If you’re familiar with CCleaner, a freeware system cleaning utility for Windows, you’ll be happy to know its developers have made available a new useful freebie. Piriform, the mother company of CCleaner, have launched, via www.recuva.com, the beta version of Recuva, a utility that recovers files deleted by accident. The software is designed as a general file recovery tool, which means it will work with external storage devices too (memory cards, USB sticks, MP3 players, digicams), not only with hard-disks.
Working with Recuva is as simple as: (A) scan, (B) choose files to recover and (C) get your files back. I will elaborate on these steps in the remainder of this post.
After you start the program, a list of devices and partitions located on HDDs will be displayed. You may choose one and click the “scan” button. Depending on the size and number of files on the chosen device, the scanning process may take a while, but my tests, have shown that it is usually around 10-15 seconds. During this operation, a progress window is displayed, which helps in estimating how much longer it is going to take until it is done.
After the device of your choice has been scanned, the recoverable files will be listed. You can choose to have them displayed in a list structure or in a tree-like structure organized by folders. Next you should check the box near each file you need to recover. When you’re done, click the “recover” button.
Before Recuva starts recovering your files, it will ask on what device the files should be saved to. Choosing a device different from the one the files are recovered from is advised, as using the same device as source and destination decreases the chances for a successful recovery. Again, a progress dialog is displayed during the recovery process.
That’s about it, what’s left for you is to download the software and test it yourself.
*** DOWNLOADS AND OTHER USEFUL LINKS ***
Download Recuva 1.01.048 BETA
(.exe installer, 200KB, MD5: E309E46B1AA1BB2E9A85D8A11B83C61B)
Recuva Homepage
*** WHAT’S NEW IN RECUVA 1.01.048 ***
- Fixed issue with slow response when using Ctrl-A on a large number of files
- Improved handling of removable drives
- Fixed issue that caused improper entries in drive list
- Improved searching of MFT mirror entries
- Minor UI tweaks
