Free Hard Drive Recovery Software. Recover HDD Data [2024] (2024)

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Recover all types of deleted files in Windows in a matter of seconds. Disk Drill is a reliable hard drive recovery solution that enables you to restore lost data from HDD, SSD, USB drives, and more with a few clicks. Recover up to 500 MB with the app’s free trial.

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Also available for Mac OS X

Recover Data From Hard Drives in Any Data Loss Situations

Data loss occurs for a variety of reasons that demand a versatile recovery tool. Disk Drill helps you recover lost and deleted files in almost any data loss scenario.

Formatted Hard Drives

It’s easy to accidentally format the wrong hard drive or partition. Disk Drill can easily recover data from a formatted hard drive or partition saving you from extensive data loss.

Accidental Data Deletion

Everyone inadvertently deletes a file at one time or another. Disk Drill will retrieve data from a hard drive even if it was deleted and you emptied the Recycle Bin.

Filesystem Problems

When faced with a disk that suddenly shows up as a RAW filesystem, our hard drive recovery tool can scan the device and get your valuable data back intact.

Disk Is Not Visible in File Explorer

Disk Drill can recover even hard drives that are not visible in File Explorer. As long as the Windows operating system can communicate with the drive, recovery is possible.

Hard Disk Not Showing Files

Are you having trouble locating certain files? Our hard drive recovery tool can efficiently locate and restore files missing from the hard drive regardless of why they've become hidden.

Other Software & Hardware Issues

Viruses and malware can cause data loss on your hard drives and storage media. Disk Drill will quickly recover your lost files no matter what type of software deleted them.

Your Best Solution: Disk Drill Hard Drive Recovery Tool

Disk Drill is hard drive recovery software that can help you recover from virtually any type of data loss scenario, including those involving internal and external hard disk drives (HDD) and solid-state drives (SSD), as well as issues with lost or damaged partitions. If you have deleted an important file (document, image, video, archive, etc.) from your computer or laptop, Disk Drill can get it back quickly and easily. Some of the tool’s benefits include:

Intuitive and user-friendly interface;
Sophisticated scanning algorithms;
Wide storage device and filetype support;
RAID and Windows Storage Spaces compatibility;
Free disk imaging and data protection features;
Built-in S.M.A.R.T. monitoring module;
Free data protection tools;
Free data recovery up to 500 MB

Recover Data From Any Storage Media

Disk Drill’s versatility enables you to recover deleted and lost files from virtually any type of disk-based storage device. Its scanning algorithms search your device sector-by-sector to recover files on Windows 7 through Windows 10, 11 systems.

Internal & External HDD

Seagate®, Western Digital®, Toshiba®, Silicon Power®, LaCie®

Hybrid Hard Drive

Seagate®, WD®, Fantom Drives®, Dell®

RAID

RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, RAID6, RAID10, JBOD, Windows Storage Spaces

USB Flash Drive

Samsung®, SanDisk®, Kingston®, Corsair®

SD / CF Card

Lexar®, Hoodman®,
Delkin®

Other

Sony®, Transcend®, LG®,
ADATA®

Tip: In cases of dead or severely damaged hard drives, contact Cleverfiles Data Recovery Center.

5 EASY STEPS

How to Recover Files From a Hard Drive

Here are the simple steps needed to recover lost and deleted files from a hard drive using Disk Drill for Windows.

1. Download & Install Disk Drill Hard Drive Data Recovery Software

Download and install Disk Drill. Do not use the disk that experienced that data loss for the download to avoid overwriting files you wish to restore. Use a USB drive for the download and install if your main hard drive has lost data. You will need to provide Administrators credentials during the install process.

2. Choose the hard drive or partition

Connect the hard drive to your computer and launch Disk Drill. Select the entire hard drive or a specific partition (if you’re not sure, select the entire hard drive). You can see detailed information about the selected hard drive in the right pane.

