10 Best Free and Reliable Hard Disk Recovery Software Updated in 2024

"The data on my hard disk has been lost. Is there any way to recover it?" Professional and reliable disk recovery software can help you recover easily, whether it is because of human error, disk failure or virus invasion that causes data loss on the hard disk, including pictures, Microsoft Office documents, videos, audio or text files. We will introduce you to the 10 best free hard drive recovery software to recover various types of data from the hard drive for free. You can choose a suitable free hard drive recovery software according to your needs. Let's take a look together.

PART 1 Overview of Hard Disk Recovery Software

Hard disk recovery software refers to a PC-based software program that can be used to recover deleted or lost data from a hard disk. Some disk recovery software even allows users to save data from formatted or even invalid hard drives, which is very practical.

In fact, when a file is deleted from the hard drive, it does not completely disappear from the drive. Before new data is written to the original storage location of the deleted file, you have the opportunity to use disk recovery software to restore all types of files. In other words, as long as the deleted file is overwritten by new data, it is possible to recover the deleted data through disk recovery software.

PART 2 List of 10 Proven Best Free Hard Drive Recovery Software in 2023

Among the many hard drive recovery software in the industry, how to quickly find the best free hard drive recovery software? Don't worry, we will give you a detailed look at the 10 proven best free hard drive recovery software for 2023 in terms of performance, pros and cons.

1. Geeksoft Data Recovery

Geeksoft Data Recovery is one of the best known hard drive recovery software in the industry. It not only allows users to retrieve various types of deleted or lost data from the hard drive, such as pictures, Microsoft Office documents, emails, videos, audio or text files. In addition, it also has backup and data protection functions.

Pros of Geeksoft Data Recovery:

• The recovered files are organized by category.
• Multiple file systems are supported.
• Equipped with various auxiliary functions, such as backup drives and data protection.
• Support filtering recovered files by file type and size.
• Support regular file preview and allows users to view the hexadecimal code of recovered files.
• Simple and smooth, and user-friendly operating interface and process.

Cons of Geeksoft Data Recovery:

• If a large number of files are stored on the hard disk to be scanned, the scanning takes a long time.
• The free version only supports recovery of a limited number of files.

For more information on how to use Geeksoft Data Recovery to recover data from a hard drive, please click here.

2. Wondershare Recovery Expert Data Recovery

Wondershare Recovery Expert Free Data Recovery is a powerful hard drive data recovery software that supports data recovery from Windows and Mac hard drives. In addition, it can also perform data recovery from RAW partitions or external hard drives formatted as ExFAT, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, etc. The free version of Wondershare Recovery Expert Free Data Recovery can quickly scan hard drives, RAW partitions, or deleted files on various external hard drives, and supports users to preview deleted files before recovery to improve the efficiency of file recovery.

Free Trial for Win Free Trial for Mac

Pros of Wondershare Recovery Expert Data Recovery:

• Compatible with Mac and Windows computers.
• Disk recovery with various data types and file formats.
• Scan your hard drive quickly in minutes.
• With millions of users from all over the world.

Cons of Wondershare Recovery Expert Data Recovery:

• The free version can only recover files up to 100MB. Files over 100MB can only be recovered by paying for the premium version.

3. Stellar Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery is an excellent disk recovery software that helps users quickly recover lost data from their hard drives. For any type of data lost due to a corrupt or crashed hard drive, try using Stellar Data Recovery. In addition to data recovery, Stellar Data Recovery also supports intelligent drive monitoring, disc media recovery, and cloning, which is very reliable.

Pros of Stellar Data Recovery:

• Recoverable files lost in non bootable and encrypted drives.
• Fast data recovery speed.
• Support preview before recovery.
• Support scanning specific folders.

Cons of Stellar Data Recovery:

• The free version only supports recovery of 1GB files.
• The premium version costs a lot.

4. OnTrack EasyRecovery

OnTrack EasyRecovery supports recovery of a wide range of lost or deleted files from memory cards, HDDS, USB and SSDS, earning it a wide user base. In addition, it helps users recover data from damaged, deleted, or formatted storage devices. What's more, OnTrack EasyRecovery also has advanced RAID recovery capabilities.

Pros of OnTrack EasyRecovery:

• Support previewing deleted files before recovery.
• Organize recovered files by file type.
• Scanning speed is fast, and it takes less than 5 minutes to scan a 500GB hard drive.
• 24x7 hours technical support.
• Photo and video repair function.

Cons of OnTrack EasyRecovery:

• Personal information such as email address, name and phone number must be logged in to download the recovered data.
• This hard disk recovery tool is expensive.

5. Wise Data Recovery Software

Wise Data Recovery Software uses advanced algorithms to retrieve all kinds of lost data from hard drives and is well received by users. As one of the top 10 free hard disk recovery software in 2023, it can help users recover files such as pictures, Microsoft Office documents, emails, videos, audio and other files from computer hard drives, digital cameras, MP3 players, mobile phones and other storage devices.

Pros of Wise Data Recovery Software:

• This is a lightweight data recovery software.
• Support filtering files based on categories.
• Support a 60 day refund guarantee.
• 2 GB of data can be restored for free.
• Automatically update to the latest version.

Cons of Wise Data Recovery Software:

• Only support Windows systems, not Linux or Mac systems.
• The deep scan option during data recovery may be problematic.
• The recovered files are no longer stored in the original folder structure before the recovery.

6. Puran Data Recovery

Among the many data recovery tools in the industry, Puran Data Recovery is unique because of the way it works. It supports recovery of lost data directly from damaged DVDS, CDS, hard drives, pen drives and other devices. If you need to recover data in such devices, then be sure not to miss it.

