If you are reading this article, chances are you’ve encountered a major hard drive crash that caused most of the files to become corrupted.
Or there’s a file deleted a long time ago, which you need to get back as soon as possible. But sometimes hard drives fail for no reason, or there are so many reasons that affect its lifespan you can’t tell for sure.
While many software solutions offer to undelete specific files, not of them show good results when dealing with a significant number of files or even an entire HDD. This article lists 5 best paid data recovery software, which prove themselves as the best professional tools for data recovery enthusiasts.
Things to consider before hard drive recovery
Whether your hard drive is internal or external, consider limiting its usage as hard as possible before starting the data recovery process. The thing is, if you can’t access specific files, it doesn’t mean they’re wiped out from your computer completely. Most likely, they are still here but maybe overwritten with new data. As a result, the files will become unrecoverable or recoverable partially. Thus, try to reduce the amount of data usage to a minimum: temporarily pause software updates and don’t upload new files to the desktop.
Remember that the more time has passed since the files were deleted, the less the data available to recover. It’s a common scenario when you can get back the lost documents but not their titles, as long as their metadata has been overwritten already. In case you don’t mean to run a full hard drive recovery, consider paid data recovery software that supports file preview feature.
Best professional data recovery software
Disk Drill Hard Drive Recovery
Disk Drill is a professional data recovery software made to simplify the overall process as much as possible. While undeleting your files has its shortcomings and can’t guarantee 100% success rate, this tool helps you minimize the effort needed to get lost data back at home.
Disk Drill hard drive data recovery software is free to download, and provide unlimited scans and protection features like scheduled backups and SMART monitoring. It supports more than 400 file formats on all the common file systems, including RAW disks. The storage available to recover is limited to 500 MB for the Windows version — you’ll need to purchase the Pro license. There is also the Disk Drill HDD Recovery for Mac available.
Features
- 500 MB free recovery for Windows users
- Unlimited scans
- Recovers data from formatted and damaged hard drive disks and other storage devices
- Supports missing HDD partitions
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Allows file preview before recovery
- Comes with additional free data protection features: SMART disk health monitoring, automatic backups, protected data undeletion from Recovery Vault
Price: Free with limitations, Pro license with unlimited recovery for $89
R-Studio
R-Studio is one of the best professional data recovery software available on all systems (including Windows and UNIX-based ones). Nonetheless, it’s designed rather for recovery technicians and professionals. It might not be the best choice for enthusiasts, or in case you need to undelete specific files from a failed hard drive just once.
This software is free to download from the manufacturer’s official website. After the first launch, you’ll run unlimited scans for internal and external hard drives, and preview retrievable files. You’ll need to purchase the license to recover them.
Features
- Supports all common Windows, Mac and Linux storage media
- Recovers all major file formats from formatted or corrupted HDDs and other storage media
- Free file preview for recoverable data
- Recovers from damaged RAID arrays
- Comes with SMART disk health monitoring for better recovery results
Price: Free demo, Professional license starting from $49.99
DMDE Professional
DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software will be the right choice for those who need to get deleted files from the hard drive fast. This classic tool comes as a portable app and doesn’t require installation. It covers all basic needs for professional data recovery with limitations, which you can lift by purchasing the Professional Edition.
Features
- Doesn’t require installation
- Up to 4,000 files free recovery from the main directory
- Allows to edit and repair damaged hard drive partitions bypassing NTFS driver
- Supports all common file systems and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux machines
- Recovers from damaged RAID arrays
Price: Free for limited recovery from the main directory, full-features license starting from $48
Data Rescue Pro 5
Another professional hard drive recovery tool is Data Rescue Pro 5 by Prosoft Engineering, which is available for Windows and Mac. It supports over 150 file formats and recovers from FAT, ExFAT, ext2, ext3, HFS+, and NTFS file systems. The basic version is free to download and allows you to run quick and deep scans with no limits, but the recovery features are locked until you buy the license.
Features
- Recovers 150+ file formats from all common HDD types and other storage devices
- Advanced tools for creating and cloning bootable devices
- Allows previewing scanned data before recovery
- Clean and easy-to-understand user interface
Price: Free to scan drives, purchasing license starting from $99 is required to unlock recovery features
UFS Explorer Professional
UFS Explorer Professional is not such a popular tool, as others mentioned above. It’s still one of the best professional hard drive data recovery software with a friendly appearance and good recovery results. It works with various storage technologies and recovers a wide range of file formats on Windows, macOS and other UNIX-based computers.
UFS Explorer Professional Data Recovery Tool is available to download for free and offers unlimited scans out of the box. The recovery tools are limited to files under 768 KB and require the purchased Professional license to lift.
Features
- Work with all common file systems of Windows, macOS, Linux and BSD/Solaris-based machines
- Automatic reconstruction of specific RAID types
- Supports hard drives and other storage media with corrupted sectors
- Built-in disk encryption and SMART health monitoring features
Price: Free to scan drives and recover files under 768 KB, Professional subscription starting from €59.95/year
Conclusion
When you’re experiencing issues with your hard drive or major data loss, don’t start to panic in the first place. There is a good chance to recover your files even if your storage is partially damaged or accidentally formatted, thanks to modern professional data recovery software. Try to limit computer usage as soon as you notice data loss to prevent it from being overwritten with new files.
