Compilation of data recovery programs

Data recovery is a complicated process, the success of which depends on the number of disk overwrites between deleting a file and starting the recovery process. Therefore, the earlier you decide to get your files back, the better your chances of success.

Information recovery programs are called recovers. There are utilities designed to recover data from external media and those that help you get back files on your computer that have been deleted from the recycle garbage can or «past the recycle garbage can». Some of the programs are designed to work with working media that are in good working order, while others are designed to help when it fails. You can use paid, powerful and feature-rich ones, or free ones, for one-time recovery of small files.

Universal Recovers

Recuva

The most famous program for recovering files from computers and removable media is Recuva. The utility supports all versions of Windows older than 98. In addition to its user-friendly interface and wide range of features, it is important to note that the program is free. On the developer's official website, the program is available in two variants — the usual installer and Recuva Portable, which doesn’t require installation on your computer.

Pandora Recovery

Another handy free utility is Pandora Recovery. It supports data recovery from NTFS and FAT file systems. Users choose it for its ability to preview text files and images before starting recovery. With this program you can recover various types of files (including archived and compressed files).

R.Saver

Simple file recovery program with support for various file systems on Windows, Apple Mac and Linux. You can recover data after deletion and formatting. There is no Ukrainian language interface.

Recovering data from hard disks

PC INSPECTOR File Recovery

The utility recovers information from various types of drives and allows you to organize interaction with network drives. Also, unlike most similar programs, it can recover files that were not referenced in the directory.

Hetman Partition Recovery

The program allows you to recover deleted data from hard drives and any other media in a few minutes. This easy-to-use utility supports all types of file systems used in Windows, MacOS, Linux and Unix. There is a Ukrainian-language interface.

Recovering data from removable media

Flash Memory Toolkit

This program is used not only to recover information from flash drives, but also to back them up and test them. Flash Memory Toolkit doesn’t work with operating systems older than Windows 2000. The utility allows you to scan the medium for malfunctions, check its performance, and perform a full formatting.

Transcend RecoveRx

This utility is designed to recover data from formatted thumb drives and memory cards. The recovery process takes three simple steps: from selecting a drive to viewing the recovered files.

F-Recovery SD

If you accidentally deleted data from your camera or phone with an SD card, this program is for you. It specializes in recovering photos, videos and audio from SD cards. The utility supports microSD, miniSD and standard cards recovery.

It is worth noting that none of the utilities doesn’t guarantee a 100% probability of recovery success. Don't count on the magic power of the program with which you want to get back a file you deleted six months ago. Remember that if you want to protect not only the files on your computer, but your system as a whole from loss, make regular backups.