File recovery performance
Emptied Recycle Bin
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Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Western Digital WD800AAJS, 20 GB NTFS partition.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to Recycle Bin, and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Show Files: All files and folders were found in their original locations with correct names and folder structure. All files and the entire original folder structure were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the entire original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.5 | After Explore file system Nothing was found. After Quick scan (index) the file system Some remnants of the previous folder structure and their files were found with correct names. Also files from the root folder (with correct names) were found. After Scan for lost data (Do indexing of the file system and continue with the full scan) All files and folders were found in their original locations with correct names and folder structure, except the avi file from the root folder. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered except for the avi file from the root folder. | |
DMDE | 5.0 | After opening the partition: Nothing was found. After disk scan: 2 folders of the $F00046 type were found. They contain some parts of the original folder structure and their files, all with correct names. They were successfully recovered. Overall, all files were successfully recovered. The original folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
DiskGenius | 4.5 | After Recover Lost Files Some remnants of the original folder structure and their files were found in the Recycle Bin, some with correct names, some with incorrect names. Other files and folders were found in the Orphaned Files section, except the avi file from the root folder. All found files and folders were successfully recovered. Files that were not recovered: 1 avi file. Overall, all files, except 1 avi file were successfully recovered, but the original folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.0 | After initial scan: The program found some remnants of the original folder structure in two sections: [Unclassified]/ #1157 and [Unclassified]/ #1159. They contain subfolders and files with correct file names. They were successfully recovered. After deep scan: The rest of the file structure was found and successfully recovered (except the mkvfile). Its part was found among raw files. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Files that were not recovered: 1 avi file. Overall, all but 2 files was successfully recovered. 1 file was recovered only partially. Only some remnants of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
WinHex | 4.0 | The unconnected disk was found using the List volumes that do not have drive letters option. After Open Disk (disk scan): Two folders (Directory with ID 326 and Directory with ID 328) were found in the Path unknown/ Empty directories section with remnants of the original folder structure and their respective files, with correct names. The Recycle Bin contained the rest of the folder structure, with incorrect folder names, but their files had their correct names. It also contained the files from the root folder with incorrect filenames. All fond files were successfully recovered, except 2 files. After File Recovery by Types: Nothing new was found. Files that were not recovered: 2 avi files. Overall, almost all files were successfully recovered with correct filenames. 2 avi files were not recovered. Only some remnants of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
Summary: Only R-Studio and Recovery Explorer Professional could recover the original folder structure and all files, R-Studio did that even without a long disk scan. The other programs recovered almost all files, but could not recover the original folder structure. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Western Digital WD800AAJS, 32 GB exFAT partition. SP0812C, раздел exFAT 32 ГБ.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to the Recycle Bin, and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 6.0 | After Initial scan: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All found files were recovered successfully. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Show Files: All files and folders were found as deleted in their original places with correct names. All found files were recovered successfully. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
WinHex | 6.0 | After Open Disk: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All found files and folders were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
DiskGenius | 6.0 | After Recover Lost Files: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All found files and folders were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
DMDE | 6.0 | After Open Volume: Only empty folders were found in the original places and files from the root folder, all with correct names. They were successfully recovered. After Full Scan: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All files and folders were recovered successfully. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | After Explore file system: Nothing was found. AfterQuick scan (index) the file system Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data (Do indexing of the file system and continue with the full scan) 2 ExFAT partitions were found. Both partitions contained some parts of the original folder structure. One folder (Video) was in its original place containing all its files and folders with correct names and paths. The rest of the folder structure was found in the Recycle Bin. Files and folders from the device root folder had incorrect names, but their subfolders and files had correct names. All found files were successfully recovered. Overall, all files were successfully recovered but the original folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
Summary: All but one programs were able to recover all files and folders from their original places with correct names. R-Studio, ReclaiMe File Recovery Ultimate, and WinHex did that without long disk scan. Recovery Explorer Professional recovered the original folder structure only partially and that required a long scan. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 32 GB exFAT partition. SP0812C, раздел exFAT 32 ГБ.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to the Recycle Bin, and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
WinHex | 6.0 | After Open Disk: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All found files and folders were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 6.0 | After Search Lost Partition: An exFAT partition was found. After scan of the found partition: All files and folders were found as deleted in their original places with correct names. All found files were recovered successfully. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
DiskGenius | 6.0 | After Recover Lost Files: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All found files and folders were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Show Files: All files and folders were found as deleted in their original places with correct names. All found files were recovered successfully. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 6.0 | After Initial scan: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names. All found files were recovered successfully. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | After Explore file system: Nothing was found. AfterQuick scan (index) the file system Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data (Do indexing of the file system and continue with the full scan) 2 ExFAT partitions were found. One partition contained some parts of the original folder structure. One folder (Video) was in its original place containing all its files and folders with correct names and paths. The rest of the folder structure was found in the Bin. Files and folders from the device root folder had incorrect names, but their subfolders and files had correct names. All found files were successfully recovered. Overall, all files were successfully recovered, but the original folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
