The market is already crowded with several data recovery tools. From photo recovery software to many more, you can now get a tool for exactly the data you want to recover.
In this article, we focus on reviewing photo recovery apps for Windows and Mac. Some of these tools can be used in both Mac and Windows computers, while others will only support recovery from either the devices. Read through and choose one that best suits your photo recovery needs on either Mac or Windows.
Disk Drill Photo Recovery
Good for modern and powerful photo recovery, Disk Drill by CleverFiles is a highly efficient and effective data recovery software that offers both Windows and Mac recovery. With the Windows version, users can preview up to 500 MBs of data for free while Mac users can only preview recoverable files with the free version.
The software utilizes its robust scanning algorithms to recover your data even where many alternative tools fail. Disk Drill Photo Recovery employs all the inbuilt features to deep scan your device and recover as many files as possible. Besides, you also get access and the option to use a quick scan in case you do not need to run a deep scan.
Photo shooting and videography have become a normal thing to do even over the phone. When you lose any of your photos or videos, you can now stay clear about recovering them with Disk Drill.
The software also offers additional data protection and users can easily and quickly recover deleted files. With the recovery vault, the tool keeps metadata of selected files as Guaranteed Recovery keeps the full copies.
Further, the Mac version of this software comes with a collection of free data management tools including secure data shredder, disk cleaner, and duplicate finder. At a glance, below are two features that set this tool apart from the rest.
- Extra free Disk Tools: Use of this tool get additional tools for free including SMART Monitoring, duplicate finder, data backup, and mac Cleanup among many other. The tools help you organize your files better as well as protect them from loss.
- Once-Click Scanning: This feature, one click approaches to data recovery for PC, makes the software more accessible and the most straightforward tool to use even beginners.
If you do not have Disk Drill or wondering how to use the software, follow the steps below.
- 1st, download and install the software on your PC or Mac
- 2nd, double click on the software to launch and run it
- 3rd, at the end of the search process, preview the files in your search results and choose the ones to recover
- Finally, select a new location to recover the files before restoring them
Pros
- Recovery chances prediction
- It organizes files by category to make recovery easier
- It has an intuitive and user-friendly user interface
- It supports several files and storage devices
- It supports cross-platform saving of scan sessions
- It filters recovered files according to data type
- It comes with additional features such as free data protection
- Free 500 MB file recovery
- Supports file preview and review of hex code for the files you recover
- Customer support available
Cons
- There is no phone technical support
- Free version with 500 MB support only
- The scanning process may take longer with larger file sizes
PhotoRec
PhotoRec is one of the best photo recovery software you can use to securely restore deleted files. It is a partner of Disk Drill which tops the list above and supports Linux, DOS, macOS, and Windows. It uses read-only access to handle your storage device.
When using this tool, you should avoid resaving photos or files to the same memory volume as that may lead to overwriting of your old data.
PhotoRec supports file recovery from hard disks, USB drives, SD cards, and media players. The tool is entirely free and open source. With PhotoRec, you can even recover deleted photos from a flash drive. It however does not have a user-friendly graphic interface even though the old school setup is functional and reliable.
TestDisk
This is another free open-source data recovery software. Just like PhotoRec, it also runs on Linux, mac and Windows. It is a very powerful tool that can recover nearly all types of files available including images among other media files.
However, the command-based interface is not friendly to beginners. You will need to be a bit of an expert to be able to understand it and comfortably use it. Nonetheless, it is one of the best photo recovery software.
Pros
- Great data recovery results
- Mature data recovery solution
- Supports a wide range of files systems
Cons
- Confusing results
- Command line interface
Recuva
This is a lightweight app for Windows. Like other apps, it can also recover many file types from a variety of storage devices. The user interface is friendly and the software can recover data from any storage device including USB sticks.
Some of the solutions you get with Recuva freeware include deep scan and file preview. It also offers the ability to securely delete files, a feature that is very crucial especially when you have some files you would not wish to leak to another person.
Pros
- Securely deletes files
- Preview screen supported
- It is a freeware with an affordable Pro version
- The interface design is very clear and user-friendly
Windows File Recovery
This is a Microsoft file recovery tool that uses a command line interface. It can recover files in Windows 10 2004 and later systems. The software was released in 2020 and works just like other apps.
It also supports a wide range of recovery options including videos and documents on top of photo recovery. The devices that are supported include external disks, USB drives, and memory cards. Windows File Recovery does not however support recovery from cloud storage.
Some of the key features include:
- Support for several storage devices
- Multiple recovery modes
- File type filtering
Final Thought
After reviewing all the best 5 photo recovery software, we understand why people still choose Disk Drill even in this crowded market as the best tool for Mac and Windows. By consistently delivering excellent results and making data recovery accessible to anyone, it stands out as the best app overall.
