Best File Recovery Software
File recovery, sometimes called file repair, software is used to retrieve or repair lost or damaged files. Traditional storage mechanisms do not completely erase files upon deletion; they simply reallocate that storage once new memory is required. File recovery software works by accessing the components of deleted files, reconnecting these components, and then saving them for future access. In the case of corrupted or damaged files, repair can be more complicated. But many of these tools also help users repair damaged information in the form of various file types.
To qualify for inclusion in the File Recovery category, a product must:
Best File Recovery Software At A Glance
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#1 Global Leader in Data Resilience We keep businesses worldwide up and running From secure backups to intelligent data insights, Veeam Data Platform is engineered to tackle the realities of t
Veeam Data Platform is a complex software solution designed for data backup and recovery across various environments including on-premises, virtualized, and cloud. Users like the platform's reliability, comprehensive features, fast and dependable backup and restore processes, and the confidence it provides in data protection. Users mentioned that the software's complexity can require a lot of research to understand, the initial setup and licensing model can be complex, and the platform can be resource-intensive.
51,579 Twitter followers
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a professional data recovery software for you to get what you have lost back simply. It is a handy and powerful tool for you to recover data in various situations, like
EaseUS Data Recovery is a software that provides a way to recover important data when traditional methods fail. Users frequently mention the software's intuitive interface, clear step-by-step workflow, and ability to preview and selectively restore files, along with its high success rate in real-world scenarios. Reviewers noted that the software can be expensive, the scanning process can be time-consuming, and there can be confusion between the Windows and Mac versions.
3,367 Twitter followers
Cove Data Protection, from N-able, is a cloud-first backup and disaster recovery service for servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365™, all managed from a multitenant web-based dashboard. Cove was
Cove Data Protection is a tool that helps to backup and recover servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365, and provides a centralized dashboard for management. Users frequently mention the ease of use, quick implementation, strong customer support, smooth integration with RMM tools, and the efficient data backup and restoration process. Reviewers experienced issues with limited advanced reporting, expensive pricing, slow large data recoveries, and a lack of notification settings, along with slow restoration dependent on a good internet connection.
15,895 Twitter followers
AvePoint is the global leader in data security, governance, and resilience, going beyond traditional solutions to ensure a robust data foundation and enable organizations everywhere to collaborate wit
AvePoint Confidence Platform is a data protection and management tool that offers backup, restore, governance, and compliance capabilities for cloud environments. Users frequently mention the platform's ease of use, reliable backup and restore process, comprehensive data governance, and the ability to manage everything through a single pane of glass as key benefits. Users reported issues such as the platform timing out too soon, difficulty in reinstating large files, complexity in initial setup and configuration, and occasional performance issues like slow restores or lag.
9,776 Twitter followers
Embrace secure data portability and leverage tools that go above native capabilities for AWS. With Veeam’s leading policy-based protection, you can reliably recover from accidental deletion, ransomwar
51,579 Twitter followers
# 1 SaaS Data Protection Platform 12x more protection across on-prem, cloud services, and SaaS. HYCU is a data protection solution for cloud, SaaS, virtual, file shares, and physical workloads.
HYCU is a backup solution used for controlled backups of mission critical platforms and Nutanix clusters, and for backing up entire SaaS portfolios. Reviewers like the ease of setup, the ability to perform granular restores, the seamless integration with Nutanix and AWS, and the responsive customer support. Users experienced limitations in scheduling jobs, lack of certain features compared to competitors, unclear error messages in logs, and increasing costs depending on the amount of data or advanced features needed.
5,126 Twitter followers
Simplify your data infrastructure—from the edge to the core to the cloud—with the industry's leading enterprise data management software.