Summary: All programs were able to recover all files from their original places with correct names. All programs successfully recovered the original folder structure. Recovery Explorer Professional recovered the original folder structure only partially and it required a long scan. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 20 GB NTFS partition.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to Recycle Bin, and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Recovery Explorer Professional | 6.0 | After Explore file system Nothing was found. After Quick scan (index) the file system All files, except for 1 mkv and 1 avi file, were found. The initial folder structure (except one folder) was found. After Scan for lost data (Do indexing of the file system and continue with the full scan) All files and folders were found in their original locations with correct names and folder structure. They were shown as deleted. All files and the entire original folder structure were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
R-Studio | 5.5 | After Show Files: Almost all files and folders were found in their original locations with correct names and folder structure. They were shown as deleted. One avi and one mkv files were not found. All found files and almost entire (except one folder) original folder structure were successfully recovered. After Disk Scan: The avi and mkv files were found as raw files, that is, without their paths and names. The avi file was successfully recovered. The mkv file was recovered partially. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, almost all files and almost all original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
DiskGenius | 4.5 | After Recover Lost Files Files from the root folder were found with correct filenames. Three folders from the device root were also found, but with incorrect names. They contained all original subfolders and files with correct names. The content of one folder was found in the Orphaned Files section with incorrect names. They contained all original folders and files with correct names. All files and folders were successfully recovered. Overall, all files were successfully recovered, but the original folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.0 | After initial scan: The program found some remnants of the original folder structure in two sections: [Unclassified]/ #1156 and [Unclassified]/ #1154. They contain subfolders and files with correct file names. They were successfully recovered. After deep scan: The rest of the file structure was found and successfully recovered (кроме mkv). Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, all but one file was successfully recovered. One file was recovered only partially. Only some remnants of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 3.5 | An unconnected disk can be found only using Search Lost Partition. After Search Lost Partition and quick scan: The program found 3 deleted folders from the disk root folder with incorrect names. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the Recycle Bin contained 4 files from the disk root folder with incorrect names. All those files were successfully recovered. The Lost Folder(s) section contained the Folder 326 и Folder 328 folders with orphaned video files with correct names, except 1 avi and 1 mkv file. All those files were successfully recovered. After Deep Scan: The avi and mkv files were found in the Raw Data section. The avi file was successfully recovered. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, all but one file was successfully recovered. One file was recovered partially. The original folder structure was not recovered at all. | |
WinHex | 3.5 | The unconnected disk was found using the List volumes that do not have drive letters option. After Open Disk (disk scan): Two folders (Directory with ID 326 and Directory with ID 328) were found in the Path unknown/ Empty directories section containing files and folders from one folder, except one avi and one mkv file. The Recycle Bin contained three other folders with incorrect names. It also contained the files from the root folder with incorrect filenames. All files were successfully recovered. After File Recovery by Types: The avi file was found with an incorrect name and successfully recovered. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, almost all files were successfully recovered with correct filenames. One avi file was successfully recovered but with an incorrect name. One mkv file was recovered only partially. Only some remnants of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
Summary: Only Recovery Explorer Professional could recover the original folder structure and all files even without a long disk scan. R-Studio also recovered the original folder structure and all files, but one file was recovered partially. The other programs recovered almost all files, but could not recover the original folder structure. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 32 GB exFAT partition. SP0812C, 32 TB exFAT partiion.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure.
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip.
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to the Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
DMDE | 5.5 | After Open Volume: The folders from the disk root were found, but they appeared empty. Also, the files from the root folder were found with correct names and successfully recovered. After Full Scan: All files and folders were found in correct places and with correct names. The only exception was the MTS folder and its files. All found files were successfully recovered. 3 mts files were found in the Raw section. Files that could not be recovered: one mts file. Overall, all but one files were successfully recovered with 3 files as raw files. Most of the original folder structure was recovered. | |
R-Studio | 5.5 | After Show Files: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names, except 4 mts files. All found files were recovered successfully. After Disk Scan: 4 mts files were found as raw files and successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered with 4 files as raw files. | |
Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 5.0 | After Search Lost Partition: An unmounted exFAT partition was found. After Partition scan: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names, except the MTS folder and its files. All found files were recovered successfully. After Deep Scan: 4 mts files were found as raw files in the Raw Data section and successfully recovered. The scan time was very long. Overall, all files were successfully recovered with 4 files as raw files. Most of the original folder structure was recovered. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 4.5 | After Initial scan: The files and 3 of 4 folders from the root folder were found in the Recycle Bin with incorrect names. The 4th folder was found in its original place, without the MTS folder and its content. All found files were successfully recovered. After Deep Scan: The lost 4 mts files were found in the RAW section and successfully recovered. Overall, all files were successfully recovered with 4 files as raw files. Only small parts of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
WinHex | 4.5 | After Open Disk: All files and folders were found in their original places with correct names, including the empty MTS folder, except the mts files. All found files were recovered successfully. After File Recovery by Types: 2 mts files were found and successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 mts files. Overall, all but two files and the entire original folder structure were successfully recovered. 2 files were recovered as raw files. | |
Recovery Explorer RAID | 4.5 | After opening file system: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data (Only index this file system (run quick scan)): Nothing was found. After can for lost data (Index this file system and then scan unused space): One folder (Video) with its subfolders and files was found in the original place, all with correct names. The only exception was the MTS folder and its files. The found files and folders were recovered successfully. The Recycle Bin contained files from other folders and the root folder with incorrect names. They were successfully recovered. The Raw scan results contained the lost 4 mts files. They were successfully recovered. Several folders (named like $Folder0002A5A4) were found in the $LostFiles/ $Group10....01 section. They also contained original files and folders. They appeared damaged after recovery. Overall, all files were successfully recovered with 4 files as raw files. Only small parts of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
Summary: None of the programs could recover the mts files from its original place. R-Studio found all files, except the mts files, in their original places, without disk scan. Recovery Explorer RAID and ReclaiMe file recovery Ultimate could not recover the original folder structure. WinHex could not recover 2 mts files. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 20 GB NTFS partition.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure.
