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Ask a person who uses a computer what is the most horrible thing. The answer might be data loss. No matter it was caused by virus infection, operating system corruption, file system corruption, computer bugs, or whatever, the data loss is always annoying. Individual users or companies store important files on hard drives or other storage devices, then the possibility of data loss will never be zero. That is why we need data recovery software. Here, we will introduce you 7 best data recovery tools in 2024, which can help you recover your deleted files on the computer, USB drive, external drive, etc.
What can a data recovery software do for you?
There are many reasons that you need a recovery tool.
1. When you have no data backup files available, data recovery tools can help you get back your important pictures, videos, songs, and others.
2. Save your money. Recovery software is way much cheaper than going to a professional service provider. Paying the service for recovering your data would cost a bunch of money. Many recovery softwares are available on multiple operating systems and have free versions.
3. Save your time. You don’t have to go out to get a recovery service. Using recovery software in the house can just directly solve your problem without going anywhere.
The best data recovery tools include
The best data recovery tool we are here to introduce to you varies in a few points (price, simplicity, performance, interface.) The description down below could make you have a better choice.
Recuva
Viewpoints on Recuva
Recuva is a good but flawed data recovery software, and its developer is the CCleaner, which is famous. It can recover files from multiple storage devices like hard drives or external drives (USB, SD card, DVD, memory card, etc.) It is even available on iPod. It has a deep scan to retrieve data from the damaged devices. Maybe Recuva is not the most comprehensive recovery data software to choose, but the free version is absolutely can cover your needs to recover fundamental data. Especially the paid version has a feature called disk imaging tool, that can create a full backup to your disk drive.
The support operating system is Windows11,10,8, 8.1, 7, Vista and XP.
Price
It is a packaged price for $46.22 of 4 products.
What We like
Both installable and portable versions are available.
Contains a simple wizard and advanced options.
Supports multiple Windows operating systems.
Completely free version without paying anything.
What We Don’t Like
The download page is complex.
Additional programs will be installed when installing Recuva.
No more updates.
No separate product price.
Recuva cannot be used commercially because it has no enterprise license.
Scanning for images is only available in the paid version.
No partition scan. Recuva is not available for scanning the whole disk.
PhotoRec
Viewpoints on PhotoRec
PhotoRec is a non-fancy but completely free data recovery tool that basically targets users who have DSLR cameras. It is not easy to use, But since it’s free, it allows any other users to use it. It also can recover any files on optical drives apart from hard drives.
It supports Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Price
It is Free.
What we like
Support multiple operating systems.
Completely free.
PhotoRec is an open source that anyone can modify.
It is a portable software that does not require installation.
A low-end computer is able to use PhotoRec.
What we don’t like
It’s difficult to recover all deleted files at once.
The interface is not intuitive, showing as a command prompt window in a Win computer.
Rarely updated.
You have to manually choose the scan area and the configuration of the file type to scan.
Customer support is not available.
The program has no last file recovery path.
ONERECOVERY
Viewpoints on ONERECOVERY
ONERECOVERY is an excellent data recovery tool for almost every storage device (computer drives, flash memory cards, etc.) to recover multiple file types. It supports 100% safety and virus protection, with a guarantee of a 95% success rate.
It supports MacOS and Windows computers.
Price
Considering it’s a new-released software, it now has a very cost-effective price. $4.9 for lifetime plan!
What We like
Intuitive interface.
Support all types of data and storage devices.
Currently, it’s free with no data size limitations.
Both Mac and Windows are available.
No promotion pop-ups.
Support for all partition problem scenarios.
Support two mode scans, quick scan and deep scan.
Preview features are available.
What We don’t like
No other advanced features like managing disk, comparing to rivals.
Stellar Data Recovery
Viewpoints on Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar Data Recovery is a powerful data recovery software that is welcomed by companies. It has several scan options, which means you have a customized scan mode. It also supports an advanced search feature, and it can identify and extract critical data. You can recover any files from any device by using Stellar. But, the free version has many limitations, such as 1GB data size, but the preview feature is available in any version.
