We’re always looking for programs that add functionality to a user’s computing environment. There are a few pre-requisites that need to be met before we’ll test and share our findings and today’s entry meets the muster.
Basically, the application has to “do something” of value that most people would be happy to pay a fee for and the program has to be within the financial reach of the masses. Recuva (pronounced Recover) is one of those applications that I think should live in every PC user’s All Programs group.
File undelete has been a mainstay of the PC utility market since the early days of DOS. As far as I’m concerned, there’s never been a tool that performs file undelete better than Recuva. It’s fast, thorough, and absolutely free.
When you empty the Windows Recycle Bin trash, the files aren’t immediately destroyed; rather, the space they occupy is earmarked as available for new data. Undelete routines scan the many bits and bytes of your hard drive, then put the pieces back together again. As long as you haven’t added new data to a drive, undelete (almost) always works; even if you’ve added data, there’s a good chance you can get most of the deleted stuff back.
Recuva’s repertoire goes well beyond the Windows recycle bin. Use it to undelete data on a USB drive, a camera’s memory card, or even an MP3 player.
Having been personally presented a number of camera cards over the years, with the photographer complaining that all their pictures were gone,… I think this is one of the most important PC utilities a camera owner can have.
To make things even easier, there’s a “thumb nail view that allows you to visually browse deleted images for the specific file you want. Recuva uses a red-yellow-green light metaphor to indicate your chances of fully recovering deleted files. Very easy to understand and use.
Warning: The installer offers to install the Yahoo toolbar but you’re free to eliminate this add-on during the installation routine.
Here’s a link describing some of the powerful features of Recuva: http://www.piriform.com/recuva/features
This program is brought to you but the makers of CCleaner – a familiar file optimization and cleaning tool – which happens to be another free tool we use and recommend all the time.
Download Recuva here: http://www.piriform.com/recuva
Recuva is available for: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003
