Many free data recovery
program s
exist that can help recover your accidentally deleted files. These file recovery
programs can help you recover, or "undelete" files on your computer.
Files you have deleted and then recently emptied from your Recycle Bin are
often still present on your hard
drive (or USB
drive , or media card, etc.) and can be recovered using free data
recovery software.
Important: You can greatly increase the chance of recovering a file by
minimizing your computer use as soon as possible. See my File
Recovery Software FAQ for more on this, plus answers to common
questions I get about file recovery.
Undelete files you thought were gone forever with any one of these freeware
data recovery tools:
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| 17 Free Data Recovery Software Tools |
1. Recuva
Recuva is the very best free file recovery software available, hands down.
It's very easy to use but has many optional advanced features
as well.
Recuva can recover files from hard drives, external drives (USB drives,
etc.), BD/DVD/CD discs, and memory cards. Recuva can even undelete files from
your iPod!
Recuva will undelete files in Windows 8 & 8.1, 7, Vista, XP, Server
2008/2003, and older Windows versions like 2000, NT, ME and 98. 64-bit Windows
versions are also supported. There is also a 64-bit version Recuva
available.
Piriform provides both an installable and a portable version of Recuva. I
tested file recovery with Recuva v1.50.1036 using their portable version in
Windows 8.1.
Undeleting a file with Recuva is as easy as deleting one! I highly recommend
that you try Recuva first if you need to recover a file.
2. Puran File Recovery
Puran File Recovery is one of the better free file recovery programs I've
seen. It's very easy to use, will scan any drive that Windows sees, and has a
lot of advanced options if you need them.
One particular thing to note - Puran File Recovery identified more files on
my test machine than most other tools so be sure to give this one a shot in
addition to Recuva if it didn't find what you were looking for.
Puran File Recovery will even recover lost partitions if they haven't been
overwritten yet.
Puran File Recovery works with Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. It's also
available in portable form for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows so it
doesn't require installation.
3. Glary Undelete
Glary Undelete is an excellent free file recovery program. It's very easy to
use and has one of the better user interfaces that I've seen.
The biggest advantages in Glary Undelete include the easy "Folders" view, a
Windows Explorer-style view of recoverable files, and a prominent "State"
indication for each file, suggesting how likely a successful file recovery will
be.
One disadvantage of Glary Undelete is that installation is required before
you can use it and it asks you to install a toolbar, which you can of course
decline. Aside from those facts, Glary Undelete is top notch.
Glary Undelete can recover files from hard drives and any removable media you
might have including memory cards, USB drives, etc.
Glary Undelete is said to work in Windows 7, Vista, and XP, but it probably
works fine in Windows 8 and versions older than Windows XP. I tested Glary
Undelete v2.4 in Windows 7.
4. Pandora Recovery
Pandora Recovery is another excellent free file recovery software program.
It's super easy to use and has the best wizard to help you undelete files that
I've seen in any file recovery app.
A more advanced "Surface Scan" is available in Pandora Recovery that should
recover more files than the standard search as long as they are of a popular
format.
Pandora Recovery will undelete files from hard drives, memory cards, etc.
Nearly anything that stores files that you can also connect to your PC should be
supported.
Pandora Recovery lists support for Windows Vista, XP, Server 2003, and 2000
but it worked perfectly well for me in Windows 7.
You will need to install Pandora Recovery to your hard drive which is a major
reason I haven't ranked it higher than some other file recovery tools.
5. SoftPerfect File Recovery
SoftPerfect File Recovery is another superb file undelete program. It's very
easy to search for recoverable files. Anyone should be able to use this program
with very little trouble.
SoftPerfect File Recovery will undelete files from hard drives, memory cards,
etc. Any device on your PC that stores data (except for your CD/DVD drive)
should be supported.
Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, Server 2008 & 2003, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and 95 are
all supported. According to SoftPerfect, 64-bit versions of Windowsoperating
systems are also supported.
SoftPerfect File Recovery is a small, 500 KB, standalone file making the
program very portable. Feel free to run File Recovery from a USB drive or floppy
disk. Scroll down a bit on the download page to find it.
6. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is another great file undelete program.
Recovering files is very easy to do with just a few clicks.
