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Odin Data Recovery Professional Giveaway
$49.95
EXPIRED

Giveaway of the day — Odin Data Recovery Professional

Odin Data Recovery Professional is a useful data recovery tool for hardware RAID and hard drive, USB drive, SD card, memory card, any removable discks, etc.
$49.95 EXPIRED
User rating: 321 39 comments

Odin Data Recovery Professional was available as a giveaway on July 9, 2011!

Today Giveaway of the Day
$49.95
free today
Helps you get back all kinds of lost or deleted data on Android devices.

Odin Data Recovery Professional is a useful data recovery tool for hardware RAID and hard drive, USB drive, SD card, memory card, any removable disks, etc. It can do format recovery, unformat and recover deleted files emptied from the Recycle Bin, or data loss due to partition loss or damage, software crash, virus infection and other unknown reasons.

Key features:

  • Recover files from devices with unknown file systems;
  • Recover deleted or lost files emptied from the Recycle Bin;
  • Get back files after a partitioning error or hard disk crash;
  • Recover files from unreadable Dynamic Disk.

System Requirements:

Windows NT4/ 2000/ 2003/ XP/ Vista/ 7

Publisher:

Odin Share Company

Homepage:

http://www.odinshare.com/data-recovery-professional.html

File Size:

1.46 MB

Price:

$49.95

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Developed by Informer Technologies, Inc.
Developed by Disc Soft Ltd.
Developed by 3DP
Developed by Baidu, Inc.

Comments on Odin Data Recovery Professional

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#39

Thanks Odin Data Recovery Professionals to provide a format recovery, unformat and recover deleted files emptied from the Recycle Bin, or data loss due to partition loss or damage, software crash, virus infection and other unknown reasons.

Reply   |   Comment by file recovery utility  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#38

@17 Roopchand, one of the holes in the GAOTD system is a program that can autoupdate.
you should always set to manual or disable that feature if available in your options. although, it depends on the software if an update will void the license. one would think an update could be universally refused if it would void the license but such is not the state of the art.

the other huge GAOTD missing feature would be inability of re-installation and re-registering of the product when it auto updates, your disk crashes or whatever. again, depending on the good will of the developers it might only take a simple email to get the new update registered, but I wouldn't depend on this as an rule.

don't expect much to change since developers would have to produce a special virtually unlicensed copy that would work anywhere for anyone forever.

Reply   |   Comment by ne1  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#37

Unfortunately, most of the comments here today are going offtrack and I hope the makers of Odin take the criticisms on this page as positive feedback to improve their product, or at least shelve/sell/abandon it if it is not really viable to maintain and support.

I am going off on a tangent too, because I see a few people desperately looking for ways to reliably recover and rescue their data and looking at GAOTD for a free copy of a good commercial data-recovery software.

I have done tons of data recovery in the past on lots of OSes, including DOS/Win3.x, Win 9x/ME and NT4/XP (never did take to Vista) and Windows 7. My friends consider me as something of an expert on data recovery, but truth be told, I know I can still learn a lot (though data recovery is not my profession).

I use Windows 7 x64 Home Premium and keep trying different flavors of Linux.

Based on my experience, here are a few suggestions ..

1. Never multi-boot Windows7/Vista/Windows2008Server with any other OS!
Yeah, you read that right. My recommendation is: do not install Linux or other OSes on the same HDD as your primary Win7 installation.
For booting, Windows 7 (and Vista) do not rely on the usual boot.ini config and NTLDR bootloader. Rather Win7/2008/Vista relies on a new type of bootloader called BOOTMBR (instead of NTLDR). More importantly, instead of boot.ini file, there's a new type of boot store called BCD (Boot Configuration Data) which contains boot config parameters.
The problem is that the BCD is a binary file, not a text file like boot.ini, so you need special utilities to edit it. The problem is compounded because most Windows installations actually create a hidden recovery partition, which is actually the boot partition to later mount the Windows partition. Most laptop/notebook vendors then add their own recovery/rescue partition, which, you guessed it, is also hidden (though not bootable by default).
Thus when Windows crashes, and you try all that Windows 7 Startup Repair process, it gets confused with the partitions, and fails to fix the booting sequence, and you are ready to pull your hair out.
So, make your life easier, stick to one-OS-per-HDD and if you want to multi-boot with another OS, do it off a LiveCD (no need of install), or on another PC, or at the very least, on another Hard Disk (and you can use the BIOS boot options or a third-party boot manager to multi-boot).