Recover deleted or lost partitions

3. Start scanning for lost hard drive data

Click the Search for lost data button to start the scanning process. A progress bar at the top of the application will display the scan's status. You can pause and resume scanning anytime you want, and you can also click the Review found items button before the scan completes to preview recoverable files.

Tip: If you have enough free storage space, then we recommend you create a byte-to-byte image of your hard drive using Disk Drill's disk imaging feature and scan this backup image instead. To understand why this is a good idea, please refer to our detailed guide on DMG and ISO images.

4. Select which files you want to recover from your hard drive

You can stop the scan at any point, but you will get the best results by letting complete. If you pause the scan, you can restore any files the software has already identified as being recoverable. This can be helpful if you are in a hurry and don’t want to let the process finish. Check the box to the left of a file or folder to make your recovery selections.

4.1 Use "filters" for a faster search or to select a specific file type

Recovered files are filtered and displayed in folders to make it easier to find exactly what you need. Select from these categories when searching for data: Pictures, Video, Audio, Documents, Archives, and other files. This feature saves a lot of time, allowing you to focus on the recovery results that matter to you without needing to go through the whole recovery report.

4.2 Search for files

You can search for files in the app’s display or perform a search using the search bar at the top of the program’s main window. This lets you directly look for a specific filename no matter what type of file it is. When you go into the window of a particular file type you will see a list of recoverable files as well as those that have been reconstructed by a deep scan.

4.3 Check the Reconstruction section

Reconstructed files are those that have been recovered by Disk Drill but have not provided enough metadata to obtain a filename. The files are reconstructed through deep scans based on their file signatures, and will usually have a valid file extension displayed. You can preview the files to see if you want to recover them and then rename them when recovery is complete.

5. Recover the deleted hard drive data

Click the Recover or Recover all button to perform the recovery. You will be prompted to provide a safe storage location where you want the data to be restored. Stay clear of the device which lost data so you don’t overwrite files before they can be recovered. When recovery is complete you can go to the designated folder and move the files wherever you want. Some reconstructed files may need to be renamed.

How to Recover Files from an External Hard Drive

Chances to Successfully Recover Hard Drive Data

Disk Drill employs a labeling system to intelligently predict the likelihood of successful data recovery and keep you informed throughout the process. Files that can be confidently recovered without any issues are marked with a full dark star. Those that may be slightly damaged but still recoverable are indicated with a half-filled star. Lastly, files that are unlikely to be successfully recovered are denoted by an empty star (no fill).

In practice, the three color labels roughly correspond to the following data loss scenarios:

HIGH - Accidental deletion

It’s usually possible to recover recently deleted files from a hard drive without any data loss—even if the files are no longer present in the Recycle bin folder.

HIGH - Hard drive formatting

As long as formatting isn’t followed by the writing of new data, the original data should still be recoverable with little to no data loss.

AVERAGE - Minor data corruption

Common causes of minor data corruption include software bugs, power outages, and benign malware. Such corruption may cause files to seemingly disappear but it seldom leads to their destruction.

AVERAGE - Partial overwriting

Some files, such as images and videos, can be recovered even when partially overwritten. Other files, such as executables, can’t.

LOW - Extensive overwriting

When files are overwritten beyond a certain degree, their recovery is extremely difficult, and, when successful, it doesn’t produce good results.

LOW - Malware infection

Some serious malware infections, such as ransomware, make files inaccessible by encrypting them. Even if you stop the encryption process in time, it’s often too late to recover fully and partially encrypted data.

Please note that deleted files that were located on a TRIM-enabled SSD likely won’t be detected by Disk Drill at all because such files are physically erased from the storage device soon after their deletion.

Recover Any Type of Files

Disk Drill’s deep scanning algorithms recognize over 400 different file signatures and can reconstruct files from fragments scattered across your hard drive. Lost photos, videos, documents, and many other types of data are supported by this flexible recovery solution. During a hard drive restore, files are conveniently organized so you can find the data you need.