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip.
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to Recycle Bin and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Show Files: All files and folders were found in their original locations with correct names and folder structure. They were shown as deleted. All files and the entire original folder structure were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.5 | After opening the partition: Nothing was found. Only index this file system (run quick scan): Almost all files and folders were found in their original locations with correct names, and folder structure. They were shown as deleted. There were two exceptions: 1 avi and 1 mkv file were not found. All but those two files and the entire original folder structure were successfully recovered. After Index this file system and then scan unused space: The mkv and avi files were found in raw files. They were successfully recovered. Overall, all files and the original folder structure were successfully recovered. Two files were recovered as raw files, that is, without their names and other attributes. | |
WinHex | 4.5 | The unconnected disk was found using the List volumes that do not have the drive letters option. After Open Disk (disk scan): Two folders (Directory with ID 326 and Directory with ID 328) were found in the Path unknown/Empty directories section containing files and folders from one folder, except one avi and one mkv file. The Recycle Bin contained three other folders with incorrect names. It also contained the files from the root folder with incorrect filenames. All files, except one jpg file, were successfully recovered. After File Recovery by Types: The avi file was found with incorrect name and successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: one mkv and one jpg files. Overall, all but two files were successfully recovered. Only some remnants of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
Stellar Windows Data Recovery | 4.0 | An unconnected disk can be found only using Search Lost Partition. After Search Lost Partition: The program found 3 deleted folders from the disk root folder with incorrect names. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the Recycle Bin contained 4 files from the disk root folder with incorrect names. All those files were successfully recovered. The Lost Folder(s) section contained the Folder 326 и Folder 328 folders with orphaned video files with correct names, except 1 avi and 1 mkv files. All those files were successfully recovered. After Deep Scan: The avi and mkv files were found in the Raw Data section. The avi file was successfully recovered and the mkv file was recovered partially. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, all but one file were successfully recovered. One file was recovered partially. The original folder structure was not recovered at all. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 3.5 | After Initial scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) and files from the disk root folder (with incorrect names) in the Recycle Bin. Files in these folders were successfully recovered with correct names. Some other files and folders were found in the [Unclassified]/ #0204 and [Unclassified]/ #0206 sections. They were successfully recovered with correct filenames, except one 1 avi and 1 mkv. Two files were not found: one avi and one mkv file. Then the scan continued (deep scan): The avi and mkv files were found among raw files. The avi file was recovered successfully and the mkv file was recovered partially. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, all but one file were successfully recovered. One file was recovered as a raw file and another one only partially. Only some remnants of the original folder structure were recovered. | |
DMDE | 3.0 | After Open Volume (opening the partition): Nothing was found After Full Scan: 2 folders of the $F00046 types and 4 folders F00046 types were found containing some files with correct names. They were successfully recovered. The rest of the files were found among raw files, that is, without their correct names and other attributes. They were successfully recovered, with two exceptions: 1 jpg file was not recovered and the mkv file was recovered partially. Partially recovered files: 1 mkv file. Overall, all files were successfully recovered, most as raw files. One file was recovered partially. The original folder structure was not recovered at all. | |
Summary: Only R-Studio could recover the original folder structure and all files even without disk scan. Recovery Explorer RAID also recovered the original folder structure and all files, but two files were recovered as raw files without their names and other attributes. The other programs could not recover the original folder structure, DMDE recovered most files as raw files without their names and other attributes. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 20 GB NTFS partition.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to Recycle Bin and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Open Drive File: All files and folders were found in their original location with correct names, filenames, and folder structure. They were shown as deleted. All files except one jpg and the entire folder structure were successfully recovered. After Disk scan: The lost file could not be found. Files that could not be recovered: one jpg file. | |
Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.5 | After opening the partition: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data with the Run only quick scan on file system metadata option enabled: Three root folders and files from the root folder were found in their initial places. All files except one jpg file were successfully recovered. Copies of these same folders and files from the root folder with incorrect names were found in the Recycle Bin. The found files were successfully recovered, except one jpg, one avi, and one mkv. Two folders ($Folder20000…146 и $Folder20000…148) were found in the $LostFiles/$Group10000…1 section. They contain some other subfolders and files with correct names. After Scan for lost data without the Run only quick scan on file system metadata option: The same folders were found. The mkv and avi files were found in raw files. They were successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: one jpg file. The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | After Initial scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) and files from the disk root folder (with incorrect names) in the Recycle Bin. Files in these 3 folders were successfully recovered with correct names, except one jpg file. Some other files and folders were found in the [Unclassified]/ #0200 and[Unclassified]/ #0202 sections. They were successfully recovered with correct filesnames. Two files were not found: one avi and one mkv. Then the scan continued (deep scan): The avi and mkv files were found among raw files. The avi file was recovered successfully; the mkv file was recovered partially. Files that could not be recovered: one jpg file. The mkv file appeared damaged (only half of the file was recovered). The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor | 4.5 | After opening the partition: Two folders ([000146] and [000148]) were found in the [Lost & Found] section containing files and folders from the Video folder, except one avi and one mkv files. The Recycle Bin contained three folders with incorrect names which contents coincided with the Documents, Music, and Photos. It also contained the files from the root folder with incorrect filenames. All files, except one jpg file, were successfully recovered. After Fast scan: The same was found. After Thorough file system scan and recovery: The same was found. After Complete disk scan, find any data trace, slow: The same was found. Files that could not be recovered: one jpg, one mkv, and one avi files. The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