It supports both Mac computers and Windows computers.
Price
What we like
A wizard will guide users through the process.
Preview features are available.
Recovery for Windows and macOS machines.
Includes disk-testing and cloning functions.
What we don’t like
Limits recovery to just 1 GB in the free version.
Can’t undelete any file over 25 MB (unless you pay).
It can be pricey for those who want lifetime data recovery using this tool.
MiniTool Data Recovery
Viewpoints on MiniTool
MiniTool is quite a powerful data recovery tool. It can find deleted files quickly from internal and external storage devices. What needs to be stressed is that it can allow you to delete certain files from the desktop, Recycle Bin, or from a specific folder. Besides, this tool can search among the deleted data, and recover multiple data at once. But, the free version only supports 1GB of data, which is equivalent to 300 normal-size pictures.
It supports Windows & Mac
Price
What we like
It has a clean, modern interface.
Support several types of storage devices.
Can recover multiple folders simultaneously.
A deep scan is available.
It can perform partition management, such as creating, deleting, and formatting.
What we don’t like
Recovers no more than 1 GB for free
Customer service is limited to email-only.
Advanced features are disabled in the trial.
The preview function is slow and clunky.
Relatively slow.
iBeesoft Data Recovery
Viewpoints on iBeesoft Data Recovery
This data recovery software has a free version with limitations of 2GB of data. The program contains no promotional popups at all. The interface is so intuitive that you feel it is easy to use. The official page says it supports over 1000 file types from multiple devices, including cameras, memory cards, and music plays. The search filter is quite impressive, which allows you to set what you want to search for (e.g., Archives, images, videos, etc.).
It supports Windows computers and iOS devices (including iPad, iPhone, etc.)
Price
What we like
Intuitive interface.
Supports multiple file types and storage devices.
Instant search is available.
Search by category is available (e.g., only archives or docs).
A deep scan is available.
Quick recovery.
What we don’t like
Free only up to 2 GB of data recovery.
The success rate may vary depending on the severity of data loss and the specific scenario.
It isn’t easy to locate your recovered data if you do not choose manually.
Disk Drill
Viewpoints on Disk Drill
Disk Drill is an excellent data recovery software developed in 2010, which has been quite a long time. The official page says the tool can recover data from almost any storage device. It supports search filters by data and size. And it has advanced features, such as backing up the whole disk drive. But, although it is very convenient to use, it has a big limitation in the free version of 500MB of free data recovery. This is quite a small size to recover data, especially when you have a large amount of data to recover.
It supports Windows computers and MacOS.
Price
What we like
Organizes deleted files by category for easier viewing.
Let you filter the results by size and/or date.
Works with Windows and macOS.
Shows a file’s condition/quality before recovering it.
A deep scan is available.
Impressive selection of features, including data backup and data loss prevention with Recovery Vault
What we don’t like
Recover only 500 MB of free data.
It’s too expensive (The price has gone up.)
When does a data recovery fail
There is no 100% successful recovery rate when you try to get your data back. Not a single data recovery software or provider will guarantee you to recover what you want to restore. If it says so, you should be aware of it. And, if you want to improve the success rate of recovering the file, it is better to do it right away. For instance, if you want to recover a photo that was lost 2 two years ago in a storage device, it seems impossible. No one or software in this world can help you to get this photo.
Conclusion
To sum up, when we choose data recovery software, we need to consider criteria such as safety, privacy protection, technical support, features, and, most of all, price.
I’m a tech enthusiast specializing in computer repair and data processing. Outside of fixing gadgets, I love penning articles on computer science. Currently, I’m diving deep into AI and data recovery tech. I’m all about staying on top of the latest in these fields. Excited to bring my passion and skills to the table and collaborate on cool projects!