2. Take a deep breath and do not panic!

If Windows has crashed, the solution is to boot with a Windows system/recovery CD, and try to do a System Restore or automated recovery, or recover from the Recovery mode command prompt. For Vista/Win7, use the "diskpart.exe" commandline tool to set the correct primary partition as active (bootable), "bootrec.exe /fixmbr" to fix the MBR and "bootrec.exe /fixboot" to make system bootable. You can also use "bcdedit.exe" to inspect and fix the BCD store ("bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd"), if needed.
If you don't want to mess around in the command-line, your best bet is to use another PC to make a bootable rescue CD. Some rescue discs have a very useful BCD tool called EasyBCD, which is a great GUI to change/fix the BCD settings.
Power tools like TestDisk are your best bet for hardcore data recovery. It can scan sector by sector and retrieve your lost data. Go online and read its Wiki to understand it before using it. It is a very powerful tool and can be disastrous if you misuse it.

3. Make rescue CDs handy, before disaster strikes!

* Most of the antivirus vendors provide free rescue CD images for resolving virus infections. Avira's free CD has latest antimalware and recovery tools like TestDisk/Photorec, Kaspersky's rescue CD is more powerful. MalwareBytes Antimalware and ComboFix are good against nasties (their support forums are a godsend if you are grappling with a virus/worm/trojan attack).
* Rescue images like "MiniTool Power Data Recovery", "Ultimate BootCD", "Trinity Rescue Kit" (TRK) are my usual recommendations for newbies. Burn such rescue CDs and keep a bunch of them handy somewhere, since each of them has varied set of tools.

4. For hard disks, do not use older software!
Tools like PartitionMagic and NortonDiskDoctor, used to be very popular years ago, but unfortunately, most of their copies floating around are seriously outdated, and don't work well with new filesystems. Never try old tools during data recovery, as they can screw your storage device badly!

5. Make backups of your data frequently:
Keep all your data (My Documents, Pictures, Videos, Favorite bookmarks, Desktop files, program shortcuts, etc) on a separate partition. And periodically back them to an external storage device, and for permanent archiving, use DVDs.
EASEUS, Paragon, MiniTool and other popular vendors regularly release their partition and backup software on GAOTD and other sites for free or at cheap discounts during festive season, so make use of those deals.

For instance, "MiniTool Power Data Recovery", "Paragon Rescue Kit", "Paragon Backup & Recovery 2011" and "EASEUS Data Recovery", "EASEUS Todo Backup" are currently free (google/bing those names to download them; they are free for home use), and such popular tools usually work well.

Playing with new OSes is fun, but not if your crucial data is at risk. Some of the newer Linux distros look very cool, but are unstable. For instance, my system's HDD crashed recently after I installed JoliOS (a new Cloud-based Linux distro). Thankfully, my data backups and recovery tools saved my sanity.

With the right set of tools, a whole lot of patience and courage, and with support of some experienced friends, you can recover almost any data unless there's a really bad physical hardware system failure (even so, try putting the HDD in a freezer overnight to try to recover the data!).

Reply   |   Comment by veekay  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+6)
#36

From Peter @7 Thanks guys for all the help. I's amazing what you guys have mentioned i never knew here was that much recovery stuff out there. I'm a bit more confident i can get the files now.

Reply   |   Comment by peter  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)
#35

Does any of the recovery software mentioned recover or recreate the Windows file structure, including both folders and files within the folders?
Thanks,

Reply   |   Comment by RichU  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#34

#12: "3. Recovering partitions and restoring damaged boot sectors/MBR/BCD:... "

For MBR etc...
Microsoft has some quick info here: http://goo.gl/Cjb0x . An *older* GOTD from the good folks at EASEUS, Partition Table Doctor has saved me once or twice [if you've still got it hang onto it as it's now discontinued]. If you use the disk backup wizard Paragon backup apps let you backup/restore just the MBR. I've found Paragon's boot mgr. has worked well on old hardware. And finally, the free EasyBCD is *GREAT*... there's All sorts of thing you can do with it.

