recovery software that specializes in retrieving images from various digital devices including computers, digital cameras, mobile phones, tablets, memory cards, and external hard drives. It supports more than 480 file extensions.

PhotoRec Advantages:

  • Supports cross-platform data recovery (Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, etc.).
  • Ability to recover data from a variety of devices.
  • Works with multiple files, not just images.

Disadvantages of PhotoRec:

  • Not suitable for beginners.
  • All files will be recovered automatically during scanning.
  • Could not return file name and folder structure

Free Version Limit: Unlimited Free Recovery

Overall experience:

PhotoRec is a free and open-source software that uses data recovery techniques using text to find missing files. It is designed for experienced users as it has a text-only user interface. The software is highly respected and can compete with many expensive data recovering applications. Users do not need to worry about price or limitations.

8. TestDisk (Windows, Mac, and Linux)

TestDisk is an open-source program that is used to recover lost partitions. It can recover deleted partitions from hard drives, edit tables, partitions, boot sections, and so on.

Advantages of TestDisk:

  • Open Source Software
  • Recover missing partitions
  • Edit unbootable drive
  • Recover data in multiple file types

Disadvantages of TestDisk:

  • No easy-to-use graphical user interface. (command-line only).
  • Repair corrupted partitions and file systems, but not individual files.

Free Version Limit: Unlimited Free Recovery

Overall experience:

TestDisk is a freeware solution that focuses on partition recovery. It is a command-line tool that supports multiple operating systems and file systems. The software is also supported by developers and is available as a boot version. If you encounter a loss of partition, testdisk is an available option. However, if you want data recovery in general, other free software might be better suited.

9. Orion File Recovery (Windows)

Orion File Recovery can cancel deletion of files from Windows computers and compatible storage devices. In addition to its data recovery feature, Orion file recovery also has special features for permanently deleting data from your hard drive to protect your privacy.

Advantages of Orion File Recovery:

  • Offers file recovery assistant for hard drive recycling
  • Allows filtering search results by folders, file types, names, and more.
  • Option to specify the scan location
  • Additional features such as “file screw” for completely deleting data.

Disadvantages of Orion File Recovery:

Scan process slowed down a bit.

Unintentional installation of accessories during software installation

Free version limitation: Unlimited data recovery

Overall experience:

The Orion file recovery software stands out for its ease of use as it starts the recovery help tool every time the program starts. The setting of search criteria could not be easier by supporting file types such as videos, music, pictures, documents, and so on. Whether or not you remember a file name. However, multiple customizable options may be too many. The reliability of scanning results and recovery rates are inconsistent.

10. Windows File Recovery (Windows 10 2004 and Above)

Windows File Recovery is a command-line application from Microsoft that allows for deleted file recovery. It is available for free for Windows 10 version 2004 (May 2020 update) and later versions through the Microsoft Store. The software supports recovery of various types of files including JPEG, PDF, PNG, MPEG, Office files, MP3, MP4 and ZIP files from hard drives and other devices.

Advantages of Windows File Recovery:

  • Recover JPEG, PDF, PNG, MPEG, Office files, MP3, MP4, ZIP files and so on.
  • Free to recover deleted files from SSD hard drives, USB and memory cards.

Disadvantages of Windows File Recovery:

  • Compatible with Windows 10 2004 and higher only.
  • File recovery requires file type command

Free version limitation: Restore limited file types

Overall experience:

Windows file recovery needs to know the file name, target, keyword, file path, or extension for successful recovery using command line commands. It can recover specific types of files such as JPEG, PDF, PNG, MPEG, Office files, MP3, MP4 and ZIP files. The recovery of various files requires different commands, which can be a challenge for an average user to find. However, this tool is free and secure without any additional software or plugins.

Causes of loss of data on hard drive

Loss of data on your hard drive, whether internal or external. It’s as common as you might think. It can happen for a variety of reasons, including:

  • Error deleting files or folders
  • Formatting one or more partitions (e.g., using Fdisk).
  • “NTLDR missing” Press any button to restart” Error message
  • Damaged or damaged partition chart
  • Unable to access files or folders on hard drive due to virus attack or infection.

While it is widely known the importance of regular backup, data loss is still possible without any existing security. This is where hard drive recovery software is essential for users.

Reasons to Consider for Hard Disk Recovery

A lot of software developers claim that their hard drive recovery software is the best, but what determines a really great data recovery program? Whether it’s the price or not, with higher-priced software or as a freeware option, regardless of quality or not. When choosing a hard disk recovery software, you should consider the following factors:

Answer your specific needs:

Make sure that the software can effectively recover data from your specific data loss situations such as deleting, formatting, lost parts, RAW/unavailable partitions, or disks, virus infection, etc. It should support recovery from the particular data loss situation you are facing.

Reliability:

Choose hard drive recovery software that is free of viruses, plugins free and does not damage lost/deleted/formatted data. The software should be stable and not fail during the recovery process. Also make sure that the software developer will provide pre- and post-sales technical support to help you as required.

Speed and Success Rate:

Thinking about the speed of the software because scanning the hard drive and finding lost files can take a lot of time, especially for large disks with big data. High success rates in data recovery are also important. Search user reviews and ratings to measure software performance and success in recovery.

Easy to use:

A great disk recovery tool should have an easy-to-use interface that is easy to use. The data recovery process should be as simple as possible. Also, the software should provide advanced features to help users quickly find and identify missing files such as filters, search bars, screen samples, etc.

Of course, there may be other features that you think are important. However, the factors mentioned above should help you in choosing the best hard drive recovery software for your needs.

Conclusion

Did you find the hard drive recovery software you want from the listed above? As long as your lost files are not overwritten, you can use any of the software options mentioned to try to recover data. However, the success rate may vary. A higher-rated software usually gives you a better chance of successfully recovering your files. If your hard drive is physically damaged, the software mentioned above will not be able to help. In such cases, it is recommended that you send your hard drives to a professional data recovery service.

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