Pros of Puran Data Recovery:

• Complete data recovery function, in addition to hard disk recovery, you can also recover data from Blu-ray, CD, DVD and other optical drives.
• User-friendly interface.
• You can view recovered files in the tree view.
• Add partitions from the device using drag and drop.
• Automatically skips the Ba sector of the file.

Cons of Puran Data Recovery:

• Only the Windows operating system is supported.
• Filtering the files you want to recover is not supported.

7. Recuva

Recuva is another software that can help you recover lost files from your hard drive. Recuva has a user-friendly interface that allows users to quickly grasp and recover lost data. Both novices and professionals can autonomously recover hard disk data according to Recuva's prompts. In addition, Recuva supports email recovery for Windows Mail, Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, and Outlook Express.

Pros of Recuva:

• Humanized operation interface.
• Support recovery of lost data from computer hard drives and virtual hard drives (VHD).
• Support scanning only specific storage locations.

Cons of Recuva:

• Preview of files before recovery is not supported.

8. Recover My Files

Recover My Files can recover photos, documents, emails, audio files, videos and other lost files from storage devices such as SD cards, floppy disks, hard disks, and USB Zip drives. In addition, it also has other additional features, such as support for operating system reinstallation recovery, recycle bin recovery, RAW partition recovery, formatted data recovery. However, Recover My Files is only available for Windows operating systems.

Pros of Recover My Files:

• Easy to use user interface.
• Support scanning partitions for backup files.
• Support file recovery from storage devices such as hard disk, SD card, and USB.
• The recovered files are sorted by date.

Cons of Recover My Files:

• This data recovery software is expensive.
• The learning curve of this data recovery software is steep and the data recovery process is relatively complex.
• A trial free version is not available.
• It may crash during deep scanning.

9. Acronis Revive

Acronis Revive is another free hard drive recovery software with a good user experience. Whether you have lost files due to empty recycle bin, hard drive changes, system crashes, virus attacks, or more, Acronis Revive is your best helper to quickly recover lost pictures, Microsoft Office documents, emails, videos, audio and more.

Pros of Acronis Revive:

• Support filtering recovered files.
• Each partition on the hard drive can be identified, including existing and missing partitions.
• Support multiple scanning modes and has fast scanning speed.
• Support viewing recovered files through a tree view and marking non recoverable files.

Cons of Acronis Revive:

• The interface is not very user-friendly.

10. R-Studio Data Recovery

R-Studio Data Recovery is the last data recovery software on this list, providing multiple scanning modes. This data recovery software supports recovering lost files from various storage media such as hard drives, USB, SD cards, floppy disks, etc. This R-Studio Data Recovery supports multiple file systems.

Pros of R-Studio Data Recovery:

• Its advanced data recovery features help users deal with difficult data loss or deletion situations.
• Comprehensive disk management.

Cons of R-Studio Data Recovery:

• The data recovery function is complex.

PART 3 How to Use Geeksoft Data Recovery to recover lost data from Hard Drive for free?

With the above introduction, you may know what are the 10 best free data recovery software in 2023. Among them, Geeksoft Data recovery stands out from many hard disk recovery software because of its excellent performance, fast data recovery ability and high data recovery success rate. If you need to retrieve lost data from hard drive, then don't miss Geeksoft Data Recovery. Please refer to the following steps for how to use Geeksoft Data Recovery to recover lost data from your hard drive for free.

Step 1 Install and start Geeksoft Data Recovery, then select the file location you want to recover.

Step 2 Geeksoft Data Recovery starts scanning system locations for lost or deleted files.

Step 3 After the scan is complete, browse through the scan results and select the files you want to recover. Then, click "Recover" and select the storage location after file recovery to retrieve the lost files in the hard drive.

PART 4 More Information: How to Choose Hard Disk Recovery Software

In the face of complex hard disk data recovery software, what factors need to be considered to find the appropriate disk recovery software. Below, we will provide you with a guide for your reference.

1. Performance

Hard disk recovery software should have the ability to recover various types of data lost from hard drives due to different situations such as disk format, virus infection, deletion, partition loss, etc. In addition, excellent data recovery tools need to support the recovery of various types of file formats, including photos, documents, emails, audio files, videos, and other lost files.

2. Companies that develop software

The companies that develop disk recovery software largely determines the performance of the product. Whether its speed of data scanning, or the success rate of data recovery, the supported hard disk, USB, SD card, floppy disk and other storage media, as well as after-sales service are determined by the ability of the companies that develop software. Choosing a disk recovery software developed by a company with good reputation and user feedback is the most ideal choice.

3. Supported operating systems

Only usable hard disk recovery software can be an effective recovery tool. Therefore, when choosing disk recovery software, you need to first ensure that it supports your system for compatibility.

4. With preview function

The file preview function before recovery can help users confirm whether the correct files are being restored, which is the best way to improve the effectiveness of recovery.

5. Expenses

Although many hard drive recovery software in the industry offer free trial versions, they come with certain limitations. If you want to use advanced features without hassle, then you need to pay a certain fee. At this time, choosing the most cost-effective hard disk recovery software will save you unnecessary expenses, and enjoy a safe and secure data recovery service.

Summary

This article details 10 of the best free hard drive recovery software for you. Combined with their performance, advantages and disadvantages, you can choose the most suitable one according to your needs. Among them, Geeksoft Data Recovery is well received by users because of its excellent performance. Its interface is simple and easy to operate, and it only takes 3 steps to recover lost data on your hard drive using Geeksoft Data Recovery.