Data Recovery Software and solutions

Before looking at data recovery software and solutions, it is necessary to know a little about the history of data. The first hard drive in history was a giant device called RAMAC, manufactured by IBM in 1956. With a capacity of 5 MB, the RAMAC weighed about 1 ton and was the size of two refrigerators.

The first hard drive produced for personal computers was released by Seagate in 1979 and had a capacity of 40 MB. Data storage technologies developed over time have reached capacities and speeds that are referred to as GB or even TB today.

We started to store almost all kinds of media related to our lives, including videos, pictures, music, games, documents we use at work and schools, on the hard drives that come with our computers. The fearful dream of users who keep all their important media and documents related to their business and private life on hard disks was the loss of data on the hard disk.

Why is Data Recovery Necessary?

There are certain reasons for data loss. Accidentally discarded formats, errors in the use of fdisk and similar programs, accidentally deleted hard disk partitions, bad sector problems are the main ones.

Using hard disks, which allow us to store data in high capacities, by making backups at regular intervals, allows us to get rid of unpleasant surprises in unexpected moments with minimum damage. Therefore, it is the smartest way to make backups with removable media (USB stick, external HD etc.) as well as hard disks in data storage and updating processes.

Despite taking the warnings into account (such as the corruption of the backups), the number of users encountering data loss is not to be underestimated. In such cases, data recovery programs come to the rescue of users who are in difficulty.

First of all, let’s talk about the terms MBR (Master Boot Record) and MPT (Master Partition Table), which are frequently used in data loss and data recovery. MBR is the term for data distribution records kept in the first sector of the first cylinder of hard disks. When the computer boots up, it first reaches the MBR and gets instructions on how it should work.

In the Master Partition Table located in the MBR, the information of the partitions in the hard disk is kept. It is thought that the problems experienced in MPT mostly result in data loss. In such cases, the data on the hard disk is not deleted, but the data cannot be accessed because the MPT and MBR with their layouts become unusable.

Data recovery programs enable us to access our data by making MPT or MBR records usable again. It is even possible to access the data on the hard disk before it is formatted in this way, provided that no new data has been written on it.

There are numerous software developed to perform data recovery and backup functions. Many of them are quite ingenious. However, before we decide to use one of the data recovery software, we need to decide very well what functions we need. While a very small and simple program can do the job, we may not need to buy software over $100 unnecessarily.

On the other hand, a program that we bought with an expense of around $ 50 may not work. Then we will have to buy a new program at extra expense. At this point to be decided, we need to know well which software has which features.

Below you can find information about 4 of the most popular data recovery programs. Do not decide before reading these criteria, which differ from the operating systems they support to file formats and data recovery methods.

Data Recovery Software

RECOVER MY FILES

Developed by GetData Software, Recover My Files draws attention with its easy interface, extensive features and efficient data recovery methods. The program, which provides the ability to recover over 200 file types such as encrypted, compressed, video, picture, and e-mail files, can recover deleted files from the trash, as well as file recovery in case of formatted hard disk problems, power losses and viruses.

Recover My Files, which does not support RAID drives, also does not support file recovery over the network. Although it has a search feature by file name, it does not have the option to search by file extension. Search preferences include filename, date, size, and keyword types.

There are four options on the opening screen; Fast file search, full file search, fast format recovery and full format recovery. After that, after choosing which drive you want to search and general file types, the program does the rest. Supporting NTFS, FAT32, FAT16 and FAT12 file systems, Recover My Files is a data recovery software that conpatible with all Windows platforms.

Website: http://www.recovermyfiles.com
Price: $69.95

HANDY RECOVERY

Although Handy Recovery does not have as many features as the others, it can be said that it fully performs the operations within its capabilities. The most important advantage of the program, which does not have email recovery and networking features, is the option to create a hard disk image. The program developed by SoftLogica LLC works only for IDE and SCSI hard drives.

After selecting which hard disk you want to scan on the main screen of Handy Recovery, which does not have an easy-to-use wizard, a list showing what is found on the disk is created. From now on, simply select the files you want to recover.

Although there is a file search feature by name, it is not possible to search by file extension, size and date. Supporting NTFS, FAT32, FAT16, FAT12 file systems as well as NTFS5, Handy Recovery supports all Windows platforms.

Website: http://www.handyrecovery.com
Price: $39

QUICK RECOVERY

Developed by Stellar Information Systems, Quick Recovery has features to recover compressed, encrypted files and deleted emails. Quick Recovery, which can recover data from almost all media including IDE, SCSI, Serial ATA, RAID, external disks, lacks the ability to create a hard disk image.

The most important advantage over its competitors is its simple, advanced and raw search features. This way you can determine how deep you want to go in the data recovery process.

In Quick Recovery, which gets full marks for data recovery efficiency and ease of use, you cannot search for files by name, size or type, but when the search is finished, all files appear with their original names. Quick Recovery supports all operating systems and all file systems except Unix.

Website: https://www.recoveryourdata.com
Price: $129

GETDATABACK

Developed by RunTime Software, GetDataBack first scans your hard disk from start to finish and then lists the files it finds, allowing you to perform data recovery with the settings you want.

The program, which also has the feature of creating a hard disk image, does not support e-mail recovery. Supporting all hard disk media (IDE, SCSI, Serial ATA, RAID…) and file systems (FAT32, FAT16, FAT12, NTFS, NTFS5), GetDataBack works on other operating systems except Macintosh, Linux and Unix.

GetDataBack, which performs data recovery step by step, allows you to search files by date, size, type and extension, but there is no option to search by name. The software, which has very good features for its price, could be a candidate to be one of the best data recovery programs if it were not for a few shortcomings.

Website: http://www.runtime.org/gdb.htm
Price:$79