My favorite aspect of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is that the user interface
is structured much like Windows Explorer. While that may not be everyone's ideal
way to display files, it's a very familiar interface that most people are
comfortable with.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will undelete files from hard drives, optical
drives, memory cards, and pretty much anything else that Windows sees as a
storage device. It also partition recovery!
Please know that Data Recovery Wizard will only recover a total of 2 GB of
data before you'll need to upgrade. I almost didn't include this program because
of that limitation but since most situations call for undeleting much less than
that, I'll let it slide.
Data Recovery Wizard supports Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Windows
Server 2012, 2008, and 2003.
Wise Data Recovery is a free undelete program that's really simple to
use.
The program installed very quickly and scanned my PC in record time. Wise
Data Recovery can scan various USB devices like memory cards and other removal
devices.
An instant search function makes it really quick and easy to search for
deleted files that Wise Data Recovery has found. A Recoverability column shows
the likelihood of a file being recovered with Good, Poor, Very Poor, or Lost.
Just right-click to restore a file.
Wise Data Recovery works with Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP, including the
64-bit versions of each. There's also a portable version available
from PortableApps.
Wise Data Recovery Free Download
8. Restoration
The Restoration file recovery program is similar to the other free undelete
apps on this list.
The thing I like most about Restoration is how incredibly simple it is to
recovery files. There are no cryptic buttons or complicated file recovery
procedures - everything you need is on one, easy to understand program
window.
Restoration can recover files from hard drives, memory cards, USB drives, and
other external drives.
Restoration supports Windows Vista, XP, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and 95. I
successfully tested Restoration with Windows Vista.
Like some of the other popular file recovery tools on this list, Restoration
is small and does not need to be installed, giving it the flexibility to be run
from a floppy disk or USB drive.
9. FreeUndelete
FreeUndelete is self explanatory - it's free and it undeletes files!
FreeUndelete is another great file recovery tool, very similar to other undelete
utilities around this rank in my list.
The major advantage of FreeUndelete is its easy to use interface and "folder
drill down" functionality (i.e. files available for recovery are not listed in a
big, unmanageable listing).
FreeUndelete will recover files from hard drives, memory cards, and other
similar storage devices in or connected to your PC.
FreeUndelete supports all versions of Windows - 7, Vista, XP, etc. I
successfully tested FreeUndelete with Windows Vista.
Note: OfficeRecovery.com's website is often down. You can also download
FreeUndelete from MajorGeeks.com.
10. ADRC Data Recovery Tools
ADRC Data Recovery Tools is another great, free file recovery program. File
recovery with this program is uncomplicated and could probably be accomplished
by the average computer user without any kind of documentation.
ADRC Data Recovery Tools should be able to undelete files from any non-CD/DVD
storage device like memory cards and USB drives, as well as hard drives, of
course.
Data Recovery Tools officially supports Windows XP, 2000, and 95 but I
successfully tested data recovery with this program on Windows Vista.
ADRC Data Recovery Tools is a standalone, 132KB program making it
avery portable file recovery tool that will easily fit on any removable media
you might have.
11. CD Recovery Toolbox
CD Recovery Toolbox is a completely free and very unique file recovery
program. CD Recovery Toolbox is designed to recover files from damaged or
corrupted optical drive discs - CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, HD DVD, etc.
According to the publisher, CD Recovery Toolbox should help recover files
from discs that have been scratched, chipped, or have surface spotting.
One obvious con is the inability of CD Recovery Toolbox to recover files from
hard drives or portable media drives. However, the program isn't designed to do
that so I haven't held that fact against it.
CD Recovery Toolbox works in Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003, 2000, NT,
ME and 98. I tested CD Recovery Toolbox successfully in Windows Vista.
12. UndeleteMyFiles Pro
UndeleteMyFiles Pro is another free file recovery program. Don't let the name
fool you - it's entirely free even though it says "Pro."
Tree View and Detailed View are the two viewing perspectives you can choose
from. You can also preview files, which sounds nice, but all it does is restore
the data to a temporary folder and then open it.
Emergency Disk Image is one of the included tools in UndeleteMyFiles Pro.
This tool takes a snapshot of your entire computer, places all the data in one
file, and then lets you work through that file to file deleted data that you
want to restore. This is very handy because after the image file has been made,
you don't need to worry that new data written to your hard drive will replace
any important deleted files.