Video

MPG (MPEG video), M4V (iTunes video), AVI, FLV (Flash video), MP4 (MPEG-4 video), WMV (Windows Media Video)

Audio

AIF, MP3 (MPEG Audio Stream, Layer III), AIFF (Audio Interchange File), AIFC, WMA (Windows Media audio files)

Images

BMP, JP2, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, PSP. Polaroid/Sigma: X3F. Adobe: AI, APM, INDL, IDML, INDB, INDD, INX, LRCAT, PSB, PSD. Pentax: PEF.

Documents

PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint), DOCX (Microsoft Word), XLSX (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet), PDF (Portable Document Format)

Keys for Increasing Your Hard Drive Recovery Success

Here are some tips that can help increase the chances of a successful data recovery. Failure to follow these suggestions may lead to permanent data loss.

Stop using the device

Stop using the device as soon as you determine it has experienced data loss to prevent the deleted files from being overwritten by Windows, making them unrecoverable.

Don’t ignore strange sounds

Strange noises coming from the drive indicate you may soon be performing a hard drive crash recovery. If you hear strange sounds, get your data to a safe place.

Back up the drive

Create a byte-level backup to reduce the stress on a failing drive. Disk Drill provides this functionality which allows you to save data from the device before it fails.

Use a different drive

Use a different drive for downloading and installing Disk Drill. Using the device that lost data runs the risk of overwriting the files you want before you restore them.

Use reliable software

You may only get one chance to recover your valuable data. Don’t leave it to chance with an unreliable software tool. Disk Drill Hard Disk Recovery Software has a proven record of recovery success.

Recover to a new location

You don’t want to recover your data to the same device that experienced the data loss. This could overwrite your data and make it impossible to ever recover it.

PROTECT

Not Only Hard Drive Recovery - Active Data Protection

Disk Drill does not only offer data recovery but includes a free data protection tool that helps keep your important files and folders safe. Recovery Vault acts as an extension to your Recycle Bin and allows you to recover designated files that are deleted without performing a full recovery. It supports hard drives running the FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems with no overhead. When a file goes missing, simply use the Undelete Protected Data feature to get it back fast.

Best Hard Drive Data Recovery Software Comparison

We have selected and compared five of the most popular Hard Drive Data Recovery software solutions that really work. This breakdown of features should help you choose the right tool when faced with a data loss situation. When you need to recover deleted data you don’t want to be playing around with a tool that may or may not work. These applications have all been used in many recovery scenarios and should help you get your data back.

	Disk Drill	Recuva	EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard	Recoverit Data Recovery	Stellar Data Recovery
Rating (5 star)
Price	$89.00 (lifetime license)	$19.95 (year)	$99.95 (year)	$69.95 (year)	$79.99 (year)
Deep scan file signatures	400+	50	1000	1000	200
Automatic scans (quick / deep / full scan)	✔	✘	✔	✔	✘
Apple Hard Drive Recovery (Mac version)	✔	✘	✔	✔	✔
RAID recovery	✔	✘	partial	✘	✔
File recovery from Windows Storage Spaces	✔	✘	partial	partial	partial
Recycle Bin recovery	✔	partial	✔	✔	✔
BitLocker support	✔	✘	✔	partial	✔
Unbootable hard drives recovery	✔	✘	✔	partial	partial
Auto-resuming scans and backups	✔	✘	✘	✘	✘
Scan damaged or dead hard drives	✔ Data recovery center	✘	✔	partial	partial
Power failures recovery	✔	✘	✔	✔	✔
Backup failling HDD to a disk image	✔	✔	✘	✘	✔
Partition problems recovery	✔	✘	✔	partial	partial
Mount recovery results as virtual drive	✔	✘	✘	✘	✘
S.M.A.R.T. monitoring module	✔	✘	✘	✘	partial
Save scan sessions	✔	✘	✔	✘	✔