WinHex | 4.5 | After Open Disk (disk scan): Two folders (Directory with ID 326 and Directory with ID 328) were found in the Path unknown/ Empty directories section containing files and folders from the Video folder, except one avi and one mkv file. The Recycle Bin contained three folders with incorrect names which coincided with the Documents, Music, and Photos. It also contained the files from the root folder with incorrect filenames. All files, except one jpg file, were successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: one jpg, one mkv, and one avi file. The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
DMDE | 3.5 | After Open Volume (opening the partition): Nothing was found After Full Scan: 4 folders (of the $F00046 type) were found containing some orphan folders and files. Interesting that every found avi file had two auxiliary files (64 and 20 bytes) with AFP_AfpInfo and Mac_Metadata strings at their ends. Most of the files were recovered from raw files with incorrect names. Files that could not be recovered: One jpg file. The recovered mkv file appeared damaged. The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
Summary: Only R-Studio could recover the initial folder structure and all files (except one jpg), even without disk scan. GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor and WinHex couldn’t recover 3 files and recover the initial file structure only partially. DMDE recovered most files as raw files, that is, without their proper names. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 32 GB exFAT partition. SP0812C.
Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure
Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to the Recycle Bin and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Open Drive Files: All files and folders were found in their initial places with correct names. All of them were recovered successfully. | |
WinHex | 6.0 | After Open Disk: All files and folders were found in their initial places with correct names. All of them were recovered successfully. | |
GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor | 6.0 | After opening the partition: All files and folders were found in their initial places with correct names. All of them were recovered successfully. | |
DMDE | 5.5 | After Open Volume: The folders from the disk root were found, but they appeared empty. Also, the files from the root folder were found with correct names and successfully recovered. After Full Scan: All files and folders were found on the exFAT partition in correct places and with correct names. All of them were successfully recovered. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | After Initial scan: A deleted folder Video was found on the exFAT partition in the correct place. It contained all subfolders and files with correct names. Also, there were found the files from the root folder and three deleted folders corresponding to Documents, Music, and Photos. They contained all subfolders and files with correct names. All of them were successfully recovered. Overall, all files were recovered, some of them with incorrect names. The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. After Deep scan: The same results were obtained. | |
Recovery Explorer RAID | 4.0 | After Explore file system: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data: One folder (Video) with its subfolders and files was found in the original place, all with correct names. These files and folders were recovered successfully. Several folders (named like $Folder0002A5A4) were found in the $LostFiles/ $Group10....01 section. They contained the rest of the initial files and folders. They appeared damaged after recovery. The Recycle Bin contained files from the root folder with incorrect names. They were successfully recovered. Overall, only files and folders from the Video folder and files from the root folder were recovered successfully. The Raw scan results section contained the truncated mkv file which was recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 85 jpg, 40 png, 86 mp3, 9 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, and 1 zip files. The mkv file was recovered partially. The initial folder structure was recovered only partially. | |
Summary: All programs, except Recovery Explorer RAID, could recover all files. R-Studio, GetDataBack+RAID Reconstructor, and WinHex could recover the original folder structure and files without full disk scan. Recovery Explorer RAID couldn’t recover many files. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bitHDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 32 GB exFAT partition. SP0812C, раздел exFAT 32 ГБ.Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structureFiles: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zipThe contents of the disk root folder were moved to the Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician | 6.0 | After Scan: All of the files and folders were found with correct names and correctly recovered. | |
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate | 6.0 | After QuickScan: All of the files and folders were found with correct names and correctly recovered. | |
DMDE | 5.5 | After Open Volume: The folders from the disk root were found, but they appeared empty. Also, the files from the root folder were found with correct names and successfully recovered. After Full Scan: All of the files and folders were found on the exFAT partition in correct places and with correct names. All of them were successfully recovered. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | After disk scan: A deleted Video folder was found on the exFAT partition in the correct place. It contained all subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the root folder on the found exFAT partition contained the files from the disk root folder with correct file names. The Recycle Bin contained three deleted folders corresponding to Documents, Music, and Photos. They contained all subfolders and files with correct names. All of them were successfully recovered. | |
