• Data recovery program. Recovering data after formatting

    The best programs for data recovery from any storage media. Recover files from your hard drive, flash drive, SD card and recycle bin.

    Recovering files using Recuva

    Recuva- a multifunctional tool designed to recover files deleted from hard drives or removable media. The program interface is simple and easy to use. A big plus is the built-in help that suggests actions to return the necessary information.

    The program runs a deep scan on devices. The user can select a specific disk for analysis. Found files display their format, status and size. To “reanimate” you only need one click.

    The multilingual utility also offers complete removal of marked items.

    7-Data Recovery Suite Application

    7-Data Recovery Suite It is small in size and multi-functional. With its help, you can return accidentally or intentionally deleted data from flash cards, hard drives, etc.

    This is a full-fledged tool that saves you in the most hopeless situations. It works even when the media is damaged or formatted. Suitable for devices running the Android operating system.

    The free version offers data recovery up to 1 GB. The main advantage is the ability to view the item before restoring it. Using the utility is easy - it has an intuitive interface.

    Wise Data Recovery

    Wise Data Recovery- software for recovering lost or deleted files on your computer. Takes up little space on the hard drive, works quickly and efficiently.

    The menu offers a choice of media for deep scanning. A detailed search includes key phrases and other important characteristics. Works with videos, music, photos, text files and even email data. mail.

    The optimized algorithm ensures fast results. The application determines the status of the files and provides the user with a full report on the work done.

    Transcend RecoveRx Program

    Transcend Recoverx- excellent software for file recovery. This is an indispensable program for users who are afraid of losing or accidentally deleting an important file from their device.

    It supports various types of media, including flash cards, USB, hard drives and many others. Unique technology provides effective search for all important photos, documents, videos and music files.

    A distinctive feature is the formatting and creation of data protection for SD cards and CompactFlash. This allows you to maximize the security of confidential information.

    R.Saver application

    R.Saver- a free utility that helps you quickly find and recover deleted files. Supports FAT and NTFS file systems. Works even with formatted media.

    The intuitive interface is inviting. To start scanning you only need to press one button. The user can customize the program. After that, it starts the reconstruction of the damaged file system and restores the data it needs.

    An important advantage is portability. No installation required. All work is based on sequential algorithms. The software itself is able to select settings for scanning.

    Undelete 360

    Undelete 360- reliable photo recovery program. The free utility works stably and quickly. The multilingual interface is simple and user-friendly.

    After installation, you can run a system scan and, if the search is successful, begin recovery. Works with almost all media.

    The search produces results as a list in which the user can find the required element. For complete comfort, each of them is accompanied by complete information. For a more effective result, it is possible to use the “Filter” option.

    After you have recovered all the necessary information, we recommend burning it to disk using free ones.

    Flash drives and SD memory cards are capacious, cheap and convenient devices for storing information. The flash drive may contain data of particular importance: confidential information, logins and passwords for accessing wallets and bank accounts. Also, a USB Flash drive is used as a key for access and authorization to operating systems, services, and programs.

    As a result of a simple mistake (or simple carelessness), it is easy to lose valuable information on a flash drive. Most often, information loss occurs due to a damaged file structure. In some situations, deletion is truly irreversible, but in other cases, restoring a flash drive is possible. This is what we will try to do ourselves – programmatically.

    This review presents programs that will help with. Each application has strengths and weaknesses, we will definitely list them.

    How the programs were tested

    To test the programs, we used a 7.29 GB USB flash drive with the FAT32 file system. The following files were copied to it:

    We cleared the flash drive of files as it would look in reality. For this we:

    1. deleted files on a flash drive bypassing the trash (Shift + Del)
    2. performed a quick format (with the Clear table of contents option).
    3. a video file of 1.1 GB in size was recorded over the deleted information.