When Software Recovery Isn’t Enough

In cases where your hard drive has crashed or suffered mechanical failure, resulting in physical damage, software recovery might not suffice. Instead of stressing the hard drive with DIY recovery attempts, we recommend you contact a professional data recovery service:

Visit the web page of our data recovery center. Our experts are equipped to recover even badly damaged hard drives.
Complete, print, sign, and send the Work Order form for your hard drive. Provide detailed information for an accurate diagnostic evaluation.
Protect your media in an anti-static bag or foil, cushion it with foam or bubble wrap, and ship it using a service with tracking.
Decide if you want to approve the quote you receive from our data recovery lab. Our "No Data – No Charge" policy guarantees you pay only if we successfully recover your desired files.
After recovery, we return your data on a DVD, flash drive, or external hard drive.

How to Fix Logical Disk Errors and Recover Data

Some data loss issues caused logical disk errors can be solved without third-party data recovery software, by applying the easy fixes described below.

FIX 1

Use CHKDSK Command

The CHKDSK command can be used to scan any storage device for logical errors. If CHKDSK finds any problems, it will attempt to repair them:

Press Win + X.
Select Windows Terminal (Admin) if you’re using Windows 11 or Windows PowerShell (Admin) if you’re using Windows 10.
Enter the following command and press enter (replace “X” with the letter assigned to your storage device): chkdsk X: /r

Caution: The CHKDSK command is a powerful tool for scanning storage devices for logical errors and attempting repairs. However, it might render some files irrecoverable in certain situations. Therefore, we strongly recommend performing file recovery before executing this command. This also applies to the next fix we discuss.

Fix 2

Check Your Disk From Windows Explorer

If you're not a fan of command-line tools, Windows offers a visual alternative to CHKDSK. To check your storage devices for errors and fix them without having to type commands, you can:

Right-click on the device you want to check for errors and choose Properties.
In the new Properties window that shows up, move to the Tools tab.
Click on Check in the Error checking section.
Choose Scan drive from the requester that pops up.
If errors are found, you can have them fixed.

Fix 3

Use ATTRIB Command

Does your hard drive suddenly seem to be completely empty even though the amount of free storage space is still the same? Then it’s possible that malware or some logical error has messed up your file attributes. Fortunately, you can fix them using the ATTRIB command:

Press Win + X.
Select Windows Terminal (Admin) if you’re using Windows 11 or Windows PowerShell (Admin) if you’re using Windows 10.
Enter the following command and press Enter (replace “X” with the letter assigned to your storage device): attrib -h -r -s /s /d X:*.*

Fix 4

Update Hard Disk Drivers

Outdated or malfunctioning drivers can lead to all kinds of hard drive problems, such as unreliable data transfers or file system corruption. The solution? Force Windows to update them by following these instructions:

Press Win + X.
Select Device Manager.
Go to Disk drives and right-click your hard drive.
Select the Update drivers option.
Choose to “Search automatically for updated driver software”.

Fix 5

Assign a New Drive Letter

It’s possible for a logical error to cause the affected drive to lose the letter that was assigned to it and become impossible to access from File E

Press Win + X.
Select Disk Management.
Right-click the hard drive that has become inaccessible and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Click Add and select the new drive letter.
Press OK to confirm.

Fix 6

Check Security and Maintenance

Windows checks storage devices for problems during its automatic maintenance activities. However, this maintenance happens without user interference, automatically, based on a pre-defined schedule. You can start a maintenance scan manually, though, with the following steps:

Open the Start menu and search for Security and Maintenance. Select and open that entry when it shows up.
At the Security and Maintenance window, expand the Maintenance drop-down section.
Click on Start maintenance under Automatic Maintenance to manually start a checkup.
If you change your mind, you can cut the scan short by clicking on Stop maintenance.

