The software is open-source, meaning that it is entirely free for anyone to use.
TestDisk PhotoRec is an excellent data recovery app. The recovery time was similar to the first one we recorded: 5 minutes and 24 seconds.ĭeleted files recovered by Recuva using deep scan mp3 files that it didn’t recover on the first (fast) scan were still undetected and unrecoverable. That’s more than the number of files we copied on the USB memory stick: Recuva managed to detect 59 additional image files that were found on the stick before formatting it. Although the deep scan itself took much longer (31 minutes and 3 seconds), Recuva identified 144 recoverable files. Running Recuva a second time, using the deep scan option gave better results. mp3 music files we had initially were unrecoverable.ĭeleted files recovered by Recuva using fast scan It recovered them in 5 minutes and 26 seconds, and all of the 85 recovered files were intact. The application made the scan in 0.09 seconds and found 85 out of the 105 files we deleted. Recuva starts with a wizard, which helps you choose the location and file types you are about to scan. We also wanted to restrict this review only to free apps, without any limitations, because most people are not keen on spending money on apps they might only use once or twice. We chose the programs you see below because, at this moment, they are the most popular in the niche. Then it was time to test the data recovery apps we planned to review. Since the deleted files were on a USB memory stick, we recovered the files to our computer's solid-state drive. We did that to see how good each program would be at recovering files when there are chances of having some deleted files partially overwritten by others. Next, we deleted all the files permanently, using the Shift + Delete keys, and added 20 new files (jpeg images, 57.40 MB total size) on the memory stick. The files we used for testing recovery software In total, we had 105 files with a size of 6.07 GB.