    Choosing the best program to recover deleted files

    Reconstruction applications are good because they skip service information on the flash drive and access memory directly. As a rule, it is possible to extract, if not all, then at least some data from the device’s memory that will be suitable for further work. As a result of manipulations, using special programs, we will recover the data contained on the flash drive. The important thing is that the flash drive will work absolutely correctly after the data resuscitation procedure.

    There are countless programs for recovering files on a flash drive. Many of them are universal: they work with hard drives, system partitions, and are suitable for restoring specific file formats

    I suggest you familiarize yourself with programs that work with mobile storage devices - USB flash and SD memory cards.

    Unformat - a program for recovering data from a flash drive with many settings

    File recovery in Unformat

    Scanning deleted partitions on the flash drive took about 20 minutes. Further scanning of the partition after opening the partition takes about the same amount of time. Saving files also takes several minutes.

    The Unformat program determines the deleted partitions, the file system type, the quality of the results, the first and last sector of the partition. All information about the process can be tracked through the log.

    Files sorted by file type are available in the files detected by signatures section. At the same time, file types may not match extensions and they must be changed manually.

    As a result, the Unformat program detected all photos in jpg format. After formatting and rewriting, all data was preserved, including exif information. But the file names were deleted. Video and audio files could not be found in Unformat.

    In this video I show how to recover information from a flash drive using basic Unformat settings:

    CardRecovery is a specialized program for recovering files from a flash drive

    The CardRecovery program fits naturally into the review, since the list of supported devices includes USB flash drives and portable drives. It will help you recover files in such deletion scenarios as accidental formatting, damage to the file system of a flash drive, and memory card damage.

    In fact, this product has not been updated for a long time; the latest version - 6.10 - was released several years ago. However, CardRecovery works without problems on Windows 10.

    Restoring other information from a USB flash drive (archives, documents), unfortunately, is not available. For this reason, the CardRecovery utility will be more useful to owners of photo and video cameras who have lost information on a memory card or flash drive.

    The cost of the program is low; a license for 1 user costs $39.95 USD.

    Recovering files in CardRecovery

    To recover data on a flash drive, we followed these steps:

    1. Selected the Removable Devices list, as a storage device, usb flash.
    2. Specified file types for scanning on a flash drive. CardRecovery has limits on file extensions, mainly multimedia file types - photos, audio and video.

    The scan results are displayed as “file name - properties”. Exif information can be easily extracted from photos. At one of the steps (Step 3) you can see a preview. In this regard, CardRecovery is perhaps the most convenient program.

    The preview is not available for video: you can see it only after purchasing the full version.

    CardRecovery recovered all the images on the flash drive, just like Unformat. Many media files were restored in a damaged form with no chance of recovery (apparently, this is information that was contained on the flash drive for a very long time and was overwritten many times).

    PhotoRec - recovering photos from a flash drive

    Recovering files in PhotoRec

    PhotoRec saves the result to the specified folder as it is restored.

    The scanning took about 10 minutes: which is quite fast considering that the results are identical to Unformat. The program recovered not only photos, but also videos, and not only those that were deleted from the flash drive after formatting, but also files that were recorded and deleted before the test. Apparently, this place on the flash drive was not overwritten, so the videos, each 1 GB in size, were restored with virtually no damage.

    One of the disadvantages is that PhotoRec does not have a save option. All files are saved in a heap in the specified folder, preview is not available. Information about where the files were deleted from is also not available.

    Recuva program - free data recovery from a flash drive

    Recuva is a universal program; you can use it to recover from USB flash drives, SD cards, hdd and ssd. Its tools are free, and you don't have to buy a license to bypass limits like other recovery programs. When restoring the flash drive, at the last stage, the window with the requirement to pay for the full version does not appear.

    Recovery from a USB flash drive in Recuva

    If the flash drive is in very poor condition, you can create an image and enable signature search. Depending on the degree of damage, files are color coded. Previews are available for media files.

    How to recover information on a flash drive in Recuva

    1. Having connected the flash drive, we opened Recuva Wizard, selected file types and storage media (usb flash drive).
    2. We also enabled the Deep Scan option to avoid missing damaged or overwritten files.

