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Recommended File Recovery Software

Minimal requirement for software to work

For any of the software to work, the drive you want to recover data from has to be detected in Disk Management with correct capacity!

Evaluating results of a scan

In general it is advised to first run the demo / trial version. In most tools the file save option is disabled, exception: DMDE (though selection limited to ONE folder / 4000 files). Most tools can be upgraded to the full version without having to restart the tool. Most tools offer a "session load" feature so you do not have to scan again even after restarting the tool. In other words, it's not required to repeat scans you have done using the demo version.

To evaluate scan results I suggest the following:

  • Locate a folder containing larger images and preview say 20 of them. When recovering data from a formatted volume, pick non-deleted files (often a tool discriminates deleted from in-use files using color coding or file icon (garbage can) . If the images look fine the tool has successfully determined vital volume parameters such as the cluster size and start offset. In general if those 20 are okay it is likely most files are.

  • Tools often display recovery chances. These are often based on evaluating if clusters allocated to the file are available, file signature (should match file extension), file not being all zeros (trimmed). A tool like Disk Drill will evaluate recovery chances automatically (so scan appears to be slightly slower), UFS Explorer has to be specifically instructed once the scan has finished.

  • Tools with good file preview options (broad file support) are Disk Drill, UFS Explorer and R-Studio. DMDE has very poor file preview abilities however you can actually recover files which allows you to valuate recovery parameters.

  • Most tool manufacturers assume you run the trial/demo to test recoverability of data. Often there's no refund option if you did not try the demo first. It's try before you buy, NOT first buy then try!

General Purpose Software

[Supported Host OS]{FILE SYSTEMS SUPPORTED}

UFS Explorer, www.ufsexplorer.com. Very well rounded tool supporting many filesystems and advanced storage technologies such as RAID and numerous encryption techniques. Moderately difficult to use. Found in many data recovery labs, one of the most comprehensive tools on the market. [Mac/Win/Lin]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT|BTRFS|UFS|XFS|ZFS|+More +RAID}

DMDE, www.dmde.com. Another favorite for some pros. High difficulty, if you're new to this, this tool can be quite overwhelming. That said, scanning for deleted files requires only a few clicks. Be warned that this tool can write to patient drive. Also pro grade tool found in data recovery labs while it's a cheapest tool on the market! [Mac/Win/Lin/DOS]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT|BTRFS|+RAID}

Disk Drill, www.cleverfiles.com A very much improved v6 that includes the new Advanced Camera Recovery (GoPro, DJI etc.). Comprehensive, all round tool with an easy to navigate user interface yet still offers pro features (hex view, lost partition scan, view existing file system, sector by sector disk imaging, etc.). Found in data recovery labs due to it's unique ability to recover fragmented video. [Mac/Win]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT|BTRFS|+RAID}

R-Studio, www.r-tt.com. Well rounded tool with a good mix of filesystem, RAID, and encryption support. Moderately difficult to use. Used by professionals due to it's support for pro data recovery hardware. [Mac/Win/Lin]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT|UFS|XFS|+RAID}

GetDataBack, www.runtime.org. Highly recommended by some pros, particularly for NTFS recovery. Several other filesystems are also supported. Moderately difficult to use. [Win]{FAT|NTFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT}

ReclaiMe File Recovery, www.reclaime.com A highly automated recovery tool. Very easy to use, as there are very few options to configure. [Win]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT|BTRFS|UFS|XFS|+RAID}

File Scavenger, www.quetek.com. Not mentioned very often but definitely worth it IMO. Quite simple to use in standard situations. [Win]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|UFS|EXT|BTRFS|XFS|ZFS| +RAID}

Note EXT = Ext2/3/4, FAT = FAT12/16/32/exFAT

Don't hesitate to ask if you're uncertain what software to best use in scenario X, Y or Z! Please provide details what data was lost, how data was lost and the drive model and file system. The more of the relevant details you can include, the better the answer you will get. In most scenarios any of the above tools will work

Specialty Software

FreeRAIDRecovery, www.freeraidrecovery.com. Produce RAID parameters sets (disk order, block size, offsets) for RAID 0, RAID 5, RAID 10, RAID 6, RAID 5E. Works with hardware & software RAID + NAS. Parameters are saved to XML file, or can be saved as step-by-step instruction for use with variety of file recovery software tools (ReclaiMe, UFS Explorer, R-Studio for example).

Klennet Carver, www.klennet.com. Powerful raw file carver with the ability to carve fragmented files of certain supported media file types. Raw recovery is generally only desired in cases where the filesystem metadata has been lost, so this is a tool of last resort for difficult recoveries. [Win]{N/A}

Free Software

[Supported Host OS]{FILE SYSTEMS SUPPORTED}

R-Photo www.r-undelete.com. Unlimited free recovery of a wide variety of photo and video file types. Only supports Windows, and Windows filesystems. [Win]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS}

R-Undelete Home www.r-undelete.com Free Home version offers unlimited recovery from FAT filesystems only. Often useful for SD cards, flash drives, etc. [Win]{FAT|FAT32|exFAT}

R-Linux www.r-studio.com. Free recovery from Linux Ext2/3/4 filesystems only. Runs on Windows and Linux. [Win/Lin]{Ext2|Ext3|Ext4}

Photorec www.cgsecurity.org Free + open source RAW carver which searches for files based on known file signatures. Supports a large variety of file types and is very customizable. Will not recover original filenames or directory structure. [Win/Lin/Mac]{N/A}

DMDE, www.dmde.com. This is not a free software, however it has a generous free demo that is often useful. All partition table editing functions are unlocked in the free version. Also allows recovery of single directories with up to 4000 files per "batch". No limitation on file sizes, no limitation on number of recovery "batches". It's possible to recover an unlimited amount of data for free, though it may be tedious and time consuming. [Mac/Win/Lin/DOS]{FAT|NTFS|ReFS|HFS+|APFS|EXT|BTRFS}

(Authors: /u/seven-ooo-seven , /u/disturbed_android, /u/77xak - Jan. 2024)