Fix 7

Check S.M.A.R.T. Status

All modern SSDs and HDDs incorporate S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) capabilities that make it possible for users to monitor their health directly through Windows Settings. While knowing whether your drive is or isn't healthy won't fix your problem on its own, it can point you in the right direction. To check S.M.A.R.T. in Windows:

Open the Settings app by pressing Win + I on your keyboard.
Navigate to System on the left panel, then click on Storage on the right.
Expand Advanced storage settings and click on Disks & volumes. This section will list all the storage devices connected to your system and display a status message saying "Healthy" if there are no issues.
You can click the Properties button next to each device to see additional details.
Within the drive's properties, you will find the Drive health status. This area provides critical information about your disk's health, including its estimated remaining life, which shows the approximate percentage of the drive's life used, based on the manufacturer's predictions.

Fix 8

Use Vendor's Tools

All storage device manufacturers offer official tools for checking their condition and testing them. Since each of them works somewhat differently, we won't dive into the details of how to use them. You can find them by looking at your device manufacturer's official site, usually in a "support" section. For four of the most popular brands, take a look at:

Fix 9

Use a Bootable Linux Distribution

Even if you're using Windows, you can temporarily use Linux to check your disks for problems and attempt to fix them. All without changing or affecting in any way your current operating system. Windows users will feel right at home with GParted. The app accompanies most Linux distributions and is straightforward in its use. To check your disks with it:

Download one of the more Windows-friendly Linux distributions, like Linux Mint.
Make a bootable USB with it. Check this guide if you don't know how to do that.
Boot your PC from your bootable Linux media. Check your PC motherboard's manual to see how you can boot from a secondary device.
When you reach the Linux distribution's desktop, expand its Start menu equivalent, and search for Gparted. Run the application.
Choose your storage device from the drop-down menu on the top-right.
Right-click on your device and select Check from the menu that pops up.

FIX 10

Fix a Damaged Partition Table Using TestDisk

TestDisk is a powerful open-source data recovery software that can fix partition tables to recover lost partitions. While it doesn't have a graphical user interface, the steps you need to follow in order to fix logical disk errors and recover your data are fairly straightforward:

Download and install TestDisk.
Launch TestDisk and decide if you want to create a log file.
Select the disk that has the lost partition you want to recover.
Tell TestDisk which partition table type it should look for.
Analyze the current partition structure.
Use the Quick Search option to look for recoverable partitions.
Select a found partition and press Enter to recover it.
Write the new partition table.
Confirm your decision.
Exit TestDisk.

FIX 11

Format Disk to NTFS Using Disk Management

Windows includes a useful Disk Management utility that allows you to format hard drives that are not accessible from File Explorer, which can happen when the drive is corrupted, has an unsupported file system, or becomes RAW. It's important to note that formatting a disk will erase all existing data on the drive, so it's best to create a complete hard drive image backup beforehand. Here’s how to format a disk using the Disk Management utility:

Press Win + X.
Select Disk Management.
Right-click the problematic hard drive and select the Format option.
Choose the NTFS file system and confirm.
Click OK to complete disk formatting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated on Jan 23, 2024 by Disk Drill Team

How to Recover Deleted Files from a Hard Drive?

Follow these steps to recover deleted files from a hard drive:

Download, install and launch Disk Drill.
Select the hard drive from the list.
Click Search for lost data to start scanning for lost files.
Review the files that have been found and select those you wish to restore.
Click Recover all and retrieve the files to your selected location.

What is the best free hard drive recovery software in 2024?

Here is a list of the best free hard drive recovery software in 2024

Disk Drill Data Recovery (Windows/Mac)
TestDisk (Windows/Mac)
Recuva (Windows)
PhotoRec (Windows/Mac)
R-Studio (Windows/Mac)
Wise Data Recovery (Windows)
Data Rescue 5 (Windows/Mac)
Recoverit Free Data Recovery (Windows/Mac)
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard (Windows/Mac)
Stellar Data Recovery (Windows/Mac)
OnTrack EasyRecovery (Windows/Mac)

What hard disk brands are supported by Disk Drill software?

