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Top 6 Free Data Recovery Tools: How and What to Choose?

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PCQ Bureau
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Most of the free open source data recovery tools are available online and the first logical step is to download them from a trusted website. What you want to download depends to a great deal on what you want to recover. It is a myth that data can be recovered only though paid data recovery tools. There are many free open source recovery tools available on the web that are as efficient as paid tools.



First and foremost is to know what has happened to your file and how was it lost. Was it deleted by mistake? Was it lost in operating system crash? It has to be understood that files lost to deletion are easy to recover in comparison to those lost in OS crash, partition loss or format, as they are not removed from the drive but only their references in the directory structure are, while their space is overwritten with another file. The original is available in fragments and are easy to recover.

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During an OS crash, one can simply copy all files to another disk using a Live CD, which allows you to mount the system drive and backup disk and move the files from the former to the latter. During hard disk failure or crash, data becomes difficult to read and recovery can be done by repairing the file system either by repairing the software or by replacing the physical drive itself.

Features to look for in data recovery tools



Choose a homogenous product that can recover all kinds of files instead of working as a mere photo recovery tool or deleted data recovery tools. Most of the paid recovery software come as separate packs serving separate tasks and buying each of them can cost you thousands of rupees. Also look for the latest version as it can have more features than its predecessor. It is important to know what all it can do apart from recovering data. Most data recovery software supports either FAT or NTFS type file systems. Look for one which supports both.



Some software offer access to files without running Windows thru live CDs and so you don't have to remove your corrupted drive to a working Windows PC. It is best to check out from your colleagues and do some research on the web to find the most successful recovery tool. It is better to go for trusted sites than downloading malicious software in the garb of recovery tools. Make sure it has been used and has got good reviews.

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