    Overall, the recovery took about 20 minutes. If the USB flash drive is more than 64 GB, be prepared that scanning will take even longer. However, Recuva works faster than other programs, such as Unformat.

    Conveniently, Recuva Wizard has a preview, which is especially convenient when working with photos, if you only need specific files

    In general, everything is done in a few clicks, but you have to pay for it in that there is no way to select a partition for recovery and there is no sorting by signatures.

    File Scavenger – a program for recovering files on a flash drive

    The list of problems solved with File Scavenger is impressive:

    • Recovering files deleted from a USB flash drive
    • Recovering data after accidentally formatting a flash drive
    • Fixing a damaged flash drive
    • The flash drive is not detected in Disk Management
    • The flash drive is "reset" to factory settings

    Files can be recovered from hard drives, memory cards, RAID arrays, etc. Recovers data from most file systems (including NTFS, FAT 32/16/12, exFAT, ReFS) and virtual disks (VMFS, VMDK, VHD and VHDX).

    The program works without installation (the corresponding option can be selected when starting File Scavenger).

    File Scavenger is regularly updated; the latest version of the program for Windows 10 and Server 2012, in 64- and 32-bit editions, is available on the developer’s website.

    Please note that in demo mode, File Scavenger allows you to test the functionality; Saving recovered files without purchasing a license is not possible. The cost of File Scavenger Standard Edition is $57.00, Professional Edition is $195.

    Recovering files in File Scavenger

    To recover files from a flash drive you need:

    1. Select a USB flash drive from the list of devices,
    2. Specify scanning mode quick or long
    3. Press the Scan button.
    4. At the end of the scan, a table with the data found on the flash drive will be displayed.
    5. For each file, the status (probability of information recovery), modification date, size and other information useful when recovering from a flash drive are indicated.

    File Scavenger also displays the partition, folder where the files were deleted. The Status column does not always display real information. For some files that Recuva identified as recoverable, the information is not available here.

    The program has very few scanning settings; the interface is quite inconvenient, although simple. Files can be displayed as a file tree, plus a preview is available. You can select all files or only specified types (files are sorted by signature) through the Save to tab.

    Verdict. USB flash drive recovery programs - which one is better?

    The results showed that the programs participating in the review showed approximately the same results. In fact, the likelihood of recovering data on a flash drive largely depends on what actions were performed on the USB drive after deleting the data.

    So the main difference between the programs is the cost of the license and the convenience of the interface.

    Answers to readers' questions

    I have the "auto call recording" feature enabled. When I deleted records selectively yesterday, at some point I clicked “delete all.” But I don’t need everything, there are records that I need. What to do? How to restore them?

    Answer. Any of the above file recovery programs (Recuva, Recover My Files, CardRecovery and other utilities) allow you to recover audio recordings, say, on a flash drive. The data may not be recorded on a USB flash drive, it does not matter. Simply specify the source for scanning deleted files, then view the results found and select the files that are most similar to audio recordings (you can tell by the file extension) to return.

    Suddenly all the files (photos, music, etc.) appeared on the flash card, but the folders that I created remained. There was no rewriting, no formatting was done. Very strange situation, what could it be? I would like to believe that data recovery from a flash drive is still possible...

    Answer. All the programs listed here (CardRecovery, PhotoRec, Recover My Files and Recuva) are equally effective at recovering data from a flash drive. Read the review and choose the utility that will meet your criteria.

    You can find out directly how to recover information from a flash drive by selecting the desired section on our website in the main menu. Video instructions are available for some applications.

    I deleted the information from the flash drive (the rar archive in the archive contains word, pdf and dwg files) and completely recorded the rar archive with pdf files on top. Is it possible to restore previous information on a flash drive?

