Disk Drill Data Recovery Software

Recover your deleted files on Windows, including Office documents, archives, and media files, quickly and easily. Disk Drill for Windows is a simple free data recovery software that restores deleted files from hard disks (HDD), external USB drives, or any kind of storage media.

The Most Reliable Windows Data Recovery Software

If you have lost or deleted important data from your device, this free data recovery software for Windows can get it back fast. Its intuitive user interface makes it easy to recover your lost files. Some of its features include:

  • Free data recovery of up to 500 MB Free data recovery of up to 500 MB
  • Free data protection with Recovery Vault Free data protection with Recovery Vault
  • Free byte-level backups of your storage media Free byte-level backups of your storage media
  • Preview lost files before performing a recovery Preview lost files before performing a recovery
  • Easily predict successful recoverability of your files Easily predict successful recoverability of your files

Recover Data From a Variety of Devices

Using Disk Drill data recovery software for Windows 10 & 11 you can recover deleted data from virtually any storage device. The list of supported ones includes your computer’s internal hard disk, external USB drives, SD and CF cards, other memory cards, digital cameras, solid state drives (SSD), flash drives, virtual hard drives, RAID arrays, disk images, etc. Also runs on Windows 8, 7, XP or Vista.

PC / MacPC / Mac
PC / Mac

Dell®, HP®, Acer®, Asus®, MacBook Pro®, MacBook Air®, Apple iMac® and more

HDD / SSD*
HDD / SSD*

HP®, Samsung®, Seagate®, Toshiba®, WD®, LaCie®, Intel®, Adata® and more

USB Drive
USB Drive

SanDisk®, Samsung®, Kingston®, Corsair®, Patriot®, PNY®, Verbatim®, Silicon Power® and more

SD / CF Card
SD / CF Card

SanDisk®, Transcend®, Toshiba®, Lexar®, Integral®, SP®, PNY®, Kingston® and more

Digital Camera
Digital Camera

Samsung®, HP®, Sony®, GoPro®, Canon®, Sigma®, Nikon®, Epson®, Panasonic® and more

iPhone / Android (Mac ONLY)**
iPhone / Android (Mac ONLY)**

Samsung Galaxy®, iPhone®, Lenovo®, Huawei®, OnePlus®, Google Pixel®, LG® and more

!

* If TRIM is disabled. Learn more >

** Note: iOS and Android data recovery of images, documents, archives and other deleted files from iPhones, iPads and Android devices is only supported in Disk Drill for Mac at the moment. This will become available in Disk Drill for Windows soon. Let us know if you are interested in helping us beta-test this feature.

Recover All File Types

Disk Drill, a professional Windows data recovery solution, can restore all file types that have been deleted or lost on virtually any of your devices. Its powerful and sophisticated scanning algorithms can identify and reconstruct hundreds of different file types including all of the popular video, audio, photo and document formats.

40
Video
Video
AVI, FLV (Flash video), M4V (iTunes video), MP4 (MPEG-4 video), MPG (MPEG video), WMV (Windows Media Video)
40
Audio
Audio
MP3 (MPEG Audio Stream, Layer III), AIF, AIFC, AIFF (Audio Interchange File), WMA (Windows Media audio files)
93
Images
Images
BMP, JPEG, JP2, GIF, TIFF, PSP. Polaroid/Sigma: X3F. Pentax: PEF. Adobe: AI, APM, IDML, INDB, INDD, INDL, INX, LRCAT, PSB, PSD.
159
Documents
Documents
DOCX (Microsoft Word), PDF (Portable Document Format), PPTX (Microsoft PowerPoint), XLSX (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet)
14
Archives
Archives
ZIP (Extended Zip File), RAR (WinRAR Compressed Archive), DMG (Mac OS X Disk Image), 7Z (7-Zip Compressed), CAB (Windows Cabinet File)
28
 Other Files
Other Files
ACCDB (Microsoft Database), DB (Paradox), SQL (bundled SQL queries), MYO (MYOB Limited Windows File), OTF (OpenType Font)
5 EASY STEPS

How Windows Data Recovery Works

Disk Drill is a free data recovery software for Windows 10 & 11, as well as those of you using older versions of the operating system. It is an easy to use yet powerful tool that will assist both novice and experienced users in getting back lost files in just a few simple steps. Here’s what you need to do.