R-Studio | 5.0 | After Open Drive Files on the partition: Three empty deleted folders with correct names were found in the root folder and another deleted folder with correct subfolders and files. Also, this root folder contained the files from the root folder with correct file names. Three deleted folders with changed names were found in the Recycle Bin. These folders contained correct files and file names and subfolders and subfolder names. All files were successfully recovered, but the original file structure was not. No scan was required. | |
Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.0 | After Explore file system: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data: One folder Video was found in the initial place with a correct name and content. The Recycle Bin contained the remaining three folders with incorrect names. All these found folders contained all of the files and folders with correct names. All of the files and folders were successfully recovered. | |
Summary: All of the programs could recover all files. Active@ File Recovery and Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician could recover the original folder structure and files without full disk scan. DMDE could do so after disk scan. The rest of the programs could not completely recover the original folder structure. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bitHDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 20 GB NTFS partition.Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structureFiles: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zipThe contents of the disk root folder were moved to Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied. Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Open Drive File: One folder (Video) was found in its original location with correct subfolder names, file names, and folder structure. The three other folders and files from the disk root folder were found in Recycle Bin with changed names. The rest of the names in the Recycle Bin and folder structure were correct. All files were successfully recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer RAID | 5.5 | After opening the partition: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data: The $LostFiles/$Group10000…1 section contained two folders $Folder20000…144 and $Folder20000…146 with some orphaned folders with video files. 3 folders from the disk root folder were found in Recycle Bin with incorrect names, but all their subfolders and files had correct names. Also the Recycle Bin contained the files from the root folder with incorrect file names. One avi and one mkv files could only be found among raw files, with incorrect names. All files were successfully recovered. | |
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate | 5.5 | After QuickScan: The ! Lost & Found ! section contained two Virt_Dir_xxx folders with files and a subfolder from the Video folder which were successfully recovered. The $RECYCLE.BIN folder was also found with the rest 3 folders and files from the root folder. The folders and files from the root folder had incorrect names, the rest of the folder structure and file names were correct. They were successfully recovered, except for one avi and one mkv files which were not found. After SuperScan: The mkv and avi files were found with incorrect names among raw files and successfully recovered. | |
DMDE | 5.0 | After Open Volume (opening the partition): Nothing was found After Full Scan: 3 folders and files from the disk root folder were found in Recycle Bin with correct names. Two folders $F00045 and $F00043 contained some orphan folders and files. Interestingly that every avi file had two auxiliary files (64 and 20 bytes) with AFP_AfpInfo and Mac_Metadata strings at their ends. 1 avi and 1 mkv files were not found. All those files were successfully recovered. The avi and mkv files were found with incorrect names among raw files. The avi file was successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: The recovered mkv file appeared damaged (only a quarter of the file was recovered). | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | After disk scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) from the disk root folder with incorrect names. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the Recycle Bin contained the files from the disk root folder with incorrect names. All the files and folders were successfully recovered. The Unclassified section contained two folders #0200 and #0198. The first one contained the folders and files from the Video folder, except one Avi folder. The second one contained the rest of files and folders from the Video folder. All these files and folders were successfully recovered. One mkv and one avi files were not found. The avi and mkv files were found in raw files with incorrect names, the avi file was successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: The mkv file appeared damaged (only half of the file was recovered). | |
Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Technician | 5.0 | After Scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) from the disk root folder. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the Recycle Bin contained 4 files from the disk root folder with incorrect names. The Lost Folder(s) section contained the Folder 324 and Folder 326 folders with orphaned video files with correct names, except for 1 avi and 1 mkv file. All those files were successfully recovered. After Deep Scan: The avi and mkv files were found in the Raw Data section. The avi file was successfully recovered. Files that could not be recovered: The mkv file appeared damaged (only half of the file was recovered). | |
Summary: Only R-Studio could recover all files, even without disk scan. Active Recovery and Recovery Explorer RAID recovered all files as well, but two of them as raw files, that is, without their proper files name. The rest of the programs could recover the mkv file only partially. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 32 GB exFAT partition. SP0812C, раздел exFAT 32 ГБ. Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to the Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 6.0 | After QuickScan: All files and folders were found with correct names and correctly recovered. | |
DMDE | 5.5 | After Open Volume: The folders from the disk root were found, but they appeared empty. Also, the files from the root folder were found with correct names and correctly recovered. After Full Scan: All files and folders were found on the exFAT partition in correct places and with correct names. All of them were correctly recovered. | |
