Resolved What is The Best Data Recovery Software?

Have Windows HD, (another OS HD) and a 300GB Data HD. I tried to put an OS on a USB using unetbootin.

I'm guessing that it did the wrong drive, because my data is gone from the data HD. I have lots of data lost.

Looking for the best, free software to try and get the files back.

I see recuva is a good one, but when you go to download the free one, it is blank in the description, where the $24.99 one says, "Recover accidentally deleted files and images!" Sounds like the free one doesn't do that.

Nothing has been written to the drive, since the deletion. What would be the best free one?

Thank you,
Chris.

 

Recuva 1.53.1087 It's Freeware and Downloads OK from here.

 

The one that works! Never used TestDisk - will have to check it out. Thanks.

I too like Recuva but also like Wise Data Recovery.

I don't know what you mean by the description for Recuva is blank. If you scroll down, you will see it has "Advanced file recovery" and that is the feature you want for physical drives and is the same in the Pro version. The Pro version's only notable extra features are Virtual drive support (which most users don't need) and free tech support from Piriform. The free version will even automatically check for new updates - just not install them automatically. And I'm okay with that.

Do understand the more a drive is used after a file is deleted or lost, the worse your chances of any recovery become. This is because the storage locations of the deleted data are likely to be overwritten with new data.

And with ANY program, be sure to select the "custom" install option to opt out of installing any unwanted extras.

 

OK, thank you for the suggestions. Three answers, three different suggestions. I was hoping there was a clear "best one."

Does anyone know which one would be better, not to pick and chose data, but try and get everything on the disc?

I was wondering, I've read (can't remember which one) that it can get files back, but not with the original names. Why is that?

I unhooked the drive as soon as I realized what happened. It was not the drive the OS is on. I'm getting pretty nervous about it.

What is the difference between these free ones and others that are advertised at $89-$399?

Thank you very much,
Chris.

 

It is like asking, what is the best browser or the best anti-malware solution or the best pickup truck? All are good. Each is best at something. But none are best for every possible scenario.

In any case, every data recovery program I have tried does nothing but report its findings until you select what you want done and instruct it to actually perform the recovery process. So no harm in trying them all and seeing which one (if any!) finds the data/files you are looking for.

Just don't download or install any of these files on the drive in question because if any drive sector is overwritten, the data previously stored there will be unrecoverable.

 

obviously it's firefox, mailwarebytes, chevy or a GMC!

 

Oh bull! Well, I'll go along with MBAM, but otherwise, its IE or Chrome and without a doubt, definitely Ford!

 

Thank you for the link. I need to stop stressing over it and just do it. One question. In the link, it shows a screen shot. On the drive, I have about 260GB's of files (documents), folders full of stuff, home made audio's, videos, a mixture of things. I do have a few folders that are "documents" but a lot are folders with lots of mixtures and hundreds of single files not in folders going back years of info, off 3 computers.
The window that shows up in the link has about 15 lines. What will it be like using this for hundreds or even thousands of files and folders?

Looking at the window from the link, under "NTFS file undelete" I would not know what line or lines to recover. Also, in the example, where it lists, ..../Documents/..... did this go in and find the file structure and go to the "documents" folder in Windows?

This HD I'm trying to recover doesn't have an OS on it, with a /Documents/ place. Is that what it's showing highlighted in the link?

Wanted to make sure I understand everything. Don't want to screw this up, come back and have a reply, "you should of asked here before you did that. "

Thank you,
Chris.

 

What about edge? We don't want to go backwards?

Just kidding about those choices. Good and bad about any brand of truck. Loved ie for years, I try and stay as far away from anything Google tho.

Chris.

 

Another question; I think the drive was NTFS, but when it got formated, it was formated in fat. Would I check FAT now that the drive is FAT, or NTFS becuse that is what it was?

 

If the drive was formatted with NTFS then converted to FAT32 (I doubt it is just FAT as that is really really old and based on 8-bit) then you would use FAT32. If you select NTFS, pretty sure you will get an error saying the drive is not formatted in NTFS.

Yeah, Edge sure does send mixed messages. It clearly is fast, but I sure don't understand what MS was thinking by forcing it on users as the default when it appears to clearly be an unfinished product. At least they didn't remove IE from W10. I still use IE11 as my preferred and default browser. If you follow security issues via the Department of Homeland Security's US-CERT Cyber Security Bulletin Vulnerability Summaries (which I recommend everyone subscribe to) you will find that Firefox tends to have more newly discovered security vulnerabilities than any other browser so I don't use it. In Mozilla's defense, they are quickest when it comes to releasing patches and updates for all those vulnerabilities.

I do like Pale Moon, however, which is based on Firefox. I agree with you about Google products. People bash MS on privacy but Google is much worse by a long shot.

So Chrome is my 3rd choice. And I use Bing more than Google for my searches. I do use gmail, so I suppose they know all about me anyway. Oh well.

 

It's a bust. I used recuva. I found about 10,000 files and was able to recover only about 200. The 200 where the least of what I wanted. Almost all where pictures, most where very low res, small thumbnails of the photos. The small pictures are worthless other then seeing what I lost, like the last pictures of my Dad and I. The last pictures of my Mom and I, and both memorials, and the audios of them. Not to mention all the photos I had of when I was a kid.

I did learn one more thing. unetbootin can wipe out a drive in 2 minutes as good as a day and a half of DBAN.

Very disappointed.
Chris.

 

All the recovery is iffy at best unless you are willing to give some data recovery company big money to recover it.

The best course - data backup. Both local & in cloud.