    Answer. If there was still free space on the flash drive before overwriting, there is a chance to recover the information. In fact, they are always there, but if there was no space and you deleted files precisely for this reason, the likelihood decreases. Any program for recovering deleted files from a flash drive, for example, Undelete 360, Recuva or Unformat, will help you.

    If you accidentally quickly formatted a partition of your hard drive or flash drive, then it’s okay: the information can be restored using special programs. Deleted data will be returned with a 99% probability if you choose the right utility and do everything according to the instructions.

    Recovery rules

    For data recovery to be successful, you must comply with the main requirement - do not write new information to the media from which files have been deleted. Deleted data is not destroyed without a trace - only information about it in the file table is overwritten.

    Important: Do not save recovered data on a disk from which it was previously deleted. Use a removable disk or another hard drive partition.

    Formatted data can be restored only if quick formatting (by headers) was used. After deep marking, it is almost impossible to return information at home.

    Using Recuva

    First, try recovering files after formatting your system using the free Recuva program. As tests show, this utility returns more than 80% of files after formatting the system or removable drive.

    A list of files found after formatting the system will appear. Deleted data, which is marked with a green circle, can be restored without problems - they are fully functional. If the file is marked yellow or red, then it will not be possible to return it: when formatting the system, the data was damaged.

    Other free programs

    Recuva does not find all erased data, so sometimes it becomes necessary to use other programs. So that you do not get confused among the variety of software, the description of which states that it returns deleted information after formatting the system, we will highlight two proven utilities - MiniTool Power Data Recovery and /TestDisk.

    The first program is shareware - you can save no more than 1024 MB at a time. If the deleted data takes up a smaller volume, then there will be no problems with returning it. The second utility is completely free and recovers any amount of information.

    Working with MiniTool Power Data Recovery:


    If the capabilities of MiniTool Power Data Recovery are not enough for you, use the PhotoRec/TestDisk utility, with which you can recover files in almost any situation: after partitioning, in case of a file system failure, etc. There is one procedure for all problems:

    1. Launch the program and select the disk you will work with.
    2. Specify a formatted partition or removable drive. Click "Search".
    3. Select the "Other" file system.
    4. Start scanning mode "Free".
    5. Use the arrows to select the folder where you want to restore the files and press "C".

    The data will be saved to the directory you specified. The files may change name, but there should be no problems running them.

    Greetings everyone Khabrovchan!

    Imagine a situation where at one point your hard drive/flash drive/memory card stops working normally, and you can no longer access data in the usual way. For those who do not make backups, this is a difficult, nervous time. In a panic, people begin to look for data recovery programs and find them. Most of them are free, which cannot but please people in our difficult times. But do all free programs recover data so effectively? We ran a couple of tests on several popular programs, and this is what we came up with.

    Attention! Lots of screenshots.

    Briefly about the tests

    To conduct tests, we took five absolutely identical Transcend JetFlash 370 flash drives with a capacity of 8 GB. They were all purchased on the same day in the same place, the file system is the same, the main components (controller, memory chip) are also the same. Five absolutely identical flash drives. We recorded data on each of the flash drives. The choice fell on photographs/pictures in .jpg format. The choice of photography was not accidental: the descriptions of some tested programs indicate that “special” algorithms will work when restoring photographs. Also, in most cases, photos are stored on memory cards, and our tests will be useful for beginners and professional photographers.

    The directory structure was as follows:

    Total number of files - 1671

    All data takes up a little less than a quarter of the free disk space

    All programs were installed on one computer. OS Windows 7 Professional x64. The programs were tested one by one in turn. For each program there was a separate drive with a simulated problem.

    Test one. File system crash.

    The first, quite common situation is a file system failure. With such a failure, as a rule, the drive asks for formatting. We simulated this situation as follows: on each drive we erased everything up to the beginning of the FAT tables

    We deliberately left the FAT tables untouched because some of the programs indicate the ability to analyze the found FAT tables. It is clear that when connecting to a computer, a window immediately appeared asking to format the disk.