Do Your Data Recovery | 5.5 | After Quick Recovery: All folder structure with original file names were found in the disk root folder, but only one folder contained its files with original names. The rest of files and folders were found in Recycle Bin and the Other lost files section, with correct file names. All found files were correctly recovered. After Advanced Recovery All files and folders were found, with the correct names and folder structure. All files and folders were correctly recovered. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | After disk scan: A deleted folder Video was found on the exFAT partition in the correct place. It contained all subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the root folder on the found exFAT partition contained the files from the disk root folder with correct file names. The Recycle Bin contained three deleted folders corresponding to Documents, Music, and Photos. They contained all subfolders and files with correct names. All of them were correctly recovered. | |
R-Studio | 5.0 | After Open Drive Files on the partition: Three empty deleted folders with correct names were found in the root folder and another deleted folder with correct subfolders. Also, this root folder contained the files from the root folder with correct file names. Three deleted folders with changed names were found in the Recycle Bin. These folders contained correct files and file names and subfolders and subfolder names. The Recycle Bin also contained files with incorrect names from the device root folder. All files were correctly recovered, but the original file structure was not. No scan was required. | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | After Explore file system: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data: All folders from the disk root were found in the $LostFiles/$Group10000…1 section on the ExFAT partition. Only one folder (Video) had its correct name, but they contained subfolders and files with correct names. The Recycle Bin contained files from the root folder with incorrect names. All files and folders were correctly recovered. | |
Data Rescue 5 | 3.0 | After Quick Scan Nothing was found. (exFAT isn’t supported) After Deep Scan: Only raw files were found (Reconstructed Files) mostly with incorrect file names. They were correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 1 mkv, 1 flv, 2 mts, 14 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 2 xls, 2 ods. | |
Summary: Active@ File Recovery could recover the original folder structure and files without full disk scan. DMDE and Do Your Data Recovery could do that after the scan. The rest of the programs could not completely recover the original folder structure, and Data Rescue 5 could recover only raw files and not all of them. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 10 64 bit HDD: 80 GB Samsung SP0812C, 20 GB NTFS partition. Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root folder were moved to Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Open Drive File: One folder (Video) was found in its original location with correct subfolder names, file names, and folder structure. The three other folders and files from the disk root were found in Recycle Bin with changed names. The rest of the names in the Recycle Bin and folder structure were correct. All found files were correctly recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.5 | After opening the partition: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data: 3 folders and files from the disk root folder were found in Recycle Bin with incorrect names. The rest of folders and files were found in Recycle Bin with correct names and folder structure. The $LostFiles/$Group10000…1 section contained some orphan folders and files. One avi and one mkv files could only be found among raw files, with incorrect names. All files were recovered correctly. | |
Data Rescue 5 | 5.0 | AfterQuick Scan: 3 folders and files from the disk root folder were found in Recycle Bin with incorrect names. The rest of folders and files were found in Recycle Bin with correct names and folder structure. The Orphans Folder contained two sub-folders: Orphans Folder.324 и Orphans Folder.326. They contained some orphan folders and files. One avi and one mkv file could not be found. AfterDeep Scan: The avi file was found in raw files (Reconstructed Files) with incorrect name. All found files were correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 1 mkv. | |
ReclaiMe File Recovery | 5.0 | After disk scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) from the disk root folder. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the Recycle Bin contained the files from the disk root folder with incorrect names. All the files and folders were correctly recovered, except 4 mp3 and 2 xlsx. The Unclassified section contained two folders #0198 and #0196. The first one contained the folders and files from the Video folder, except one avi file. The second one contained the rest of files and folders from the Video folder. All these files and folders were correctly recovered. One mkv file was not found. The avi file and mkv file was found in raw files with incorrect names, the avi file was correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 4 mp3. The mkv file appeared damaged (only half of the file was playable). | |
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 5.0 | After QuickScan: The ! Lost & Found ! section contained two Virt_Dir_xxx folders with files and subfolder from the Video folder which were correctly recovered. The $RECYCLE.BIN folder was also found. It contained 3 folders and files from the root folder, except one jpg file. The folders and files from the root had incorrect names, the rest of the folder structure and file names were correct. They were correctly recovered, except 2 xlsx files, which appeared damaged. One mkv and one avi file was found with incorrect names among raw files and correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 4 mp3. | |
Do Your Data Recovery | 5.0 | After Quick Scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) from the disk root folder in the Recycle Bin. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also, the Recycle Bin contained 4 files from the disk root folder with correct names, except 1 avi and 1 mkv file. The Other lost files section contained some orphan folders and files. 2 xlsx and 4 mp3 were damaged. 1 mkv and 1 avi were not found After Advanced Recovery: The avi and mkv file was found in the More lost files (RAW) section. The avi file was correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 4 mp3. The mkv file appeared damaged (only half of the file was playable). | |
DMDE | 5.0 | After Open Volume (opening the partition): 3 folders and files from the disk root folder were found in Recycle Bin with incorrect names. Two folders $F00045 and $F00043 contained some orphan folders and files. 2 xlsx and 4 mp3 were damaged. 1 avi and 1 mkv file was not found. After Full Scan: The avi and mkv file was found with incorrect names among raw files. The avi file was correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 4 mp3. The mkv file appeared damaged (only half of the file was playable). | |
Summary: Only R-Studio could recover all files, even without disk scan. Recovery Explorer recovered all files, too, but two of them as raw files, that is, without their proper files name. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit. HDD: 1 TB Seagate ST31000528AS cc37, 32 GB exFAT partition. Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root were moved to the Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the data, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