There's a nice search option in UndeleteMyFiles Pro that lets you search by
file location, type, size, and attributes.
Something I really didn't like about UndeleteMyFiles Pro is that the recovery
process doesn't tell you if a file is in a good state of being recoverable like
most of the other software in this list.
I test UndeleteMyFiles Pro in Windows 8 without any issues.
13. TOKIWA DataRecovery
TOKIWA DataRecovery is an effective file recovery program and is very similar
to many others on my list.
The best thing TOKIWA DataRecovery has going for it is its ease of use. It
has a single program window where you can scan for files to recovery, sort the
files, and undelete them. There are no complicated procedures at all.
TOKIWA DataRecovery can recover files from hard drives, memory cards, USB
drives, and other external drives.
DataRecovery supports Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and 95. I
successfully tested TOKIWA DataRecovery with Windows 8.
TOKIWA DataRecovery is a standalone, 412KB file making it a completely
portable tool suitable for a USB drive or floppy disk.
14. PC Inspector File Recovery
PC Inspector File Recovery is another good free file recovery program with an
arguably "deeper" search for deleted files than other similar undelete
programs.
PC Inspector File Recovery can recover files from most hard drives, external
drives, and memory cards.
PC Inspector File Recovery supports Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, and 98. I
tested PC Inspector File Recover in Windows 8 and it ran as advertised.
I'd recommend trying PC Inspector File Recovery only if another, higher rated
file recovery program didn't do the job for you. The not-so-easy-to-use
interface, lack of Vista support, and long hard drive scan times keep this file
recovery app out of the Top 10.
15. Orion File Recovery Software
Orion File Recovery Software is a free file recovery program from NCH
Software that's basically the same as most of the other programs in this
list.
A nice wizard prompts you to scan for specific file types at launch of the
program, like documents, images, videos, music, or a custom file type. You can
also scan the entire drive to search for all file types.
Orion file Recovery Software can scan any attached hard drive, whether
internal or external, flash drives, and memory cards for deleted data. Then you
can search through the files with an instant search function, while easily
identifying the recovery potential of each file.
A nice addition to Orion File Recovery Software is also functions as adata
destruction program, so you can scrub all the files it finds to make them
unrecoverable for future scans.
Orion File Recovery Software works with Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. The
installer tries to install other NCH Software programs during setup, but just
deselect those options if you wish not to install them.
16. BPlan Data Recovery
BPlan Data Recovery is a file recovery program like the others in this list.
It may not look as nice as similar software, but it can recovery many different
types of deleted files.
I found BPlan Data Recovery to be a bit difficult to navigate around. It was
hard to know what I was doing because of the layout of the results. That said,
it still managed to find and recover images, documents, videos, and other file
types.
BPlan Data Recovery works with Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP. I tested BPlan
Data Recovery in Windows 8.
On Bplan's site, you can download an EXE version using the Free
Download button on the top of their page, or a ZIP version using the button just
below it.
Note: Make sure you run BPlan Data Recovery as an administrator in Windows 8
or Windows 7. The program won't work unless it has administrative
privileges.
17. PhotoRec
The free PhotoRec file recovery tool does the job but it isn't nearly as easy
to use as other programs on my list.
PhotoRec is limited by its command-line interface and multiple step recovery
process. However, my greatest problem with PhotoRec is that it's very difficult
to avoid recovering all deleted files at once, not just the one or two you're
after.
PhotoRec can recover files from hard drives, optical drives, and memory
cards. PhotoRec should be able to undelete files from any storage device on your
PC.
PhotoRec supports Windows 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003, 2000, NT, ME, 98, and
95. I tested PhotoRec in Windows Vista.
If another file recovery program hasn't worked, give PhotoRec a try. I just
don't recommend making it your first pick.
"Why have you only included 17 free data recovery programs?"
True, there are many more file recovery programs than those listed above, but
I've only included true freeware file recovery programs that also undelete wide
ranges of files.
I didn't include file recovery programs that are shareware/free trials, nor
ones that won't undelete reasonably sized files.
If you still need help with a file recovery issue, see my Get More Help page.
I'm also happy to hear your thoughts on additions or changes to this list.
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