    1.Recuva

    Recuva has a built-in wizard that helps the user correctly start the data recovery process



    Choosing our drive

    Turn on “In-Depth Analysis”. It’s not entirely clear what this is, but we’re doing our best to get our data back.

    And then we get this message:

    Advanced mode didn't help. The program didn't even start searching for our files.
    Test failed. Restoration result - 0.

    This program also has a wizard, but of a slightly different type

    By selecting the second item, we get the following window:

    This is obvious. After all, we were grinding real data with zeros.
    The following window shows which damaged partitions are available for scanning

    Select it and the following window appears

    The default parameters are those that provide a search across the entire drive: from the minimum to the maximum value.
    Applying these parameters in the window with logical drives, we get several new lines in the program

    By selecting each of the last three and clicking the “Preview” button, we find the section we need:

    Open it and see the entire directory structure

    All data opens correctly, all files and directories are in place.
    Test passed. Result 99%. (I don't like absolute values)

    3. Pandora Recovery

    The only program that requires an Internet connection during installation.
    There is also a master

    But everything quickly ends when we try to select the device we need.

    Test failed. The recovery result is 0.

    4. RS FAT Recovery

    This program, like others, has a wizard that will definitely help you get started.

    Select the maximum allowable search

    After starting the search, a window appears with a progress bar, which helps guide the user through the recovery process

    As a result, we get a complete directory structure, if not for one BUT

    To save the data in its original form, registration of the program is required. Otherwise, each photo will have a background with a message about the unregistered version of the program.

    However, the test passed successfully. The recovery result is 99%.

    Perhaps the only program that does not have a wizard. The minus is small, because... by simply searching in a few clicks the user will find the desired button

    By pressing the “Open” key, we automatically get a full result, if not for one thing BUT

    The free version of the program has a limit on saving recovered data. It is 1024 MB. There is no preview, which is not very convenient. But the test is passed. The recovery result is 99%.

    Subtotals

    Only three out of five programs completed the task. This:

    2. PC INSPECTOR File Recovery
    4. RS FAT Recovery
    5. MiniTool Power Data Recovery

    At the same time, the program won an absolute victory 2. PC INSPECTOR File Recovery, because in the free version it allows you to get good results without restrictions and unnecessary actions.

    Test two. Quick formatting

    Now let’s try to put ourselves in the shoes of a person who doesn’t know what formatting is or simply presses the Enter key in any incomprehensible situation until the incomprehensible windows disappear. The windows disappeared, as did the data itself. By default, Windows uses Quick Format.

    We also formatted the drives and ran each program again. Let me remind you that 1671 jpeg photographs and pictures were previously recorded on the drives.

    1.Recuva

    This time, using the wizard, we launched the program without any problems, and the scanning process began

    After some time, the result was obtained - 1390 whole files.

    2. PC INSPECTOR File Recovery

    The search was started with default parameters

    The result was obtained, but upon detailed analysis it was clear that most of the files were damaged, only a few files with a minimum size were intact.

    3. Pandora Recovery

    Like Recuva, Pandora Recovery launched without any problems. The search for lost data has begun

    But at some point an error occurs. We tried various launch options (both as an administrator, and in compatibility mode, etc.), but the error does not disappear. From the preview you can see that real files were found, but there is no way to save them.

    The test is considered failed. The recovery result is 0%.

    4. RS FAT Recovery

    In this program, using a wizard, we started searching for our files.

    We got the result: 1575 whole.jpg photos and 92 .bmp. In total there are 1667 files.

    5. MiniTool Power Data Recovery

    In this program, as in others, the scanning process was started.

    The program reported that it found 1668 files.

    We were unable to verify this. Let me remind you that in the free version you can only save 1024 MB of recovered data. Having saved ten photographs, we discovered that they were all intact. We will conditionally consider the test passed, and recovery result - 99%.