118,308 Twitter followers
Synology ActiveProtect is a purpose-built backup appliance solution designed to centralize, protect, and recover enterprise data via a unified platform. Keep an eye on your backups no matter where you
67,279 Twitter followers
Disk Drill is a comprehensive data recovery software designed for Windows users, enabling the retrieval of lost or deleted files from various storage devices. Whether it's internal or external hard dr
5,099 Twitter followers
Macrium Backup & Restore is a suite of image-based backup and disaster recovery software for Windows systems. It enables IT teams in manufacturing and operational technology (OT) environments to p
Macrium Backup and Restore is a software designed for data backup and system recovery. Reviewers frequently mention the software's ease of use, reliability, and the ability to perform flawless backups and restores, with some users highlighting its speed, value, and the convenience of its auto-verification feature. Users mentioned some downsides such as the lack of a cloud backup feature, slow backup speed over Wifi and NAS unit, confusion due to revisions in the management interface, unclear renewal licensing needs, and occasional issues with the restore process.
Ransomware. Human error. Hardware failure. Natural disasters. The list of threats to business data and systems is endless. Businesses of all sizes need a straightforward, complete backup and recovery
21,592 Twitter followers
C2 Backup is Synology’s cloud-based backup service, designed to keep every piece of your personal data safe and offer you an easy-to-handle backup solution. ‧ All-in-one backup solution for both Ma
67,279 Twitter followers
Acronis Cyber Protect delivers robust protection against cyberthreats, unparalleled backup and recovery capabilities and simplified management and visibility through a single pane of glass, for the en
94,873 Twitter followers
MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition has 5 modules, including “Undelete Recovery”, “Damaged Partition Recovery”, “Lost Partition Recovery”, “Digital Media Recovery”, and “CD/DVD Recovery”.
6,632 Twitter followers
Learn More About File Recovery Software
What is File Recovery Software?
File recovery software helps users retrieve and repair specific files. File recovery is a part of the data recovery process that aims explicitly to recover, restore, and repair deleted, corrupted, and damaged files. This software works on common types of data storage hardware, such as solid-state hard drives (SSD), USB drives, floppy disks, and other platforms, including mobile devices, IoT, cameras, and even SaaS-generated files. Most file recovery tools work on all types of file systems, such as FAT and NTFS.
The software first scans the file directory for hidden files to see which of those can be restored. To recover a specific file, it will check for attributes such as .docx, .txt, .pst, etc., from a list of recoverable files. The file recovery software will retrieve the file, check for formatting errors, or repair the files based on the file type. The user can then access the file in its original format and location. There are also quick, deep, and full scan options. When the user deletes the file from the recycle bin, the lost data can sometimes still be found in the operating system. The user can undelete the data with this software.
As business data storage moves from paper to digital, business operations become more data dependent. Employees need file recovery software to recover deleted or corrupt files to get back to work without downtime.
What Types of File Recovery Software Exist?
Small-business file recovery software
Many inexpensive file recovery solutions are available for recovering files on different platforms. Depending on the number of licenses and tech support, they cost anywhere from $0 to $100. These tools are affordable and fully functional for most users to recover any file type.
Enterprise data recovery solution suites
Most enterprises purchase this type of software because it includes other critical data recovery tools such as database backup software, server backup software, disaster recovery software, etc. This one-size-fits-all solution often has file recovery capabilities for various endpoints.
What are the Common Features of File Recovery Software?
The following are some core features within file recovery software that can help users to recover and repair lost files to their original status:
File discovery: The software can either perform a quick scan to gather a list of permanently deleted common types of files or a full scan of all types of files. Some products include a filter and search option so users can locate different types of files.
File path restoration: The software can list and restore the deleted files to the original location.
Partition recovery: The software will recover files when a hard drive partition is disrupted due to a power outage, software crash, turning off storage media during the writing process, or improperly pulling out the drive.
System recovery: When the user can’t boot the computer from a blue or black screen, the software can restore the system through another connected hard drive.
What are the Benefits of File Recovery Software?
The following are some of the benefits of using file recovery software:
Less downtime: Business transactions require documents and data files. Missing files can delay business transactions, increase costs, and lower revenue. For example, a business can’t sign a deal when an important piece of a related document is missing. By using file recovery software, companies won’t waste time recovering files manually or recreating the files.