* * *

#13: "I used DataRescue DD to make a disk image..."

Nothing against DRDD -- I've used it -- you can also use many backup image &/or partition copy apps... with Paragon Backup for example you just have to select the sector by sector option to get the entire disk/partition rather than just the parts with regular files. Do that booting from a LiveXP, WinPE etc. disc or USB device, & it's similar to what the PC/data forensics folks do... the reboot.pro site has a forum section on forensics with links to free imaging software as well. Or of course just boot into Windows normally & connect [internally, externally with a dock etc.] the drive you want to image without worrying about boot discs/devices. A backup image does have to be restored somewhere for recovery work, but you can restore it as often & to as many drives/partition as you like -- the forensics folks from what I've read just copy the partition to another drive & skip that.

* * *

#17: "A few weeks ago, I downloaded and installed Auslogics BoostSpeed from GAOTD. Today, the progamme gave away – asking me to pay or else, it would not function. I had to uninstall it."

Just guessing, could it be the app never registered on your system, & this was the end of its trial period? Maybe contacting their support might help? Anyway, like I said just a guess since I'd imagine all sorts of people would be complaining if every copy of that GOTD suddenly expired.

* * *

#23: "What if Windows suddenly didn’t boot anymore, following a malware attack or a PC hardware crash?
Well, to recover DATA, FILES etc…even from a DESTROYED SYSTEM that doesn’t boot anymore, just use this GREAT FREE TOOL downloadable as ISO:"


Hi Giovanni. While there's nothing wrong with any of the live *nix CDs/DVDs, you might like the Windows versions a bit better -- check out reboot.pro & 911CD.net if you want. For example you can boot using a USB device or CD, then use the portable Recuva for data/lost file recovery, without worrying about writing to that drive/partition with the lost files on it. In my experience, FWIW, large file transfer/copy is also much quicker.

And since you mention "malware attack", I wanted to remind that if/when you have cause to suspect malware caused your problems, you likely don't want to recover possibly infected files, at least without taking some precautions, not just where you're working but over your network if connected. The recent "Trojan:Win32/Popureb.E" [ http://goo.gl/zKchf ] is a good example, infecting the MBR [Master Boot Record] etc., where Dell was warning their customers to completely wipe disks & start over. Restoring a pre-infection disk image backup would be a whole lot less work.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)
#33

IN a very quick test, deleting files & recovering them, Odin Data Recovery Pro does work, but it wouldn't see the USB stick I planned on testing with, & there's plenty of room for improvement. ODRP had to be run as admin in win7 for any drives/partitions to show up, & while it saw & could use a USB stick as a target for recovered files, I never could get it to scan that device for files to recover. ODRP won't do deep scans for missing files, nor does it show any folder structure, nor does it give any indication of whether a file can likely be recovered or not. There is no preview available for any files, & it bothered me that ODRP used Windows system folder as the default location for any files you did recover -- & it was set to overwrite. Uninstall leaves a few registry keys behind -- after backup search Digital River & Odin Data in regedit if you want -- but it does delete Start Menu shortcuts [if you haven't moved them] & the program's folder.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+10)
#32

Straightforward comparison with Recuva:

Number of deleted files found:
Odin - 12833
Recuva - 12843 (standard scan)
Recuva - 15787 (Deep scan)

Odin positives:
Odin seems to recover files just as well as Recuva, even if it can't find as many.

Odin negatives:
Recuva states whether files are recoverable or not, Odin doesn't.
Recuva allows you to preview image files before recovering, Odin doesn't.
Odin doesn't offer the ability to securely overwrite found files.
Odin is considerably slower scanning the drive and quite basic and lacking in options.

In conclusion, Odin does what it does adequately but is lacking compared other freeware alternatives.

Reply   |   Comment by JDP  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+15)
#31

I would like to see a semi-professional evaluation of this software. Someone who knows what they are doing, such as mike. My dad has a tendency to get malware and viruses frequently and I have had to recover whatever files I can. I used Easues recovery program last time and was able to recover a couple hundred pictures and documents, but that was only half of the files he needed. My dad is not a tech guy(matter of fact he's more a luddite).