    Bottom line

    In the second test, the leadership, in my opinion, belongs to 1.Recuva. The general picture looks like this:

    Based on the results of two tests, it is impossible to clearly determine the best free data recovery program. For each type of problem you need to use one or another program. However, data in case of “logical” problems can be recovered using such free programs. By the way, after formatting, we recorded another 2 GB of new data on these flash drives, and

    Recovering files from a hard drive is an issue that worries many personal computer owners.

    This includes the loss of valuable information and the time required for its successful recovery.

    Specialized services charge a lot of money for this, but if the media is in good condition, it makes sense to try to recover the data yourself.

    Reasons for losing information

    If the storage medium is undamaged, the main reason may be:

    • errors that occurred in the partition table or file system devices. Most often this happens due to incorrect shutdown of the personal computer, failures, malfunctions in hardware and software;
    • the harmful effects of viruses, as well as user errors, often lead to the loss or corruption of data. With such failures, the information usually remains on the disk, but data about its location is lost. This is expressed in the loss of several disk partitions, displaying the partition as unformatted;
    • Inaccurate file system entries can also lead to partial or complete loss of individual files and directories.

    The main causes of malfunctions that lead to loss of information

    Or maybe files, important data were accidentally deleted or the partition in which they were located was formatted. Information recovery is carried out using certain software in manual or automatic mode.

    When using the appropriate programs, all information that exists on the media is scanned. Based on the detected information, a “map” of fragments of recovered data is created. It contains information: which file belongs to which sector, names, sizes and other parameters of the elements of the system being scanned. The selected data is then transferred to another drive.

    What to do if data is lost?

    If nothing was written to the sectors from which information was deleted, then the data was not physically destroyed, but information about its location was distorted or lost. First of all, it is necessary to determine exactly where the sectors that store the necessary information are located, and also to reproduce it in the correct sequence.

    If information was written to the disk from which the files were deleted, for example, formatting and installation of a new operating system, there is a high probability of physical destruction of the data. In these cases, the feasibility of successful information recovery depends on the ratio of lost and recorded data. For example, if you delete 2 gigabytes of databases and write 100 gigabytes of music and movies in their place, the probability of successful recovery approaches zero.

    Data recovery mechanism using programs

    • media scanning;
    • Based on the scanning results, a map of the location of pieces of information is compiled, based on the detected service records, and a directory tree is built;
    • the map contains data about which file belongs to which cluster, the name, size and other parameters of the file system elements;
    • if the information received is not enough, then certain extrapolation methods are used;
    • folders and files that need to be recovered are selected in accordance with the compiled map and transferred to another medium.

    This article will review a variety of programs, both paid and free, and analyze their strengths and weaknesses so that the reader can quickly choose the most suitable software for his request.

    5 Best Data Recovery Software

    Recuva

    Recuva is one of the most common programs for recovering lost data or formatted disks. The high demand for this program can be explained by its simple and intuitive interface. Recuva does not require experience or special knowledge in the field of data recovery, it is very convenient and easy to use. You can download it from here

    The program scans the selected hard drive in detail (various hard drives and flash drives are supported). Information can be recovered even if the drive has suffered any physical damage or was formatted using a standard system command.

    It is recommended to perform recovery using the program without changing the standard settings, unless, of course, you are an expert in the field of data recovery. This utility has a simple interface and will provide effective information recovery, even if the user does not have the necessary knowledge.

    The program will prompt you to select the type of file to be restored. When searching for a specific file (music, picture, document), it is worth specifying the category to save time necessary for the recovery operation. But, if you do not know the file type or want to find data from different categories, specify “Other” and the program will search for all deleted information.

    Choosing WHAT to look for

    Next, you need to select the location where the file was located before deletion. You can select not only a separate folder, but also more extensive areas, for example: “My Documents” or “On a memory card”, and the program will check the selected area for the presence of the necessary data. If the exact location is unknown (the file was deleted using special programs or simply disappeared), you should leave “Exactly unknown” by default so that the utility scans the entire surface of the media.