Ability to find files quickly: With autodiscovery and filter options, file recovery software can easily find files in the external and internal storage. Traditional Windows recovery mode restores the entire drive, so users still have to spend time looking for the file location.
One platform to recover everything: Traditional Windows recovery software only works on specific file systems, so users can’t use it for everything. Using a complete file recovery tool, users can restore all files and systems like RAW FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, EXT2, FAT12, FAT16, APFS, HFS+, etc. This also works on external hard drive storage devices such as HDD, SSD, USB drives, floppy disks, pen drives, cameras, drones, video players, music players, SD cards, memory cards, etc.
Who Uses File Recovery Software?
IT administrators: IT administrators can use this software to recover or repair files on employee endpoints. With regular use, file recovery software can save time for IT administrators, from browsing file directories to restoring different types of files.
Employees: Regular employees can use this software to recover accidentally deleted documents. However, employees might not know how to tackle more complex data recovery and so would need to ask IT administrators for help. For example, some deleted data on digital cameras might be overwritten with compression algorithms to different file names. The regular scan mode might not work on video files, so the scan results would return nothing. For particular types of devices and systems, regular users should still consult with the IT administrator.
Challenges with File Recovery Software
File recovery solutions can come with their own set of challenges.
Slow performance: Some file recovery software products take a long time to scan the storage drive and an even longer time to recover data. Users should use a trial or free version before purchase to ensure that the software’s performance meets their expectations. Some software will even slow the computer down dramatically while scanning the file directory.
Incompatible files or systems: Most file recovery software runs on Windows and repairs only common file types. The user should seek software compatible with their systems if they need to recover files on an operating system other than Windows, such as Linux, macOS, Android, or iOS.
Lack of scalability: Most file recovery tools have limited scalability due to performance speed. Large companies that need to recover hundreds of files on thousands of devices are better off using a complete data recovery solution that incorporates file recovery capability. Top data recovery software includes backup, disaster recovery, and file recovery solutions.
How to Buy File Recovery Software
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for File Recovery Software
Requirements gathering for the best data recovery software is straightforward but can still vary greatly depending on the scope of work. Still, requirements should include the number of physical and digital resources that will need to be recovered and constraints related to budgeting, staffing, or continued maintenance.
Budget and staffing will largely dictate where products end up on the short list. Still, a vendor’s ability to meet each of the company’s requirements will assist in determining the right product after discussing the price. It may be helpful to prioritize these based on impact to evaluate each solution better.
Compare File Recovery Software Products
Create a long list
From meeting the functionality needs to implementation, vendor evaluations are essential in the software buying process. For ease of comparison after all demos are complete, it helps prepare a consistent list of questions to ask each vendor that addresses all needs and concerns.
Create a short list
From the long list of vendors, it is helpful to narrow down the list to develop a shorter list of contenders, preferably no more than three to five. With this list in hand, businesses can produce a matrix to compare the features and prices of various solutions.
Conduct demos
To ensure a thorough comparison, the user should demo each solution on the short list with the same use case and datasets. This will allow the business to evaluate like for like and see how each vendor stacks up against their competitors.
Selection of File Recovery Software
Choose a selection team
To choose a selection team, decision makers need to involve subject matter experts from all groups that will use the system. For file recovery software, this primarily involves IT and security staff. Management and department leaders should also have individuals who manage the solutions that might integrate with the file recovery product.
Negotiation
Using the prioritized requirements, users can organize the data in a way that helps people understand how each solution meets their needs. This can prevent siloed thinking, serve as a catalyst for internal debates, and bring new questions to the vendor.
Final decision
Every product will have pros and cons, but the selection analysis should paint a clearer picture of each product’s ability to meet the company's unique needs. The buyer can then use the identified cons to either eliminate options from the short list or serve as leverage for discounts and other offers.
