Data has become the primary source for the digital world to operate. Any data loss can have a massive impact on the companies’ day-to-day activities. It affects the continuity of the processes. The following article brings to you the various Data Recovery software that are simple and free to use.
What is Data Recovery?
The process of retrieving and restoring lost, corrupted, inaccessible, damaged, or accidentally deleted data is called data recovery. It is a software-driven process. The most common ways we lose data are the failure of hardware, viral attacks, or carelessness. Backing up the data regularly can ease the restoring process.
When there are no backups available, data recovery software provides the aid. Thus, they form a vital component of the Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). Data recovery is of four types. They are,
- Logical Data Recovery: It is used when there is no fault with the hard drive but the issue prevails in the operating systems.
- Physical Data Recovery: It is the process of retrieving the data from the damaged hard drive.
- Instant Data Recovery: Data recovered directly from the backup storage when data loss is mainly due to software failure.
- Continuous Protection of Data: It is the protection of data from loss beforehand. The data is automatically backed up at certain intervals.
10 Best Free Data Recovery Software for Windows
The following are the best Data Recovery Software for Windows. We have briefed down the features, versions, and payment of each software tool.
1. Recuva
Recuva is developed by Piriform Software. The common functionality of the Recuva Software is to undelete files that are deleted.
Notable features of this free software for data recovery include the following,
- It can recover a wide range of file types such as photos, videos, music, documents, emails, etc.
- Files from damaged or newly formatted drives can be recovered using Recuva.
- It has an advanced deep scan mode to find any traces of files you have deleted.
- It can also be used to delete files securely.
The free version of Recuva supports advanced file recovery. However, there is a professional version that provides virtual hardware support and auto updates. Recuva is supported by Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. Including both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
2. Disk Drill
Disk Drill is developed by Cleverfiles. The primary function of Disk Drill is to recover lost and deleted files, especially from hard disk drives, USB flash drives, and SSD drives.
The important features of this free data recovery software are listed below.
- The interface is easily navigable and user-friendly.
- The recovery steps are simple.
- It can predict the recovery chances for each discovered file, thus maximizing efficiency and saving time.
- Disk Drill can be integrated with the system to keep the data secure.
The basic version is free. It can be used to test the features and recover a limited amount of data. Pro and Enterprise versions are available for larger data recovery. Disk Drill works for both Windows and macOS. Linux RAIDs, Virtual Hard Drives & WSS are also supported.
3. PhotoRec
PhotoRec is an open-source utility software for data recovery. The lost data is usually recovered from digital camera memory, hard disk, and CD-ROM. It uses data carving techniques.
The various distinguishing features of this data recovery software include the following.
- It uses read-only access to handle the drive or memory card you are about to recover lost data.
- PhotoRec has a text-based user interface.
- The file carving tool contributes widely to digital forensics.
- It recognizes and recovers numerous file formats including ZIP, Office, PDF, HTML, JPEG, and various graphics file formats.
PhotoRec is a credible, completely free data recovery tool distributed under GNU General Public License (GPLV v2+). It works for Windows XP/Vista/7/8, both 32-bit and 64-bit OS.
4. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard by Easeus is one of the most powerful recovery tools. It allows one to fully recover files from devices with unknown file systems including Hard Disks, external drives, removable SmartMedia, Memory Sticks, SD cards, etc.
The features of one of the best data recovery software are listed below.
- It is easy to use as it allows the user to browse through the deleted files by path in a File Explorer or by file type, name, and the year and month the data was removed.
- Easeus lets the user recover multiple files simultaneously.
- The files identified can also be backed up and recovered later.
- Crashed PC Recovery tool by the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can help restore data from an unbootable computer.
The free version can recover up to 2GB of data. Pro versions are to be subscribed for more. Further, it works well for both Windows and Mac operating systems.
5. Wise Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery is one of the free applications by Wisecleaner.com. It is a file recovery utility software. It can help recover data that may have been accidentally deleted, or that disappeared mysteriously from your hard drive or USB memory.
The highlighting features of this data recovery software for Windows are as follows.
- It can even recover files that are ‘permanently’ erased and marked as empty space by the operating system.