    We choose WHERE we will look

    A window appears when you are ready to perform the restore operation. It is recommended to conduct an in-depth analysis: it takes longer, but its efficiency will be many times higher.

    It is worth waiting a while while the program searches for files. If you did not choose in-depth analysis, the operation will take very little time.

    Selecting information to restore

    A window will open indicating the deleted data found. From this list, you should select the information that needs to be restored, after which the program will prompt you to select a folder for recovery.

    It is important to correctly select the folder where our files will be restored, because this will affect the efficiency of their recovery. Restoration should be carried out to a drive other than the one from which the recovery is being carried out. This is especially true when returning a large number of files. You can connect an additional hard drive or flash drive to return data to them. The space should be slightly larger than the size of the files being restored.

    The recovery procedure will not take much time and depends on the number and size of files.

    R-Studio

    R-Studio is a convenient and functional program for recovering information from various drives that was deleted by mistake. With its help, you can scan various media and recover lost data not only from hard drives, but also from flash drives. You can download the utility from the website http://www.r-studio.com/ru/Data_Recovery_Download

    Initially, you should decide on the choice of version: demo or full. If you do not perform data recovery on a regular basis, it is better to choose the demo version. A 20-day period is more than enough to restore all information.

    If you are not a pro, it is better to use the demo version

    In addition to recovery, the utility can also perform a preliminary scan. This operation will speed up and increase the efficiency of the recovery procedure. It is worth noting that you can scan the device with third-party programs, and upload a file with a report on the work done to R-Studio. The utility always conducts a detailed scan by sector. This may take some time, depending on the size of the partition being scanned.

    We scan the selected partition

    After the scan is completed, it will be possible to view all the files that it was able to detect and then select those that can be restored. In order to restore a file, you need to right-click on it and select the “Recover” command.

    R-Studio is convenient and multifunctional

    If you don’t know exactly what was deleted from the device, and you are going to recover all lost files, in this case, right-click on the desired media and select “Recover all files.”

    At the end, simply select the partition where to restore

    At the end, you will need to select a folder where the seized information will be restored. Important! It is imperative to take into account that the folder should not be located on the hard drive from which the information will be returned, because during the recovery of some files, others may be completely overwritten by them.

    After selecting a folder, you need to wait while the program diagnoses the drive and restores lost information.

    Easy Recovery

    Easy Recovery can safely be called a high-quality program for professionals, which can be mastered by an ordinary user. It has gained popularity due to its excellent efficiency and, at the same time, ease of use in comparison with similar utilities. The advantage of this program is that it can also perform preliminary diagnostics of the media. Download the program

    Click on “Disc Diagnostic” and select the required command. If the utility was downloaded in order to recover data, then we conduct a deep scan “SmartTests”. In addition to scanning, the program will perform diagnostics and determine whether the hard drive has problems, for example, unreadable sectors or any others, in order to prevent troubles.

    Diagnostic menu

    After selecting the command, the type and number of media that are currently running on the device are determined. We choose which one we will work with and where to restore the information.

    For the most accurate and complete diagnostics, select “Run extended SMART test”. First of all, you should be patient: the verification will take a lot of time.

    Be patient and choose scanning

    To restore files, go to the “Data Recovery” section and select the mode that is interesting to us. In this program, modes are selected depending on the specific situation.

    For example, if you accidentally formatted your hard drive, select the “Format Recovery” category. Next, select the file system of the drive and the partition that was formatted.

    If there is a need to recover deleted files, then select the “Deleted Recovery” function - the disk selection menu opens and the formats of the recovered files are determined.

    Recovering lost files

    If the data is lost as a result of a software failure or the reason for the loss is unknown, select the “Advanced Recovery” option. After scanning, the program will find information that was deleted within a certain period of time.

    We choose what we need to restore. Typically, the diagnostic and recovery procedure does not take much time. This will depend on the amount of data that needs to be returned.