DMDE | 6.0 | After Open Volume: The folders from the disk root were found, but they appeared empty. Also, the files from the root folder were found with correct names and correctly recovered. After Full Scan: All files and folders were found on the exFAT partition in correct places and with correct names. All of them were correctly recovered. | |
Active@ File Recovery | 6.0 | After QuickScan: All files and folders were found with correct names and correctly recovered, except one png file. This file was found in the Recycle Bin and correctly recovered. | |
R-Studio | 5.5 | After Open Drive Files on the partition: Three empty deleted folders with correct names were found in the root folder and another deleted folder with correct subfolders. Three deleted folders with changed names were found in the Recycle Bin. These folders contained correct files and file names and subfolders and subfolder names. The Recycle Bin also contained files with incorrect names from the device root folder. All files were correctly recovered, but the original file structure was not. | |
ReclaiMe file recovery | 5.5 | After disk scan: A deleted folder Video was found on the exFAT partition in the correct place. It contained all subfolders and files with correct names. The Recycle Bin contained three deleted folders corresponding to Documents, Music, and Photos. They contained all subfolders and files with correct names. The Recycle Bin also contained the files from the root folder with incorrect names. All of them were correctly recovered. | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | After Explore file system: Nothing was found. After Scan for lost data: All folders from the disk root were found in the $LostFiles/$Group10000… section on the ExFAT partition. Only one folder (Video) had its correct name, but they contained subfolders and files with correct names. The Recycle Bin contained files from the root folder, except one avi. All files and folders were correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: one avi file. | |
FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 5.0 | After Explore Volume: All files and folders were found with correct names and correctly recovered, except the mkv file, which appeared two times smaller, but playable. Also, one mp3 file had an underscore as the first character. After Deleted File Recovery: The damaged mkv file was not found with its correct size. Partially Recovered Files: the mkv file. | |
Summary: R-Studio, Active@ File Recovery, DMDE, and ReclaiMe File Recovery could recover all files with correct names. Active@ File Recovery and DMDE could also recover all names of deleted folders. FILERECOVERY Enterprise could not correctly recover the mkv file (was truncated) and Recovery Explorer Professional could not recover one avi file. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Test description: OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit. HDD: 1 TB Seagate ST31000528AS cc37, 20 GB NTFS partition. Data on the disk: 293 files, approximately 17 GB total size, scattered over a certain file structure Files: 87 jpg, 40 png, 1 mkv, 22 avi, 1 flv, 1 m4v, 2 mov, 5 mp4, 1 mpeg, 4 mts, 86 mp3, 10 pdf, 6 doc, 12 docx, 2 xls, 4 xlsx, 6 odt, 2 ods, 1 zip
The contents of the disk root were moved to Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Note: Different programs have different options for performing a certain file recovery task. For each program, we initially used the option most suitable for this test. If it did not recover all the files and folders, we then used the most powerful recovery option in the program.
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 5.5 | After Open Drive File: One folder (Video) was found in its original location with correct subfolder names, file names, and folder structure. The three other folders and files from the disk root were found in Recycle Bin with changed names. The rest of the names in the Recycle Bin and folder structure were correct. Two xlsx files in the Recycle Bin were damaged. One avi file wasn’t found. All found files were correctly recovered. After disk scan: The missing avi and xlsx files were found in Extra Found Files. The xlsx files had the correct file names, the avi one had an incorrect one. These files were correctly recovered. | |
ReclaiMe file recovery | 5.0 | After disk scan: The program found 3 deleted folders (Documents, Music, Photos) from the disk root. These folders contained the subfolders and files with correct names. Also the Recycle Bin contained one jpg and one pdf from the root folder. All of the files and folders were correctly recovered, except 4 mp3 and 2 xlsx. The Unclassified section contained two deleted folders #0193 and #0195. The first one contained the rest of the folders and files from the Avi folder, except one avi file. The second one contained the rest of files and folders from the Video folder. All of these files and folders were correctly recovered. 2 avi files were found in raw files with incorrect names and were correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 4 mp3 | |
Recovery Explorer Professional | 5.0 | After opening the partition: Nothing was found. After Disk scan: One picture and one pdf file was found in the right place (the disk root). Also, the root folder contained three folders: Documents, Music, and Photos with correct names. All were recovered correctly, except two xlsx and four mp3 files. Six folders with correct folder and file names from the Avi folder were found in the $LostFiles/$Group section. All those files were correctly recovered. The same section contained the folder with all files with correct file names, and all but one file from the Avi subfolder. All were correctly recovered. Raw recovery results contained mkv, 2 mov, 5 mp4, and 22 avi. They were correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 4 mp3 | |
DMDE | 5.0 | After Open Volume (opening the partition): Nothing was found. After Full Scan: Two $Fxxxxx folders with files and subfolder from the Video folder which were correctly recovered. Some files were not found and recovered: 2 avi and the mkv files. The $RECYCLE.BIN folder was also found. It contained 3 folders and files from the root folder. The folders and files from the root had incorrect names, the rest of the folder structure and file names were correct. They were correctly recovered, except 2 xlsx files, which appeared damaged. 1 avi and 1 mkv were found with incorrect names among raw files and correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 1 avi | |
