Top 5 Best Free Data Recovery Software of 2015

Accidentally pressing the Delete key, someone deliberately deleting your valuable data or perhaps a software bug creeping into the system causing your hard disk to go corrupt- a recipe for havoc isn’t it. Instead of crying out loud and cursing -“Why? Why did it have to happen to me” or “What the hell was I thinking while doing so?” you would definitely prefer to recover the data back at any cost without any fuss. Here is where the data recovery software come in handy. Although truly speaking the best way to avoid such a harrowing experience is to regularly take a good old real-time backup! But just in case you don’t, we have some of the best free data recovery software for you.

We compiled this list of best free data recovery software considering factors such as whether the software can recover RAW, Unallocated, Corrupt or Formatted Hard Disk, its ability to recover from different file systems such as FAT, FAT32, HFS, NTFS etc., the array of devices supported, time taken for file recovery and user friendliness to name a few.

Take a look at the best software:

Undelete 360:

With looks of a typical Office application the Undelete 360 is built on a fast yet efficient algorithm which enables the user to undelete files from a variety of devices such as Digital cameras, USB’s etc. It includes a data-wiping tool, a Hex Viewer along with the ability to preview files before recovery.

It does a great job in recovering recently deleted files as compared to other free data recovery software and is also able to recover files of a wide variety of types such as DOC, HTML, AVI, MP3, JPEG, JPG, PNG, GIF, etc. Scanning speed needs major improvement and it also lags out its competition in terms of recovering data.

Pandora Recovery:

Pandora recovery is one of the most reliable and effective free data recovery software out there. With the ability to recover deleted files from NTFS and FAT-formatted volumes, preview deleted files of certain types (image and text files) without performing recovery, surface scan ( which allows you to recover data from drives that have been formatted) and the ability to recover archived, hidden, encrypted and compressed files it packs quite a punch.
Its interface is very easy to get a hang of and provides an explorer-like view along with colour coded & recovery percentage indicators.

However, its file detection system is not that reliable and needs to be improved further. The software could be made portable as well so that it doesn’t consume any space on the hard disk and thereby not consume space that a file which we wish to recover once consumed. To know more about Panda free data recovery software’s features click here.

PhotoRec:

Definitely one of the best free data recovery software out there, PhotoRec is widely acclaimed for its powerful file recovery over a wide variety of devices ranging from digital cameras to hard-disks. It is compatible with almost all major platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X etc. Don’t be fooled by its name either, it comes packed with the ability to recover more than 440 different file formats. Features such as the ‘unformat function’ and the ability to add your own custom file types do come in handy. Although I wouldn’t advise this free data recovery software to beginners as it is completely devoid of a GUI and uses a command line interface which may intimidate some users.

TestDisk:

A list of best free data recovery software can hardly be termed as being complete without a mention of TestDisk. Packed with features and a file recovery system that can easily overshadow that of any other data recovery software, TestDisk has a lot to offer for both novices and experts. It allows users to recover/rebuild the boot sector, fix or recover deleted partition table besides being able to reliably undelete files from FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2 file systems. It is available on all major platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X etc and is in fact quite popular as it can be found on various Linux Live CD’s. Although being a command line tool it may not be suitable for some users.

Recuva:

Editor’s Recommendation: I would personally recommend Piriform’s Recuva to all our readers hands down. The fact that Recuva is on the top of this list may not come across a surprise to most of you.  With superior file recovery , an advanced deep scan mode, a secure overwrite feature that uses industry & military standard deletion techniques and the ability to recover files from damaged or newly formatted files , Recuva is undeniably one of the best free data recovery tools out there. Its portability (the ability to run without installation) is one feature that sets it apart from the others.

The User Interface wouldn’t let you down either with a file-recovery wizard and an application manual mode available to your disposal which provides colour coding (indicating the probability of the recovery of a file) along with the ability to preview files before undeleting them. Recuva is definitely a notch above all others and undoubtedly the most complete and reliable free data recovery software available today.