Disk Drill can recover data from virtually any hard disk brand. This includes providing support for drives manufactured by Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, Hitachi, Kingston Technology, Samsung, and Iomega. If your storage device is disk-based, then there is an excellent chance that Disk Drill supports it and can be used to successfully recover and data that is accidentally lost.

Can I recover deleted files from my HDD with Disk Drill software for free?

Yes, you can. Disk Drill for Windows enables users to recover up to 500 MB of data using the free trial version of the application. Give the tool a test drive and perform data recovery to evaluate its functionality. See how the combination of powerful technology and an intuitive user interface makes it easy for anyone to restore deleted data from a hdd.

What are the signs of hard drive failure?

These are the signs that your hard drive might be getting ready to fail:

Strange clicking and grinding noises coming from the hard drive;
Unexpected program crashes and disk access errors;
Persistent error messages while running software applications;
Inconsistent computer performance with slower than normal response time;
Unexplained missing files.

Can files be recovered from a failed hard drive?

Yes, you can recover files from a failed hard drive. Your operating system needs to be able to recognize and access the device for software to work. The software needs to be able to scan the disk to perform its recovery functions. If this is not the case, your best bet is to use a data recovery center that can physically recover your data.

How to Restore Deleted Files from an External Hard Disk?

To Restore deleted files from an external HDD:

Download and install Disk Drill.
Connect the external hard drive to your computer and launch the app.
Select the drive from the list.
Click Search for lost data to scan for files.
Preview the recoverable data which you want to restore from and external hard drive.
Select the files for recovery and click Recover all to restore your data.

How can I recover data from a formatted hard disk?

You can recover data from a formatted hard disk using data recovery software:

Download Disk Drill and install it on your system.
Launch the software and select your formatted hard disk.
Click Search for lost data and wait.
Locate and select your missing files.
Click Recover and specify a suitable recovery destination.

Is it possible to recover deleted files from a hard drive without software?

Yes, it is. The first place to look for deleted files is the Windows Recycle Bin. If the files you are looking for are in the Bin it’s a simple matter to restore them. You can also use previously created backups of the data to restore deleted files. This highlights the importance of taking regularly scheduled backups of your data.

What is the best hard drive recovery software for Windows users?

Top 12 Hard Drive Recovery Software for Windows:

Disk Drill for Windows
R-Studio
Recuva
Data Rescue 5
OnTrack EasyRecovery
TestDisk and PhotoRec
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro
WonderShare Recoverit Free Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery
Stellar Windows Data Recovery
UnDeleteMyFiles Pro
Prosoft Data Rescue

What is the best hard drive data recovery service near me?

Cleverfiles Data Recovery Center is the best data recovery service and is within reach of everyone with a simple phone call or email. All recovery services require you to ship your device, so their physical location is somewhat irrelevant. Cleverfiles offers customers reliable recovery services with no charge for unsuccessful recoveries. A free cost estimate is available through their website.

What kinds of drives and devices do you recover data from with Disk Drill?

Disk Drill is compatible with almost all storage devices that your computer can recognize. So, you can use it to recover files from HDDs, SSDs, or even that old and battered CF card you found forgotten in a drawer.

Can Disk Drill recover password-protected hard drive data?

Disk Drill can recover data from password-protected devices but won't circumvent their protection. Thus, it will ask you to provide the password for "unlocking" the device to enable it to access the data stored there and attempt recovery.

Customers and software guru say

@MoonJuiceTTV

If it comes down to the drive being corrupted, Disk Drill is a godsend. Saved years of my work and footage from being lost.

softonic.com

"A professional data recovery tool. The free software supports a range of file types and works on both internal and external hard drives." - Chantelle van Heerden

Knowledge is power, quick tips

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NEWEST RELEASE

Version 5.5.900. 7 May 2024

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