    PhotoRescue Pro

    PhotoRescue Pro is a utility that will help you recover deleted photos or videos. Today's digital devices provide ample opportunities for recording, dubbing and optimizing media files. If you accidentally deleted the necessary files from a digital gadget, this utility will solve this problem.

    With this program you can recover data from any type of flash drive, hard drive or mobile phone. It is possible to recover data even from damaged and formatted media.

    Working with PhotoRescue Pro is very convenient and accessible. You can download it from here. The program supports many languages, including Russian. After selecting the language, a window appears in which we click the “Next” button and the registration window appears. If you just want to recover a few photos, there is no point in registering the program, but if you constantly work with the camera and this problem occurs to you quite often, it is worth purchasing the full version.

    First, we select the drive from which we will return information. The utility works with several file systems at once, which is very beneficial. Click “Next”.

    Analyzing the content

    After selecting the drive we need, click “Next”, wait a couple of seconds - the utility will check the partition we have selected. A list of folders is displayed, we need to select the one that interests us. If the location of the file is unknown, click on the checkmark at the very top to highlight all the data found. "Next"

    Select the desired folder

    We select the formats of the files that interest us. To avoid mistakes, it is better not to uncheck individual formats so that the utility can find as much information as possible. Next, select the required files. Click “Next”.

    Select the desired folder

    Once you have completed selecting formats, the scanning operation will begin. The verification time will depend on the volume of data and will take from several minutes to a couple of hours.

    Scan duration depends on data size

    The advantage of the program over analogues is that it simultaneously checks the drive for the presence of unreadable sectors. Thanks to this, you can not only restore lost information, but also carry out diagnostics and troubleshooting.

    All that remains is to restore the data

    After scanning is completed, a list of files opens. It is possible to search for files by categories (video, photo, audio) and formats, and not by sections and various folders.

    The program shows how much data was found and what was deleted. Thanks to this, you will quickly find out which files were found and which were irretrievably lost.

    GetDataBack

    GetDataBack is one of the most effective and most powerful. With its help, you can recover data in almost any situation. The developer divided the program into two subtypes: the first for the NTFS file system, and the second for FAT. Download it from here: https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

    We recover all deleted files for effective results

    This utility must be installed on a foreign hard drive. You cannot restore to the media from which files will be restored, since the necessary information will be overwritten.

    After opening the program, a menu of four items appears. For maximum efficiency, it is recommended to select the fourth option – “I want to recover deleted files” (I want to recover deleted data).

    Select the required section

    In the list of local drives that opens, which the utility will find while scanning the hard drive, you need to find the partition where the deleted files were located. The program provides many possibilities in the field of data recovery, but if you just want to return information from the drive and do not know where it was, you should select the “Physical drives” category.

    A file system window opens and you need to select the one that is supported by this version of the program (in our case, NTFS). Modern computers use different file systems simultaneously, so check the box next to “Show recommended”.

    Select the file system we are interested in

    After a detailed scan, the utility will open a folder explorer, simple and easy to understand. The contents of the selected folder will be displayed on the right; if the information was deleted, after recovery GetDataBack will show the files in strikethrough font for easier classification. Each file is equipped with a special marking, with which you can determine the type of information found.

    Data recovery is easy and convenient

    As a result, we select the data we need and start the recovery. Once finished, the recovered file will be available in the editor

    Restoring files using this program in the FAT file system is carried out in the same way.

    Conclusion

    This article discussed, in my opinion, the most popular and effective programs for recovering deleted data from a hard drive and various media. For beginners, the popular Recuva with a simple interface is suitable; if you lose media files, you should choose PhotoRescue Pro, it can recover data from almost any modern gadget; for constant work with returning information, GetDataBack is ideal - it has powerful functionality, is efficient and at the same time has an ergonomic main menu.

    If for some reason you were unable to recover your data, but the information is valuable, it makes sense to contact specialists. They have more powerful software and can help where these utilities are powerless.

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