STEP 1

Download and install Disk Drill data recovery software for Windows

Disk Drill is a free download. The software installs easily with just a few clicks; as with any other system software, you will be asked for your administrator’s credentials. Disk Drill Free edition lets you recover up to 500 MB of data as well as giving you permanent access to the extra data protection tools.

data recovery software windows 11
STEP 2

Choose the data source and recovery method

Select the disk or device that contained your lost data from the list displayed in the application’s main window. Press “Search for lost data” on the right. This will initiate all supported recovery methods, but depending on the particular recovery situation, there’s a way to choose other scanning options such as a partition search or a deep scan. Scanning the whole drive with all available recovery methods provides the most complete results and finds more recoverable data.

data recovery software for windows
STEP 3

Start scanning for lost data

Once the data source is selected, you are ready to begin the recovery process. Click the Search for lost data button to initiate the scan and find your deleted files. The scanning step can take a variable amount of time based on the type of the scanned media and its condition.

Start scanning for lost data
STEP 4

Select the files to recover

As scanning proceeds, you will see a status bar showing its progress at the top of the app’s window, as well as the number of files found and their total size. You can pause and resume the scan at any time. For the best results, let the scan complete in one run, you can see which files have already been identified at any moment of the scan and even initiate the recovery while the app is still scanning in the background.

free data recovery software windows 11
windows data recovery tool
STEP 4.1
Use "filters" for faster search / select a specific file type

Our Windows data recovery tool allows you to preview the files it has found before you commit to recovering them. Files identified by the tool are listed by file type in the app window to make it easy to locate the needed ones. Choose from Pictures, Video, Audio, Documents, Archives, and other files. Click on the appropriate category to see the files that have been found during the scanning process.

windows data recovery tool
free data recovery software windows
STEP 4.2
Manage the recoverables, and search within the found files

You can search within recoverable files by their names or other parameters using the search box at the top of the Disk Drill’s window. Narrow down your search to *.JPG or *.DOC files, or any other extension. You can also filter scanning results by the type of file you are attempting to recover and select the ones to be restored. Choose the files to recover or click the Recover all button.

free data recovery software windows
windows data recovery
STEP 4.3
Review reconstructed data

If the files you expected to find are not listed under the found ones, go through “Reconstructed” and “Reconstructed labeled” sections of the scan results. Here you will find the files that Disk Drill has restored byte-by-byte based on its proprietary database of file signatures. We always recommend previewing the found files to determine if they should be included in the recovery.

windows data recovery
STEP 5

Recover your deleted data

Once you review the found files, click “Recover”. Now, you will choose the recovery destination. We do not recommend using the same disk that was scanned for lost files, this can overwrite the recoverable data.

data recovery software windows 11

Data Recovery Software for Any Data Loss Scenario

Disk Drill is a flexible data recovery tool that can help you restore your deleted files in virtually any data loss scenario. Here are some of them.

Accidentally Deleted Files

Accidentally Deleted Files

Accidentally deleted files is a very common user scenario. We hear about it roughly ~200 times per day. Recover all of your lost files quickly and easily with our simple and reliable data recovery software - Disk Drill.

Empty Recycle Bin

Empty Recycle Bin

If you were too fast to empty your Recycle Bin and immediately realized that you have just lost your important data in it, Disk Drill can help recover the files you thought had been permanently deleted.

Crashed Hard Disk

Crashed Hard Disk

Connect a crashed hard disk to another computer that runs Disk Drill, and let our data recovery software rescue the files and folders on the storage device.

Formatted External Drive

Formatted External Drive

Formatting the wrong external drive by mistake can result in a huge loss of data. In many cases, Disk Drill can recover all of the lost files and folders from the formatted drive.