- It is easy to use and allows users to filter files using names or extensions.
- Wise Data Recovery uses advanced algorithms to scan at a faster rate.
- It can also analyze the possibility of recovering lost files and provides details about the recoverability.
Like EaseUS, it can also recover up to 2 GB of data for free. Pro versions can recover unlimited files and it also offers a money-back guarantee. Supported Operating Systems include Windows 7,8,10,11 and Vista.
6. TestDisk
TestDisk is a free and open-source software for data recovery. It can be used to repair corrupted file systems and recover lost partitions.
Some of the prominent features of this data recovery software are as follows.
- It allows users to fix partitions and Bootsect errors.
- Testdesk can recover more than 440 file formats such as folders, images, Microsoft documents, and even videos.
- It is user-friendly and compactable with different partitions.
- It is compatible with multiple file systems-NTFS, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, etc.
As it is open-source, TestDisk can be used and modified for free. It can run on almost any desktop operating system: Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and even NetBSD.
7. DMDE
DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software can recover files from a hard drive that are lost accidentally or due to any virus assault. DMDE is said to be an effective tool, however, it might require some expert assistance.
The key features of free data recovery software include the following.
- It can recover NFTS-encrypted files without any decryption processes.
- DMDE can scan and manage partitions in various formats such as NTFS, FAT formats, exFAT, Ext formats, HFS+/HFSX, ReFS, APFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, and btrfs.
- The completeness of the recoverable files can be assessed beforehand.
- It allows users to search for ‘raw’ data and it is relatively fast.
DMDE free version can help you recover up to 4000 files at a time. Express, Standard, and Professional versions are available with advanced features. It is supported by Windows, macOS, Linux, and DOS.
8. R-Studio
R-Studio Data Recovery helps in recovering lost or accidentally deleted files. It can also recover files from damaged media and even formatted disks.
Features of this best data recovery software for Windows are as follows.
- It uses advanced algorithms to recover permanently deleted or damaged files.
- R-Studio has device support for Desktops, iOS, and web-based devices.
- The user interface is simple, clean, and easy to use.
The tool isn’t completely free. However, the demo version allows you to try out most features. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.
9. Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar Data Recovery is a utility software that can be used in complex data loss situations. It is one of the data recovery software that is best suited for businesses and consumers.
Some of the best features of the tool are listed below.
- It works on various devices such as desktops, laptops, mobile, servers, flash drives, memory cards, etc.
- Stellar Data Recovery can recover a variety of file formats.
- It can fix damaged, distorted, grainy, blurry, and pixelated images.
- It works with both non-bootable and encrypted files.
The free version can to used to recover data up to 1 GB and files up to 25 MB. Paid versions are available with advanced features. It is supported by both Windows and Mac.
10. FreeUndelete
FreeUndelete is a freeware developed by Recoveronix. It can be used to recover permanently deleted files.
The various features of this data recovery software for Windows include the following.
- It supports NTFS and FAT file systems.
- It doesn’t take much of your storage space.
- FreeUndelete can recover more than 100 file types such as documents, email, multimedia, database, etc.
- It can be used to perform scans quickly without draining out resources.
The software is available for free and is supported only by Windows.
The above tools are the best for data recovery in Windows. Based on the features mentioned, select software based on your preferences. Recuva and Wise Data Recovery are suggested best for basic recovery and PhotoRec, EaseUs, etc for advanced file recovery.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Data Recovery Software safe to use?
Data Recovery software is much safer than any physical data recovery method. However, it is important to be cautious and understand the terms before using any software.
2. How to recover My Windows data for free?
You can click on the Windows key, enter Windows File Recovery in the search box, and then select Windows File Recovery. It provides regular and extensive modes of recovery.
3. Is data recovery always possible?
The above articles provide viable software solutions to recover your lost data. However, it is not always possible to retrieve the lost data. Some cases may be complicated making the data lost once and for all. Thus it is important to have a backup of the essential data.
4. Which is the best free data recovery software for Windows?
Recuva is one of the best free data recovery software based on user ratings. This software helps in recovering different files including images, videos, PDFs, etc.
