Best Partition Recovery: getting back files after a partition is deleted or formatted
You open My Computer and a whole drive letter is gone. Or you formatted the wrong partition while tidying up a disk. The files are not necessarily lost. Deleting or formatting a partition destroys the allocation information, not the data itself, so the data can often be read back until new files overwrite it. Best Partition Recovery is a Windows tool built for this situation.
Important: stop using the affected drive as soon as you notice the loss. Anything you write to it can overwrite the files you want back.
Quick facts
- Platform: Windows (XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003 and Server 2008 are listed)
- File systems: FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS and NTFS5
- Trial: a free demo lets you scan and preview recovered files; saving them needs the full version
Key features
Recover files from deleted or lost partitions
If a partition was removed in Windows Disk Management, became inaccessible or got corrupted, the software scans the drive and lists what it can find. It also covers a partition lost after the Diskpart command, and FAT partitions deleted with FDISK.
Get data back from formatted or reformatted drives
A separate Formatted/Reformatted Recovery option handles drives you formatted by mistake. The vendor says this works even after Windows was reinstalled.
Find files by signature, and add your own
The tool recognizes file formats by their unique signatures. If a file type isn't on the list, you can add or edit a signature by hand.
Preview and search what was found
You can view recovered data before saving anything. A Find tool searches the recovered list, which helps when a scan returns thousands of entries.
Works with common drive brands
The vendor lists Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba and Transcend drives, including external ones.
How a recovery works
- Install the software and choose Recover Drives/Partitions.
- Pick Partition Recovery or Formatted/Reformatted Recovery, depending on what happened.
- Select the affected drive. The scan starts, and you can then view the files found on each partition.
Who it's for
It suits home users and small offices who have lost a partition through an accidental delete, a wrong format, a failed resize, a power cut, a virus or MBR corruption. It also covers an accidental dynamic-to-basic disk conversion. It is a recovery tool, not a backup program. Keep a separate backup once you have your files back.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Separate paths for deleted partitions and formatted drives
- Supports the common Windows file systems, including exFAT
- Free demo shows what is recoverable before you commit
- Manual signature editing for unusual file types
Cons
- The demo does not save files; you need the full version for that
- The vendor's page lists operating systems only up to Windows 7 and Server 2008. Windows 10 is mentioned in its update notes.
- Recovery is never guaranteed if the data has been overwritten
FAQs
Can I check results before paying?
Yes. The demo version lets you scan and preview recovered files. Saving them requires the full version.
Does it recover files after a format?
Yes, it has a dedicated option for formatted and reformatted partitions, even after a Windows reinstall.
Which file systems does it read?
FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS and NTFS5.
Why should I stop using the drive?
Only the allocation information is destroyed when you delete or format. New data written to the drive can overwrite the old files for good.
Can it find file types it doesn't know?
You can manually add or edit a file signature for types that aren't listed.
System requirements
- Windows XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003 or Server 2008
- Minimum 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)
- 50 MB free disk space
- 32-bit and 64-bit PCs