To help you recover your deleted data, we have created this list of best data recovery softwares. Each software has its own unique features with different compatibility and performance. You can try multiple tools mentioned here (in hopes of recovering), if one tool doesn’t gets the job done.
Note: With the below mentioned tools you will not be able to recover data from SSD. On a SSD, the data is deleted completely to ensure it is faster to rewrite data. So, you are out of luck if you have a SSD. However, If you are using a HDD you still have chances of getting your data recovered. (For recovering data from SSD, there are some expensive methods for which you can take help from Google.)
List of Eight Best Data Recovery Software
01. Recuva
Recuva is created by the software developers Piriform, who are also responsible for the popular CCleaner PC cleaning tool. Just like other products, you should also expect attractive interface with high quality. Recuva has a built-in wizard (optional) that guides you through the steps of recovery every time you want to recover data.
You don’t have to do anything, just answer the questions the wizard asks, like data type, area to scan and type of scan, etc. and Recuva will handle rest. Although, normal scan is enough, but you can also deep scan (takes more time) to further increase the possibility of recovering data. You can recover data such as, Pictures, audio (mp3) , documents, videos, compressed files and emails from any storage device Windows can read such as digital camera, Hard disk drive, etc.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
02. Wise Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery tool is not one of the most feature rich or customizable software. It comes with a clean interface with very few options to tweak. This might make it a bit limited, but for a quick job, this tool is perfect.
All you need to do is launch the tool and select the drive which you would like to scan (removable drives included). The software will quickly scan (very quick as compared to many) the drive and show you all the data that can be recovered such as deleted photos, documents, videos, emails etc. It also comes with a portable version to keep it with you all the time.
This tool is best for people who want a quick and simple tool to recover data, but it may not be able to recover all the data like other tools can.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
03. Free Undelete
Free Undelete is another easy to use data recovery tool similar to Wise Data Recovery. It doesn’t offer any advanced options to customize what type of data you are looking for, all you need to do is scan a drive (removable as well) and see the results.
After scanning, the tool will show all the files that can be recovered, and even show whole deleted folders. You can just open up folders to recover data from them or just recover everything with a single click. You can recover, Images, music, documents, videos, emails (from email clients) and compressed files.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
04. Pandora Recovery
Pandora Recovery is a feature rich tool with tons of customization options and deep scanning capability. It doesn’t have as attractive interface as Recuva, but it is definitely more featured, rich and hand holding. Pandora recovery lets you recover FAT32 or NTFS file system. It also comes with a wizard to guide you through the process and let you choose how you want to scan.
You can scan a type of file, the whole drive or deep scan to look for all the files with most files recovered. You will also find helping tips to understand what each button do as soon as you need to use them. Recover data from removable storage devices is possible too.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
05. Glary Undelete
Glary Undelete is a simple and lightweight tool with limited features just like some other tools in this list. However, it has some really good filtering options, which you can use to easily find the required files. You only have the option to scan a drive (removable as well) and it will be a quick scan, not a deep one.
You will be quickly presented with all the data that can be recovered categorized by their extensions. Here, you can filter your search according to size, time, state of recovery and file name. Glary Undelete supports Supports FAT, NTFS, NTFS + EFS file systems. It also lets recovery of compressed or encrypted files.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1
07. UndeleteMyFiles Pro
UndeleteMyFiles Pro offers one of the most recovery features with some handy side features as well. You can separately search for media files or regular files, and if that’s not enough, you can also add filters to look for a specific file. For example, you can add filters to only search for specific file name, extension, size or attribute (like, hidden or read-only, etc.).
Apart from data recovery tools, you can also use “Files Wiper” tool to permanently delete a file or create a “Disk Image” to make sure no deleted files get overwritten by other data. The tool is also quite quick and scans deeply to recover all the files. We found almost twice more files as compared to some quick scan tools mentioned in this list.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and Mac OS X
08. Memory Card Recovery
Memory Card Recovery can Recovery from formatted/lost partition. It can also recover files from lost, formatted or deleted partitions. For this reason, even you lose the partition or erased partition, this data recovery software still can get data back. It can recover deleted/formatted data/files too.
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and Mac OS X
Finally, this list of best data recovery softwares can help you to find the pros and cons of every software and also helps you to test any of the software to find which is best suite to you.