This is a useful tool with a good interface, and it has a business model worth understanding before you start. We are going to show you exactly how it works (what it can do), what it cannot accomplish (where it fails), and why attempting to point it at a damaged disk can cause further harm to the data.
As far as recovering deleted files/lost partitioned areas on a working disk, this is probably one of the better choices available. However, when dealing with disks that are experiencing mechanical failure, no scanner is the right tool for this job, including this one.
While there may be nothing revolutionary about this software, we believe it has one of the best interfaces among its peers. Since many of these tools are run from the command line (and are generally boring to use), an effective GUI makes a big difference. Previewing thumbnails before purchasing is a great idea since you can verify if your files have been damaged. This feature alone will pay for any amount of “marketing hype” you may find with other software. In addition to being able to handle APFS container images and snapshots, this application’s signature-based scan also finds a wide range of file types even in cases where file systems cannot be read or mounted by the operating system.
In the normal circumstances (Recycle Bin cleared; a partition formatted using Quick Format, a volume mounted in RAW), where a drive is otherwise healthy it works.
The free version will recover up to 500MB on Windows; while it allows you to preview file contents prior to recovery on a Mac, it requires purchase of the software licence to recover anything. Either way the scan is free and complete, so it can be used purely as a diagnostic. So long as the scan shows your files are present and able to be previewed, the likelihood is your data is good. And then you just have to decide what path you’ll take. If there’s nothing found during the scan, or previews show corruption, purchasing a licence won’t make this possible.
The preview scan is helpful when scanning before payment. A completely healthy preview scan indicates your data is intact. When all your thumbnail images are gibberish, it means there is a read error on the disk.
All scanners assume the disk is capable of being scanned multiple times. Any drive with dying heads or spreading physical problems may continue reading data for hours. The tool has no concept of how to “conserve” read attempts and will keep trying. We see drives fail from prolonged use during recovery scans all the time.
This software does not have the ability to rebuild RAID arrays. If you’re using a recovery application pointed towards one piece of hardware in your RAID system, the recovery program can identify pieces of file fragments as recovered files; however they will be partially formed (and thus unusable) and not actually recovered. Additionally, these types of programs do not attempt to correct firmware errors, faulty circuit boards, etc... so if you need to make your hard disk accessible to begin with, you’ll still need to send it to a recovery lab.
Yes, you can use this product when the drive is structurally intact, the problem appears to be logical (not mechanical), and you are able to install it and recover data to a different piece of media. In that case, purchasing the product may be a good decision, possibly even less expensive than sending it to a lab; we would certainly say so, and we wouldn’t do the work.
Do not use this product in situations that include noisy drives, intermittent drop-outs, only copies of data which are irreplaceable, and if you have an array with one of your disks failing. In each case, your failed drive needs to be imaged read-only first (from £300 +VAT) after a complimentary 48-hour diagnostic.
For logical faults on a healthy drive, yes. The interface of this product is better than most, the previews are really helpful and it works with APFS properly, which several other products don’t. It is not the right tool for the job if you are dealing with physically failing drives or a RAID array, and nor is any other scanner.
The scan & preview are completely free. Windows free version allows you to recover up to 500 MB. Mac free version lets you see what’s there, but recovery needs a licence. It’s a great idea to use the free scan as a diagnostic. If your preview comes back clean, your data is good!
It will do its best to recover your data. And that is the problem. Scanning assumes that each time you hit a drive you’ll get exactly the same results. Also, scanning has absolutely no understanding of saving read attempts when those attempts are severely limited. We’ve seen drives fail due to recovery scans many times. Clicks? Dropouts? Stop scanning immediately!
Not really. Looking at one element in an array, and assuming this is all the elements in that array, the scanner will find fragments, and mangle the layout, which means the recovered “file” looks like it was partially successful, but most likely it was not. RAID arrays require all members of the RAID to be successfully imaged, then the entire geometry must be restored.
When the drive starts making noise, when the drive goes away periodically, when you’re trying to restore a RAID array, and/or when the drive contains the only copy of something you cannot replace (e.g., family photos). Labs image drives read-only first, so they always make a backup of everything before attempting a restoration. From £300 + VAT for a single drive after our free diagnostic test.