Files gone from your hard drive? Start here
You emptied the wrong folder, a drive got reformatted, or an external disk stopped showing its contents. The first rule is to stop writing to that drive. FILERECOVERY Professional from LC Technology is built for this situation. It scans a drive and rebuilds a list of lost and deleted files, and it can also reconstruct RAID volumes.
Quick facts
- Edition: Professional (Standard and Enterprise also exist)
- Price: $99.99, license valid for one year
- Platforms: Windows 7 or higher; Mac OS X 10.8 or higher (not compatible with macOS 10.15 or higher)
- Trial: a free trial of the Professional edition is offered
Key features
Read-only scanning that leaves your damaged drive alone
FILERECOVERY does not write on the drive it is scanning, and it uses low-level disk access to minimize write operations. You save recovered files to a different drive, which can be removable media or a network drive.
Recover from severely damaged or reformatted drives
The software can recover data from drives with severe logical file system damage. It reads Windows, Mac and Linux file systems. It works with hard drives, optical drives, flash media and some mobile devices.
Rebuild and recover RAID volumes
RAID support is the main difference between Professional and Standard. Professional adds support for rebuilding and recovering RAID volumes. Enterprise adds remote recovery over VNC and VMDK file recovery.
Search by name and preview before you save
You can search lost and deleted files by file name and preview recoverable data, including MPEG audio and video. A fast scanning engine builds the file list quickly. A file manager and a familiar Save dialog handle the recovery.
Who it's for
It suits you if you need to pull documents, photos, music, mail or databases off an internal or external hard drive. It also suits you if you have a RAID set that has stopped mounting. If you mainly need to recover video, the vendor points you to PHOTORECOVERY Professional. For USB drives and flash media, it points you to RescuePRO.
Pros and cons
- Pro: It doesn't write to the source drive.
- Pro: It handles RAID, which the Standard edition does not.
- Pro: It reads Windows, Mac and Linux file systems.
- Pro: You can try it free before buying.
- Con: The license is valid for only one year.
- Con: It isn't compatible with macOS 10.15 or higher.
- Con: Remote recovery and VMDK recovery need the pricier Enterprise edition.
- Con: You need a second drive at least as large as the data you want to recover.
FAQs
Does it work on external hard drives?
Yes. The vendor describes it as able to rescue files from any hard drive, including external drives.
What's the difference between Standard and Professional?
Professional adds support for rebuilding and recovering RAID volumes. Both search by file name, preview files and save to any drive.
Can I recover to the same drive?
The vendor recommends installing the software on a drive not used for recovery, or on a dedicated recovery machine. You also need a storage or network drive at least as large as the data you want to recover.
Is there a trial?
Yes, a free trial of the Professional edition is available from the vendor.
System requirements
- Windows 7 or higher on an Intel platform with a 1.0GHz or faster CPU
- Mac OS X 10.8 or higher with an Intel processor (not compatible with macOS 10.15 or higher)
- Minimum of 2GB RAM
- A storage or network drive at least as large as the data to recover