Virus Infections

Virus Infections

An infection with a computer virus or malware can hit your precious files unexpectedly at any time. Use our versatile data recovery tool to restore files deleted by malicious software.

Lost Partition

Lost Partition

Losing a disk partition can result in a devastating loss of data. The powerful scanning algorithms of Disk Drill can recover all of your lost files and folders.

RAW File System

RAW File System

If you are faced with a file system that suddenly appears as RAW to your Windows OS, let our file recovery tool save your data so you can reformat the device for future use.

Corrupt Memory Cards

Corrupt Memory Cards

Memory card corruption can lead to the loss of many documents, pictures, videos, or other files. Just connect the card to your computer and let Disk Drill find and recover your data.

Technical Specifications

data recovery software windows 10
Operating Systems Supported:

Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP
Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 R2/2012/2008 R2/2008/2003 R2/2003

View system requirements

data recovery software
File Systems Supported:

FAT16/FAT32/exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS, HFS+, APFS, EXT2/EXT3/EXT4, BTRFS and any RAW disk

free data recovery software
Hardware Requirements:

Disk Space: 1GB minimum free space
CPU: 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x86-64) compatible CPU 1.0 GHz or faster
RAM: at least 4GB

cleverfiles PROTECT

More Than Data Recovery - Premium Data Protection

A distinctive feature of Disk Drill is the free data protection tools intended to keep your important files safe. You can configure Recovery Vault to protect specific files and folders by retaining metadata for any accidental deletions. The Vault is essentially an extended Recycle Bin that generally does not require additional storage space on your hard disk and provides a one-click recovery method in case you need to restore deleted files. Additional data protection features let you create byte-level backups which include deleted files and can be used for data recovery purposes.

data recovery software for windows

Estimating Data Recovery Chances

Not all data loss scenarios are equally serious. Some can be remediated with the help of advanced data recovery software, like Disk Drill, while others are impossible to solve even by well-equipped professionals in data labs.

Recycle Bin

Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin folder in Windows is a special temporary storage area for deleted files, and its purpose is to guarantee complete recoverability. As such, the recovery chances of any files found in the Recycle Bin are as high as they get.

File deletion

File deletion

In many cases, deleted files still remain on the storage device from which they were deleted long after their deletion, making it possible to recover them using data recovery software. One of the exceptions is the deletion on a solid-state drive (SSD) with the TRIM feature enabled.

Formatted partitions

Formatted partitions

Regular formatting is usually quick because it merely marks the partition as empty without actually deleting the files stored on it, which means that you can recover them using data recovery software. Of course, that won’t be possible if you format a partition securely, overwriting its content with zeroes or new data at least one time.

Data corruption

Data corruption

When files become corrupted, they may be impossible to open, but that doesn’t automatically make them impossible to recover. It all depends on the extent of the corruption and the nature of the corrupted file (for example, it’s much easier to recover a corrupted image than a corrupted .EXE file).

Malware infection

Malware infection

There are many nasty strains of malware that can make important files disappear or become impossible to open. Addressing malware-caused data loss is sometimes possible using the combination of anti-malware and data recovery software, but the success rate is hard to estimate without having more information about a specific malware infection.

Physical damage

Physical damage

It’s not possible to recover data from physically damaged storage devices that can’t be recognized by Windows without repairing the hardware damage first, which is something that can rarely be done at home.

?

The latest version of Disk Drill can estimate recovery chances to give you a general idea of how likely the found files can be recovered intact. We recommend using this feature to focus your attention on files with high recovery chances first.

Choose the Best Data Recovery Software for Windows

It can be confusing to find the best free Windows data recovery tool among the many competing products on the market. To help you make the right decision, we have put together this table of some of Disk Drill’s main analogs along with a comparison of their features. Choose the one that best suits your data loss situation and start recovering deleted data on your Windows computer in a matter of seconds.