Reply   |   Comment by Nicholi1120  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)
#30

I clicked on the download button (due to the 51% +'s) and my laptop started the download. While downloading I was reading the comments. I began to get concerned that this was not a good program, so went to stop the download. I guess my computer is smarted than I am, because it ceased the download on its own. Couldn't find any traces of the program on my computer.
I really appreciate everything that the GOTD the various programmers provide to us for free. Unfortunately, not all offers are worth even trying.
Thanks again, GOTD!

Reply   |   Comment by SamF  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#29

I love the GAOTD forum. Even if some give-aways may not be great, there is great discussion, advice, suggestions for alternatives, free or otherwise, and good natured camaraderie.

I visit GAOTD every day, just for this.

Reply   |   Comment by drvajra  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#28

Checked out one of their "awards" at NewFreeDownloads.com and did a search for "Odin." No results. Their "awards" are just as much bull as their product!

Reply   |   Comment by floridaman339  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+10)
#27

One of the main reasons I come here every morning is not to see what's available today, but to see what alternatives people are recommending.

The alternate recommendations make the visit worthwhile, especially if the product being offered is something of a dog.

Keep it up, boys and girls, and thanks!

Reply   |   Comment by Doug Dingle  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+14)
#26

hi everyone, I had my HD crashed last month and on my USB drive I had only about 50 MB out of approx. 1GB. But I remembered that once I had stored all my data on the USB but then deleted it to put some other files, now I am using a new HD. I learned about the following freeware and used it on USB and around 98% of the data is recovered. I tried around 10 software of which some were TOTALLY USELESS LIKE TODAY'S GIVEAWAY. Some other were very very slow. Some recovered the files but all the files were with the names like rcvrd1, rcvrd2, rcvrd3...... and i had to open each file to check whether is the file which i need or not. Some others recovered the files with original names but when I opened the files with various media players (as my maximum files were audio clips), none of the players could play those. From my experience, the various softwares which almost prefectly done the job were....

1. MINI TOOL POWER DATA RECOVERY
2. RECUVA
3. PC INSPECTOR SMART RECOVERY
I hope it'll help my friends who are facing the troubles. AND A BIG THANKS TO ALL LIKE VEEKAY AND NATHAN FOR THEIR VALUABLE COMMENTS AND THEIR FEELING OF HELPING THE OTHERS..

Reply   |   Comment by jsgoria  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+18)
#25

Correction. I figured out how to get it to scan the thumb drive. I tried to recover a file that I deleted yesterday. It stalled but it worked. I might hang on to it. Still, if I hadn't clicked on the FAT/FAT32 button just for the heck of it, I wouldn't have known how to use the program.

Reply   |   Comment by Anita  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#24

I just tried this on a thumb drive. It won't even scan my thumbdrive. I clicked on the help option and it just takes you to their website. There is no support there, not even under the customer support tab. Will be uninstalling!

Reply   |   Comment by Anita  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+8)
#23

to#3: that "Recuva" link - after four clicks and three sites, I gave up trying to get to it - now that I think of it THAT was the program that kept selected recover items *selected* AFTER recovery, so that if you moved on down the list, you might not notice that after recovery it does NOT uncheck selected items, so you can end up (as I did) recovering the same 50,000 files a half-dozen times! Just a general recovery warning to avoid recovering multiples of the same file. It's been a year now, and I am still sorting through the dupes - hard to pull them other than manually, as they are all numbered files. Anyway, I'll pass on this one, as it looks to be underdeveloped and outdated.

Reply   |   Comment by promytius  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)
#22

Peter, I have used Easus Data Recovery on a corrupted external hard drive. Windows wouldn't open it at all. I would say it recovered 95% of my files. I was happy with that. It shows up here as a giveaway a couple of times a year.

The thing I liked was that I went to their website and it showed several error messages that people might find. The one I got in Windows was there. I clicked on it and walked me through the procedure. I didn't have to worry about doing the wrong thing to recover my data.

