Best free file recovery software

LOST OR DELETED AN IMPORTANT FILE? THESE FREE TOOLS CAN HELP

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free AD-DRIVEN BUT STILL HANDY.

MINITOOL POWER DATA Recovery Free is the only program in this round-up that provides you with essential advice during the installation: do not install the software to the drive you want to recover data from, as you may overwrite files.

This version is free, but there are paid-for editions available as well, so you will realise that there are a few restrictions.

You can only recover 1GB of data, you don’t have the option of saving scan results to work with later, and a few other options are missing – but there’s absolutely nothing that stops this from being a great free recovery utility, aside from the occasional ad.

You can limit scans to specific file types, and MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free is capable of getting files back from partitions you are not even able to see, and there’s support for removable drives including optical media.

Disk Drill GREAT FOR BEGINNERS.

FEATURING A DELIGHTFUL simple interface, Disk Drill makes file recovery very simple. There’s no need to fiddle with complex options, and the program can be used to scan local as well as removable drives and memory cards. Scan your chosen drive, and you’re presented with a list of recoverable files, grouped by type, and you have the option of previewing image files in advance. It’s a simple tool with a high success rate.

What seems like a nice touch for anyone who is a little nervous about data recovery is the inclusion of a quick tutorial the first time the program is run – but it is simplistic in the extreme and of little real value, and ultimately serves as an ad to upgrade to the

Pro version.

Upgrading to Pro increases the number of computers the software can be used on, and opens up more options such as advanced scanning and wider file system support.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free A STRAIGHTFORWARD OPTION.

FIRE UP THE program and you’re presented with a screen asking which drive you would like to scan for recoverable data – you then just need to hit the Scan button. There are no options to configure, but if you know exactly where a file has gone missing from, you can specify a folder to scan.

Results are presented in an Explorer-style view which is easy to navigate, but unfortunately there is no indication of the quality of files that have been found – although a preview option is available. You can select the files you’re interested in, and restore them.

It’s worth noting that the free version of the program only lets you recover up to 2GB of data (500MB by default, but this can be increased from within the program) before you have to upgrade to the paid-for version.

This should be enough to help you to get back your most important files when you need to.

Recuva VERSATILE, BUT HEAVILY AD-DRIVEN.

SOMETHING OF A stalwart of the data recovery genre, Recuva has managed to build up a dedicated following – and it’s not hard to see why. The program can recover data from hard drives and memory cards, and even iPods.

While some data recovery tools make this easy by having a simple interface, Recuva takes things further and guides you through the entire process with a wizard. You can perform a lengthy deep scan to track down all recoverable data, or you can limit the search if you’re looking for something specific – and it’s nice to have this flexibility.

A downside is the heavy promotion of the Pro version of the app, but if you can turn a blind eye to this, you have a powerful tool on your hands – and you can probably live without support for virtual hard drives anyway!

WHILE SOME DATA RECOVERY TOOLS MAKE THIS EASY BY HAVING A SIMPLE INTERFACE, RECUVA TAKES THINGS FURTHER AND GUIDES YOU THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS WITH A WIZARD.