Top 4 Data Recovery Softwares

Best Softwares to Retrieve Accidentally Deleted Files

We looked at four data recovery tools this month, but before diving into the software reviews, it’s important to note that no consumer-level tool can retrieve files from a drive that is physically damaged. You’ll need to call in the pros for that, as it requires special hardware and may not work no matter what is tried. We also should note that we created a folder full of different files that were deleted and emptied from the Recycle Bin before testing each program. The software we tested varied in the number of files it recovered, but they all retrieved our test files just fine.

Buying Tip:
Only use a data recovery product that has deep scan technology. This recovers all deleted files that haven’t been overwritten, even if they no longer have their names attached. Just be aware that running a deep scan on a drive with a lot of storage capacity may take hours depending on how fast the drive and your computer are.
Good data recovery software often finds thousands of deleted files, so having plenty of options to sift through them is also good. The ability to sort files by the last time they were accessed can save a lot of time, because often, you’re searching for things deleted recently. Sorting files by size is also handy, as many deleted files are tiny things leftover from Web browsing.
Being able to drop those to the bottom of the list is convenient.

CBL Pro-V 

CBL Pro-V is a powerful data recovery tool; scans take longer than is typical but are extremely thorough.
CBL PRO-V did an outstanding job of finding and recovering deleted files on all the drives we tested it on, and it is a great choice for experts who don’t need a lot of hand-holding or a slick interface.
Cost: $119.99
Company: CBL Data Recovery Technologies
Contact: (800) 551-3917
www.cbldatarecovery.com
Windows 95/ 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7

Filerecovery Professional 2011

This software has a straight-forward interface and lets you easily switch to a thumbnail view, which is perfect for recovering images or PDF files.
As with other commercial options, we recommend you try a free program first, but Filerecovery 2011 is a thorough and relatively simple option if you need more power than free options provide.
Cost: $99.95 for one-year
LC Technology
Contact: (866) 603-2195
www.lc-tech.com
Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/7

Pandora Recovery

Quick and deep scan options give you flexibility when you search for deleted files.
As long as you pay close attention during installation so software you don’t want is not installed, Pandora Recovery is a fast and easy solution for recovering files.
Cost: Free
Pandora Corp.
Contact: Online form
www.pandorarecovery.com
Windows XP/2000/ 2003/Vista/7

Recuva

Overall, Recuva is an easy-to-use program and comes with enough power and options that it should be the first choice for recovering files without spending any money. If it doesn’t work, consider one of the commercial options reviewed in this article.
Recuva is easy to use, has a terrific interface and provides thorough searches…

Cost: Free
Piriform
Contact: Online form
www.piriform.com
Windows XP/2000/Vista/7

Final Words:

Now that you know how easy it is to recover files you thought were gone forever, there may be files you don’t want anyone to find. Some data recovery tools come with a secure delete tool that overwrites recovered files of your choosing with random data, destroying them completely. Look for options that overwrite the data more than once for extra security, but know that doing so can take a lot of time.