Reply   |   Comment by Anita  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+10)
#21

RECUVA (totally free tool) is a fantastic tool... I've used it for recovering accidental loss of pics from my SD card.. recovered almost every one!

Reply   |   Comment by Sharon T  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#20

Dudes...today I want to give you a great gift...LOL!


What if Windows suddenly didn't boot anymore, following a malware attack or a PC hardware crash?

Well, to recover DATA, FILES etc...even from a DESTROYED SYSTEM that doesn't boot anymore, just use this GREAT FREE TOOL downloadable as ISO:

http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%20Getting%20Started.htm


As you can see, it can even renove malware from your PC even if Windows no longer boots.

How cool is that??

So forget today's giveaway, expensive image backup recovery programs such as ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE and very steep PC tech charges once and for all!!!

THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING ( = PROVARE PER CREDERE in Italian language...LOL...sometimes Italian is easier than English!!).

Enjoy!!


Yours ever

Giovanni from Italy!!

Reply   |   Comment by Giovanni (King of Freebies...LOL!)  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+8)
#19

LOL!!

All NEGATIVE COMMENTS about this SW so far but 62% THUMBS UP: what's going on here dudes??


BEST FREE ALTERNATIVE:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

PhotoRec Step By Step guide
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step



Enjoy!!

Reply   |   Comment by Giovanni  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+8)
#18

First of all, my thanks go out to contributors i.e. #3 who today suggested Piriform's Recuva Tool. Piriform is the maker of CCcleaner which is an outstanding free product so I knew that these guys know their stuff. My last 3 prior installs were product endorsements...Keep them coming it is appreciated!

As for the GOTD Odin current offerring, not even a teaser product for back office sales...it is poorly designed and useless in functionality & results... $50??? enough said.

Reply   |   Comment by Joe G  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+15)
#17

Hi this is for Peter or someone who cant access there drive.
You try the free Ubuntu OS just go their homepage and download it to a 700MB size CD or USB stick ,they show how to burn the ISO to CD or a USB stick. When the CD is done boot the computer with CD in. after it loads you will have a choice to Try or Install. Select Try Ubuntu. When you will be able to explore and find your drive see all the Windows and your files on it, copy and save elsewhere. Good luck

Reply   |   Comment by Pat  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)
#16

@12
Thanks veekay. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is better than Teskdisk & PhotoRec that I used. It's perfect. Before you use Photorec from the instructions I provided @13, you might want to try 'MiniTool Power Data Recovery' or the other tools that veekay suggested. If only I had known about the other tools.
Big thank you again.

Reply   |   Comment by Nathan  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+5)
#15

A few weeks ago, I downloaded and installed Auslogics BoostSpeed from GAOTD. Today, the progamme gave away - asking me to pay or else, it would not function. I had to uninstall it.

Now, I have decided a) not to recommend this site to my friends ( So far, I had sent hundreds of recommendations to this site) b) Not to try anything on this site and waste time.

By the way, my I was running this piece of software in Window XP Pro with Window Security Essentials and Kaspersky installed and OS running uninterrupted. No formatting was done on the comp.

This way, I am sure GAOTD will start losing credibility unless they have acceptable Service Level agreement with the software providers. This attitude of suspending the promised functioning of the software abruptly and demanding money is not acceptable at all.

This undermines the reputation of GAOTD and takes it away from the class of reputed/dependable site to invest time.

Reply   |   Comment by Roopchand  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+20)
#14

# 11 Use Recuva , one of the best..It got almost everything back for me..

Reply   |   Comment by db46  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+5)
#13

Seriously! This program simply does not perform its stated function. I think the creators need to be very careful when asking people to pay for something and then not deliver....it is classed as Fraud.

Thanks GAOTD .... you always manage to offer gems but this is a lump of coal :(

Reply   |   Comment by Alan  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+29)
#12

@7

Hi Peter,
I used DataRescue DD to make a disk image. You don't have to do this but the reason I did is because I didn't want to mess up the drive any further by running data recovery scans on it. You need to make sure you have enough space on your current hard drive to make the disk image.

eg. My corrupt drive was 80Gb. The disk image created was 76.3Gb. So make sure you have at least the same amount of space as your of your hard drive that you're trying to recover.

