When you need to convalesce important files that you ’ve by chance deleted or lose from some kind of computer bug , accuracy and dependability are essential . On the other hand , you do n’t want to dedicate to an expensive subscription for what ’s hopefully a one - fourth dimension trouble .
Recuva by Piriform might be the small - cost solution you ’re looking for . It ’s made by the same company that make the democratic system of rules cleanup app CCleaner .
I reviewed Recuva Professional to find out how well it work , whether it ’s well-heeled to use , checked customer service , and more to make certain there ’s enough economic value for this app to garner a place on our list ofthe best data recovery package .
Tiers and pricing
While you could use Recuva for free , it does have some limitations . It ca n’t access virtual drives , wo n’t get automatic update , and lacks customer keep . That ’s not a large concern since Recuva Professional is so inexpensive .
If you do n’t have a large number of file to restore , you might want tocheck out my inspection of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard . It handles some situations well and the free version lets you recover up to 2 GB of data at no direction .
you’re able to upgrade to a one - year Recuva Professional subscription for $ 25 , or sometimes less when there ’s a sales event . I saw a terms of $ 20 , which is about as cheap as paid data convalescence software have .
When I choose the upgrade option in the free version of Recuva , I date a promotional pass to add CCleaner for Windows , CCleaner for Mac , and Speccy , a hardware monitor for only $ 10 more , for a sum of about $ 30 .
A Recuva Professional subscription and the big money of apps take into account installation on up to three data processor , adding even more value to the steal .
Design
When I launch the app , the Recuva Wizard channelize me to bushel single file in a serial of dewy-eyed pace . This is optional , and there ’s a checkbox to hide the wizard on inauguration .
When I utilise the champion , it ask what character of files I want to recover . “ All Files ” is preselected and seems like a good choice , but I could limit the lookup to image , music , videos , emails , and other Indian file type .
The next question is about the location of the lose file , with the default choice of “ I ’m not sure . ” Rather than waste matter sentence searching everywhere , I prefer a special drive . I could have search all removable drives , documents , the recycle bin , or a particular leaflet .
The last choice is whether I require to do a rich CAT scan or start with a quick scan . I went for the faster method acting first .
I learned that the choices I made are tantamount to skipping the wizard and choosing which drive I want to scan from a bead - down menu . Still , the wizard is a favorable path to insert the app to new customer .
I prefer using Recuva without the wizard since it ’s faster . After choose a drive from the top pass on , I can select the scan button to look for lose files . The computer menu to the right hand lets me narrow the search down to a particular type or location , just like the wizard .
The center - left panel of the app number file with column for the name , path , last limiting particular date , size , state , and comment . I can class by any column .
The “ State ” column suggest how likely it is the file can be restored , ranging from irrecoverable to first-class . The “ input ” newspaper column allow more detail , such as “ No overwritten clusters detected , ” “ The file is overwrite , ” or “ File header data is empty and data file is firmly edit . ”
A preview panel on the right shows icon or image previews . There are also tab to see more information about a finical file cabinet and its heading data . Header data is only useful if you ’re a programmer or IT professional that ’s used to looking at raw single file data .
An on-line help link is at the bottom leave , and I can ascertain for app update with a link at the bottom right . The Recuva app has a very dim-witted design with enough info to be useful .
Features
I started test Recuva Professional with a substantial - state driveway ( SSD ) , one of the most thought-provoking tasks for data recovery software since the respectable SSDs clean up Indian file directly after excision . The best SSDs are much flying than traditional disc drivesso the scan acquire seconds .
While every single file was ascertain , Recuva Professional aright mark them all as unrecoverable . I tried anyway , but only the file name remained inviolate . That ’s normal for SSD storage , and I have n’t found a datum recuperation app that can overcome this computer hardware oddity . There arepros and cons for SSDs and HDDswith a position for both despite the late advances in engineering science .
Next , I try quick - format an SSD partition , which marks files for cut but does n’t in reality overwrite the data . However , Recuva Professional did n’t see any of the 165 files after a nimble CAT scan . The app offer to do a mystifying CAT scan . Unfortunately , that also failed , suggest Recuva Professional is n’t the serious selection for SSD convalescence .
Moving on to the surd disk driving force ( HDD ) test , I copied a batch of filing cabinet to an external driveway , then delete them . Recuva Professional found 163 out of 163 lost files and two nested folders . The condition suggested restoration should work , and it did , though 55 data file and one booklet had codes instead of the original epithet . I could open all the prototype and play the sound file .
After a quick formatting of my USB drive , Recuva Professional correctly estimated it would take about an hour to glance over for files . It ’s a small 320 GB drive , but it ’s an quondam , slower model .
The status of all files had first-class recoverability , and Recuva Professional restore 158 of the 163 file . That ’s not bad for super - cheap software .
I have an old thumb drive that glitched and is inaccessible to Windows . Sometimes data point retrieval software can see the fall behind division and missing files . When I scan with Recuva Professional , it found one C of files and restored 34 along with several nuzzle folders , all with intact filenames .
Support
Recuva Professional ’s on-line avail is minimum . There ’s a tilt of about 30 support articles , five FAQs , a link to the residential area forums , and a inter-group communication to video tutorials on YouTube . None of the video tutorial mention Recuva .
As a last recourse , I checked my emailed reception and find the email address for client support . If you need help more quick than e-mail , the Recuva residential area assembly might be the best place to depend .
Privacy and security
Recuva Professional does its processing on your computer so there ’s no need to upload any file . Piriform does hoard some app analytics , but nothing that ’s a privacy business .
Regarding security , Recuva has n’t been implicated in any breaches or malware , but Piriform ’s principal product , CCleaner , has run into trouble on three occasion , most recently in 2023 .
These issue might not regard Recuva users , but it ’s deserving noting that the company has struggle with security in the past .
Is Recuva Professional right for you?
While Recuva Professional handled HDD data recovery well , it could only recover the name of lost file from an SSD . It also found a lost partition on a damaged thumb campaign , so the app is a miscellaneous bag of expert and bad .
Recuva is a exceedingly cheap root for restoring lose HDD files . It ’s comfortable to expend but support is lack . If you are n’t conversant with technology , you ’d be better off with data recovery software like Ease US Data Recovery Wizard Pro , which include hot bread and butter .
For more choice , check outour leaning of the best data retrieval apps . We also have adata recovery software system guide for Mac estimator .
If you feel like you ’ve tried everything and you still ca n’t get some files from a damage drive , there areexperts that specialize in extracting databy working directly with the hardware .
