8 Reliable Hard Drive Recovery Softwares for Windows and Mac

Causes for hard disk data loss

Data loss on hard drives happens for many reasons, and it happens far more often than we think. The following are common causes for hard disk data loss.

1. Files or folders are deleted unexpectedly.

2. The hard disk is formatted (for example, using Fdisk).

3. The system prompts "NTLDR is missing. Press any key to restart".

4. The hardware is damaged, and the partition table is damaged.

5. Virus attack or virus infection.

In the information era, the importance of data backup is self-evident. However, there are still a lot of people who lose data without any backup. The hard disk recovery software comes in handy.

What are the hard disk recovery softwares?

Misdeletion, formatting, system crash and other reasons may lead to the loss of hard disk data. In the face of this situation, our first reaction is, is there any way to recover the lost data? Fortunately, there is. There are a lot of great data recovery programs out there that can recover lost data. After comprehensive comparison of operation difficulty, recovery speed, recovery success rate, price and other aspects, we summarized the 8 most cost-effective ones and shared them with you.

8 Reliable Hard Drive Recovery Softwares

• 1. Data Recovery (4DDiG) (Windows and Mac)
• 2. Rescue - Hard disk recovery software (Windows)
• 3. Disk Drill data recovery (Windows and Mac)
• 4. Wise Data Recovery - Hard Disk Recovery Software (Windows)
• 5. Ontrack data recovery software (Windows and Mac)
• 6. Hard disk recovery software Orion file recovery (Windows)
• 7. PhotoRec (Windows, Mac and Linux)
• 8. EaseUS Data Recovery

1. Data Recovery (4DDiG) (Windows and Mac)

Data Recovery (4DDiG) is a comprehensive free data recovery software, which has helped millions of users recover their valuable data. Data Recovery (Windows and Mac) supports Windows 10, 8, 8.1, 7, Vista, XP and even older versions; In addition, it is also compatible with Mac versions of macOS 10.15~10.9. Its operation is simple, the recovery speed is fast. The recovery success rate of Windows and Mac versions of Data Recovery (4DDiG) is the highest among similar software. Data Recovery (4DDiG) can easily recover your files no matter whether the data is lost due to file deletion, disk formatting, partition loss, or disk becoming RAW/inaccessible/unrecognized. It can help users recover all kinds of lost data, such as documents, pictures, videos, audio, etc. However, it only supports free recovery of up to 2GB of data.

Advantages

• Support more than 1000 file types on various devices.
• Recovery in just 3 steps.
• No viruses or plug-ins.
• Fast scanning speed and high success rate of data recovery.
• Repair damaged/corrupted photo/video files.

Disadvantage

• Only a few files can be recovered for free.

The following are the specific operation steps:

Step 1 After downloading and installing the software, start the software.

Step 2 Select the damaged hard disk and click Scan.

Step 3 After scanning, you can preview and restore the file.

2. Rescue - Hard disk recovery software (Windows)

Piriform Recuva is one of the well-known hard disk recovery software tools. Its main feature is the design of interaction with users. By asking the user a few questions, Recuva guides the user through data recovery in a very friendly way.

Recuva is free and meets basic data recovery needs, but does not offer the advanced features of other paid software.

Advantages

• Unlimited free data recovery.
• Provide depth scanning mode.
• Portable version available.
• 100% free.

Disadvantages

• The interface is rough.
• Unable to preview scan results.

3. Disk Drill data recovery (Windows and Mac)

Cleverfiles Disk Drill is also a comprehensive data management software that can be used for hard disk data recovery. It helps users scan the hard disks for deleted, erased, and lost data. In addition to data recovery, it also has data protection and drive backup functions. However, compared with similar products, it takes longer to scan and finds fewer files.

Advantages

• With intuitive interface.
• With data protection and drive backup and other functions.
• Support displaying files by category.
• Filter results by size and data.
• Multiple file systems are supported.
• The free version supports free recovery of 500MB.

Disadvantages

• Its Windows version cannot recover data from iOS and Android.
• Complicated installation process.
• The Pro version costs $89 with no restrictions.

4. Wise Data Recovery - Hard Disk Recovery Software (Windows)

Wise Data Recovery is a free data recovery software for Windows systems (64 bit and 32-bit). With advanced algorithms, it helps recover lost data from local hard drives and removable devices such as external hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards, digital cameras, cell phones, and MP3 players.

Advantages

• The interface is simple and clear.
• Free to use.
• Small and space saving.
• Fast scanning speed.
• Portable version is available.
• Filter files by category.
• Provide preview function.

Disadvantages

• Only FAT, exFAT, and NTFS file systems are supported.
• The free version does not support RAW recovery and deep scanning. The Pro version costs $44.96, with no restoration restrictions.

5. Ontrack data recovery software (Windows and Mac)

Ontrack EasyRecovery is an easy-to-use disk data recovery tool. It can retrieve photos, documents, audio and video files from HDD, SSD, memory card, USB and optical media after deletion, formatting, damage and other operations. In addition to basic data recovery functions, EasyRecovery also provides manual data recovery and expert repair.

Advantages

• Fast scan and deep scan modes are available.
• Data such as photos, videos and documents can be recovered.
• Support recovery from multiple storage devices.
• Provide the preview function before recovery.

Disadvantages

• Personal information is required, such as email, to download the software.
• Limit of free version: 1GB free recovery. The Pro version sells for $87.81, with fewer recovery restrictions.
  

6. Hard disk recovery software Orion file recovery (Windows)

Orion File Recovery is a user-friendly data recovery software that can recover files from Windows computers and Windows compatible storage devices. It supports recovery of videos, music, pictures, documents, and other file types. In addition to the data recovery function, Orion File Recover also has the function of permanently erasing the data in the hard disk to protect your privacy. Unfortunately, the scanning results and recovery rate are not very high.

Advantages

• Operation wizard is provided to guide users to complete data recovery.
• Filter the scan results by folder, file type, name, etc.
• Allow specifying scan locations

Disadvantages

• Scanning takes too long.
• Other utilities may be installed during software installation.

7. PhotoRec (Windows, Mac and Linux)

Photo Rec is a data recovery software designed to recover pictures. It can restore images from various digital devices, such as computers, digital cameras, mobile phones, tablets, memory cards, external hard drives, etc. In fact, it is an open source comprehensive data recovery software, with strong file recovery capabilities, and it supports multiple platforms, and can recover more than 480 file extensions.

Advantages

• Support cross platform data recovery -- Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, etc.
• Support the recovery of all kinds of data.
• 100% free.

Disadvantages

• Designed for experienced users, with a plain text user interface, not suitable for beginners.
• All files are automatically restored during the scan.
• Unable to recover file name and folder structure.

8. EaseUS Data Recovery

In addition, EaseUS Data Recovery can also help users recover data from a damaged hard drives. Its operation is relatively simple, user-friendly, and the recovery speed is fast. Compared with other tools, its recovery success rate is relatively high.

Advantages

• High recovery success rate.
• Support the recovery of file many kinds of data.

Disadvantage

• Higher price.

Conclusion

The above 8 hard disk data recovery softwares we recommend to you are widely used. You can choose what suits you according to your own needs. When selecting, you can focus on factors such as data security, ease of operation, recovery speed, recovery success rate, and price. We hope this article can be helpful for you.

Product Recommendation: Data Recovery (4DDiG)