If you use 'DataRescue DD' to make a disk image - you need to mount the image to a drive. I used Mount Image Pro Trial Version. Not freeware but it was the first thing I found and it's fully functional for 14 days.
STEPS:
Select File > Mount Image File... (then locate where your .dd file is) > OK (don't need to change options)

There should now be an exact copy of your hard drive shown in 'My Computer'.

After you mount the image I used TestDisk & PhotoRec. [If you don't want to create a disk image you can jump straight to this step.]
STEPS:
1) Extract contents
2) Run 'photorec_win.exe' (If you're using Win 7 - You need to Right Click and Select 'Run as Administrator'
3) Select the Drive -> Press Proceed (Have to use arrow keys and Enter button in this program)
4) Select the type of partition table
(If you use Windows select 'Intel'
If you use Mac select 'Mac')
5) Next window allows you to select the type of files to be recovered in the [File Opt] menu. (Press your right arrow key twice to get there). You can leave it as default and it will recover almost every file type OR you can press 's' to clear all and select the file types you want to recover
eg. If you only want to recover images file and select JPG/PNG/GIF etc.

Once you are done, go back (you will see [Search][Options][File Opt][Quit] at the bottom. I left it as 'No Partition' (this will search your whole hard drive)

Press [Search].
6) It will ask for the file system. This is usually NTFS or FAT so select [Other]
7) Select the directory you want to store the recovered files.
8) Press 'C' when you have chosen your path.

It will now start recovering files.



I'm using windows by the way.

Reply   |   Comment by Nathan  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+57)
#11

I was one of the first persons to try this software today.
And it was a complete waste of bandwidth and time. I don't understand why GAOTD team is supporting such software which very few will like.

I recently had a HDD crash, and though I managed to recover my data and partitions, I was thinking this Odin can help me in the future in disaster-recovery situations. It won't.

The installation and registration were easy, but the software has a clunky interface, slow scanning, meaningless buttons, the drive info doesn't refresh if you select another partition, there's no help feature or user manual, except for a button that routes you to their minimalistic website. In short, Odin Data Recovery doesn't inspire confidence that I can rely on it during a data-recovery emergency.

I know many people here are newbies who will gladly try out any new freebie. And there are pros who will not even give today's GAOTD another look, since they already have their favorite recovery tools.

For the newbies, here's some info...

If you want to recover data, try these (Google/Bing them) free tools:
1. Undeleting files from HDD: Recuva (from Piriform), Restoration (by Brian Kato), PC Inspector File Recovery, UndeleteMyFiles (by SeriousBit), Roadkil's Undelete, Pandora Recovery
2. Recovering files from removable media: Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier (for recovering files from scratched CDs/DVDs), PhotoRec (by CGSecurity; for recovering pictures from memory cards and USB flash disks), IsoBuster, CD Recovery Toolbox
3. Recovering partitions and restoring damaged boot sectors/MBR/BCD: UBCD (ultimate boot cd), System Rescue CD or Ubuntu Rescue Remix or Parted Magic (linux-based rescue disks; but GParted doesn't work on some disks/issues), TestDisk (by CGSecurity; powerful recovery tool, use with care!), MiniTool Power Data Recovery (very good and free rescue cd), Ranish partition manager (obsolete now; but still useful in some situations), Windows 7 Startup Recovery (system restore, bootrec, diskpart, bcdedit, etc are useful if you know how to use them and especially if you don't have any other tools handy).

If you are already having any of the previous GAOTD data-recovery software, my suggestion is to run them when your PC is perfectly healthy! This way you will get an understanding and familiarity with the software, and will be able to know its limitations and possibilities. Always, take backups before making any changes to your system!! Backups and recovery boot disks are often your best bet during a disaster recovery session.

If you are undeleting some files you accidentally deleted, make sure you don't add or install any new files on that partition, and try one of the portable recovery tools by copying it to another partition and running it from there.

And if you managed to nuke your hard-disk, do not panic! Even if you are not confident, get a techie professional to help you out. Sometimes the value of your precious data is worth the cost of professional recovery services and investing in commercial backup/recovery software.