Disk Drill data recovery software

Disk Drill

Recuva

Recuva

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

Recoverit Data Recovery

Recoverit Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery

User experience and price

Rating (5 star)

Mac version of app

Price

$89.00
(lifetime license)

$19.95
(year)

$99.95
(year)

$69.95
(year)

$79.99
(year)

Ease of use

Easy

Moderate

Easy

Easy

Moderate

Recovery speed

Fast

Average

Fast

Fast

Slow

Phone support

Email support

Live chat

Tutorials built in app

FAQs

Supported filesystems

FAT16 / FAT32

exFAT

NTFS / NTFS5

HFS / HFS+

(Deep Scan)

(Deep Scan)

(Deep Scan)

(Toolkit edition)

APFS

(Deep Scan)

ReFS

(Deep Scan)

(Deep Scan)

(Deep Scan)

ext2 / ext3 / ext4

(Deep Scan)

(Deep Scan)

(Deep Scan)

(Toolkit edition)

Scans

Supported file formats (as stated)

400+
(verified)

50

1000
(non-verifiable)

1000
(non-verifiable)

300
(verified)

Recovery chances

Quick scan

Deep scan

Allocate existing scan

partial

partial

Scan to locate lost partitons

Automatic scans

partial

RAW devices scan

partial

partial

RAID capability

partial

partial

(Toolkit edition)

Bad devices scan

partial

partial

Additional capabilities

SMART device status

(Professional edition)

File preview

partial

partial

partial

partial

Hex preview

Preview during scan

partial

Create and load disk images

(Professional edition)

Save and load scan sessions

partial

Mount results as a virtual drive

Additional protection features

As you can see from the table above, each data recovery software offers a slightly different mix of features and capabilities, which are available at different price tiers. Here’s a brief summary of what we think about the compared solutions. Read more   Close  

1. Disk Drill Data Recovery Software

As the comparison above illustrates, Disk Drill is the best data recovery software overall, offering an incredible array of features that make it capable of addressing all kinds of data loss situations—even those that seem utterly hopeless. Unlike its competitors, Disk Drill doesn’t use a subscription pricing model, so you don’t have to pay over and over again to keep using it.

2. Recuva

The free version of Recuva used to be great for addressing more straightforward data loss scenarios because of its unlimited nature, but the lack of attention it has received in recent years from its developers is starting to show - its data recovery features have not been updated since 2016. You might want to give it a try—just don’t expect too much and remember that far more feature-packed solutions do exist.

3. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

This data recovery software for Windows stands out with its support for over 1,000 file signatures, allowing it to recover even more obscure files (the vendor fails to provide any details on these 1,000 formats, though). Unfortunately, it also stands out with its price, since the annual subscription is way more expensive than Disk Drill’s lifetime license.

4. Recoverit Data Recovery

Although Recoverit Data Recovery doesn’t boast almost any additional capabilities, it does offer a decent data recovery performance and support for many file signatures, making it suitable for people who just want to recover their data in the most basic file loss scenario and move on without spending any time on data loss prevention.

5. Stellar Data Recovery Software

As far as data recovery software for Windows goes, Stellar Data Recovery doesn’t stand out in any particular way, which is both good and bad. It’s good because it does what it’s supposed to do without leaving too much to be desired, but, at the same time, it doesn’t do anything particularly well.

Customers and software guru say

I tried to recover deleted files on windows 11 after a major disk crash, your tool worked better than restore points.
Read more
«Are you looking for a software to help you recover data or files? Disk Drill for Windows analyzes your PC in order to rescue all those files you have eliminated, or that you have just lost. This versatile program is capable of restoring up to 200 types of files.» by Daniel Cáceres
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The Ultimate Data Recovery Toolkit

Latest release: Disk Drill 5.4 for Windows
Runs on Windows 10 64-bit/11 64-bit

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated on by Disk Drill Team

How Can I Recover Deleted Data from Windows?

Follow this procedure to recover deleted data on a Windows computer:

  1. Download and install Disk Drill.
  2. Start the program and select the disk that contained the deleted data.
  3. Click the Search for lost data button to scan for lost files.
  4. Preview the recoverable data and select the files to be restored.
  5. Click Recover all to retrieve the data to a selected storage location.