All the best!

Reply   |   Comment by veekay  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+106)
#10

Hi Nathen!...YES, please tell us what you used to recover files from your corrupt drive! I too, have a drive that I need to recover some files. A huge "Thank You in advance" for any help you can give.

Reply   |   Comment by chacherry3  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)
#9

@ #1

I agree. I hate the Windows 95 look in software! I'm using Windows 7, why would I want old looking software on my machine?
Can software makers not "get with the times" and make software look modern? Thank you.

Reply   |   Comment by Dave Dillions  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-33)
#8

Micke #1
Your idea of pricing software by the megabyte is interesting, reminds me of an old television program called “Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width.”
Personally I would rather judge it by its functionality, something I found sadly lacking in this software compared to other recovery programs. It failed to find any of the larger erased files and most certainly will not be staying on my computer.

Reply   |   Comment by OldScotty  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+37)
#7

@7. I used Ubuntu to recover all files from a MS hard disk from a friend that could not be mounted anymore in a MS Windows computer. You do not have to install Ubuntu. A live Ubuntu CD is all you need. Is freeware.

Reply   |   Comment by gergn  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+46)
#6

hi Nathan what program did u use to recover your files. I also have a drive that was hit with a power surge and at the moment i cant get nothing off it.
Thanks Peter

Reply   |   Comment by peter  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)
#5

I actually have a corrupt drive that I salvaged from my old computer. My old computer was affected by a power surge during a storm and when connecting the drive to my computer it came up as bring corrupt and windows explorer could not open the drive. I have managed to recover what I believe to be the majority of my files already but I gave this program and go and see if it could do any better. It did not.

I mounted a RAW disc image of my failed drive and this program couldn't even begin recovering any files. It did nothing. I couln't even select the drive it my disk image was mounted to. I tried selected the start and end sectors and tried 'Rescan drives' and 'Find Logical Drives' options / set the save directory but yet again nothing happens.

There is no help for using this program either. There's 2 buttons on the main menu that say 'Home' and 'Help'. 'Home' opens your browser and goes to the home page while 'Help' goes to the product page.

The only help on there is their simple tutorial
1. Select the logical drive you want to scan.
2. choose the save path.
3. Click" start scan" button to begin the job

And the general questions section was completely unrelated (FAQs on video formats) to the program!

The detailed step by step guide link redirects you to the exact same page. The live chat feature on the right hand side of the page that has the 'online' status is actually misleading since it is an email, and not a 'live chat support'.

Website - Terrible
Program - Doesn't do as claimed and has no (sufficient) help within the program or on their website

Conclusion
Uninstall

Also, I'm really interested in recovering files I deleted on my working drives using this program as there are already plenty of good free alternatives. This program simply could not do what it promised.

Reply   |   Comment by Nathan  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+193)
#4

Great software!!! I was searching for this! Thanks GAOTD!!!

Reply   |   Comment by DudeRaghav  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-202)
#3

Not a keeper at all - there are plenty of free programs which can do this. This program could not find a deleted file on a USB stick, whereas others could with no problem at all. It's a very small download but still a waste of space.

Reply   |   Comment by intamike  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+97)
#2

Recuva from Piriform is much better than this and has a better Interface. Best of all, it is FREE. http://www.piriform.com/recuva

GAOTD really is a nice place, but there is just too many free alternative to the paid stuff that they place on this site.

Reply   |   Comment by Yoshiyah  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+111)
#1

This is what I call a ripoff or scam.
The software price is about $50.

What do you get, a window, grey and white, looks like Win95 or pre Win95, less then a 1mb in size. It lists files on your hard drive, but it do not tell you if the listed files are pressent, deleted, or in what level they can be recovered.

It reminds of that old joke to Win95, that pretended to delete all files on your harddrive. Could be same software with a few new buttons.

There are no options what so ever, part from recover and switch to FAT/FAT32 mode.

When it comes to recover deleted files this software tells me just as much as dir c: will do, not a feaken thing.

I can not even begin to count how many free softwares, that are way better then this one in all ways.

:( Well at least it was small.

Reply   |   Comment by Micke  –  12 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+115)
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