How Does Data Recovery Software Work?

Data recovery software works by taking advantage of the way present-time operating systems handle data deletion. When an OS deletes a file, it does not immediately remove it from the storage device. It marks the space previously occupied by the data as available for use. Until this space is reused, and the data there is overwritten, data recovery software, like Disk Drill, can restore it.

What is the Best Data Recovery Software?

Top 11 Data Recovery Software for Windows:

  1. Disk Drill Data Recovery Software
  2. TestDisk
  3. MiniTool Partition Recovery
  4. Recuva Pro
  5. EaseUS Data Recovery
  6. R-Studio
  7. UFS Explorer
  8. DMDE Data Recovery Software
  9. PhotoRec
  10. Data Rescue 5 for Windows
  11. Wondershare Recoverit

How Can I Recover my Data for Free?

There are a number of methods that may get your data back for free. Deleted files may be in the Recycle Bin. Maybe, you have backups of the lost data somewhere. If you don’t have backups and have emptied your Recycle Bin, taking advantage of Disk Drill’s free 500 MB trial is a great way to recover your lost data at no cost.

Can I Restore Deleted Data on Windows without Software?

You can try to restore deleted files on Windows using this method:

  1. Click on the Recycle Bin icon to open it and display its contents.
  2. Search for the file you wish to recover.
  3. Note the files’ original locations.
  4. Right-click on the files you want and click Restore.
  5. Navigate to the original location and verify your files have been recovered.

Is Disk Drill Data Recovery Software for Windows safe to use?

Disk Drill is totally safe to use and will not cause any harm to your computer or its data. The scanning process is conducted in read-only mode so there is no chance of accidentally causing any damage to your storage media. We recommend recovering your data to a different disk than the one that lost data to ensure that no file corruption occurs.

Is it possible to recover deleted files on Windows?

Yes, it is. Windows handles file deletion in a way that in most cases lets you recover accidentally deleted files as long as they have not been overwritten by newer data. This means that as soon as you suspect you have lost any data you should stop using the affected disk until after you have performed the recovery.

Is there any free Windows data recovery software?

Disk Drill data recovery software for Windows offers 500 MB of data recovery for free. You may be able to obtain freeware products that can recover some of your data, but they do not provide the same professional-grade features of a paid program. When you are faced with performing data recovery on important information or irreplaceable files, it pays to use a quality tool.

How much does Windows data recovery software cost?

Most data recovery tools for Windows cost under US$100 for a fully licensed version. Disk Drill enables you to try the software and recover 500 MB of data before making any financial investment in the application. The free download also lets its users benefit from the unlimited free data protection tools built into the program.

Is Windows Data Recovery Free?

Disk Drill is available as a free download which enables users to recover up to 500 MB of data before committing to a licensed version of the product. In combination with the free unlimited preview of recoverable data, this lets you test the features of the program and its recovery capabilities before spending any money on it.

What is data recovery?

Data recovery is defined as the process through which data that is inaccessible because it has been deleted, damaged, formatted, or otherwise lost is recovered and made accessible again.

What is a data recovery service?

A data recovery service is a service offered by companies that focus on the recovery of lost data from various devices. Using specialized tools and techniques, data recovery experts are able to recover even permanently deleted or corrupted data.

How long can data recovery take?

The time it takes to complete a data recovery job depends on the size and type of the recovered storage device, the amount of lost data, the cause of data loss, and other factors. A simple data recovery job can take just a few minutes to complete, but a complex one may take hours.

What are the 4 types of data recovery?

The 4 main types of data recovery are:

  • Logical data recovery: The recovery of data lost due to deletion, formatting, corruption, malware, etc.
  • Physical data recovery: The recovery of data lost due to physical damage.
  • DIY data recovery: The recovery of data using readily available data recovery software applications.
  • Professional data recovery: The recovery of data using professional data recovery services.

Knowledge is power, quick tips

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