Active@ File Recovery | 5.0 | After QuickScan: The ! Lost & Found ! section contained two Virt_Dir_xxx folders with files and subfolder from the Video folder which were recovered incorrectly . Some files were not found and recovered: 2 avi and the mkv files. The $RECYCLE.BIN folder was also found. It contained 3 folders and files from the root folder, except one jpg file. The folders and files from the root had incorrect names, the rest of the folder structure and file names were correct. They were correctly recovered, except 2 xlsx files, which appeared damaged. The jpg files from the root folder, and mkv and one avi files were found with incorrect names among raw files and correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx and 1 avi | |
FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 4.5 | After Explore Volume (opening the partition): Nothing was found. After Deleted Files Recovery: Two MFT xxx folders with files and subfolder from the Video folder which were correctly recovered. Some files were not found and recovered: 2 avi and the mkv files. The $RECYCLE.BIN folder was also found. It contained 3 folders and files from the root folder. The folders and files from the root had incorrect names, the rest of the folder structure and file names were correct. They were correctly recovered, except 2 xlsx files, which appeared damaged. One avi file was found with an incorrect name among raw files and correctly recovered. Files that could not be recovered: 2 xlsx, 1 mkv, and 1 avi | |
Summary: Only R-Studio could recover all files, and only one recovered file had an incorrect file name. The rest of the programs could not recover some files, even among raw files. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS file system)
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 4.5 | After Open Drive Files on the partition:
After disk scan: | |
Active@ File Recovery | 4.5 | After Quick Scan (opening the partition):
After SuperScan (disk scan): | |
FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 4.0 | After Explore Volume (opening the partition):
After Deleted File recovery (scanning the partition):
After Formatted Media Recovery: | |
DMDE | 4.0 | After Open Volume (opening the partition):
After Full Scan (scanning the partition):
| |
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 4.0 | After opening the partition:
After Recover lost data (scanning the partition):
After disk scan: | |
Test description: OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit Data on the disk:
The contents of the disk root were moved to Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied. Summary: All programs recovered the same number of files. R-Studio and Active@ File Recovery could do that without a full disk scan. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (exFAT file system)
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 6.0 | After Open Drive Files on the partition: | |
Active@ File Recovery | 6.0 | After Quick Scan (opening the partition):
The same files with correct names were found in the Recycle Bin, in their respective folders. Files and folders in the root folder didn’t have their correct names. | |
FILERECOVERY Enterprise | 6.0 | After Explore Volume (opening the partition):
The same files with correct names were found in the Recycle Bin, in their respective folders. Files and folders in the root folder didn’t have their correct names. | |
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 5.5 | After opening the partition:
After Recover lost data (scanning the partition):
No files were found in the Recycle Bin. | |
DMDE | 4.0 | After Open Volume (opening the partition):
After Full Scan (scanning the partition):
| |
Test description: OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit Data on the disk:
The contents of the disk root were moved to Recycle Bin, then the Recycle Bin was emptied. Summary: R-Studio, Active@ File Recovery, and FILERECOVERY could recover all files and folders without disk scan. DMDE could recover most files as raw files, that is, without file and folder names. |
To test the performance of each program’s data recovery features, we ran a series of tests using a few common data loss scenarios. Each of these tests was run in Windows 7 32-bit. The same file set was used for each test and included the following files:
- Archives: rar, zip
- Audio files: acc, mp3
- Documents: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, odt, ods, pdf, txt
- Video: files flv, mp4, mpg, avi, m4v
- Images: jpg, png, tiff
- Programs: exe
Files emptied from Recycle Bin
For this test, files were moved to the Recycle Bin and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS)
Disk 1 - Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 1 GB
Disk 2 - Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 500 MB
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Restorer Ultimate | 5.5 | Most files were immediately found in the original folder with original names and successfully recovered upon opening the partitions. Files were also found in $Recycle.Bin folder with altered file names. For the second disk setup, all files except the avi, mp3 or acc files could be recovered. | |
R-Studio | 5.5 | Most files were immediately found in the original folder with original names and successfully recovered upon opening the partitions. Also, the same files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. For the 500 MB partition: We could not correctly recover the avi, mp3 or acc files. | |
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 5.0 | Most files were found in the original folder with original names and successfully recovered upon disk scan. Also, the same files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. For the 1 GB partition: The avi file appeared damaged both in the original place and in Recycling Bin. For the 500 MB partition: We could not correctly recover the avi, mp3 or acc files. | |
DMDE | 5.0 | Most files were found in the original folder with original names and successfully recovered upon disk scan. For the 500 MB partition: We could not correctly recover the avi, mp3 and acc files. | |
Stellar Phoenix Technician | 5.0 | Most files were found in the original folder with original names and successfully recovered upon disk scan. For the 500 MB partition: We could not correctly recover the avi, mp3 and acc files. | |
Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise | 4.5 | For the 1 GB partition: Most files were immediately found in the original folder with original names in the upper folder Cluster and successfully recovered upon opening the partitions. We could not correctly recover video or audio files. For the 500 MB partition: Several files were found in the raw files. | |
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 4.5 | Most files were found in the original folder with original names and successfully recovered upon disk scan. For the 500 MB partition: We could not correctly recover the acc, mp3 or exe files. | |
GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 4.5 | Most files were found and successfully recovered after disk scan. File and folder names were slightly altered. (e.g., xOCUME~1.doc instead of DOCUMENT.doc). Also, the same files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. The docx and xlsx files were recovered incorrectly for both partitions. For the 500 MB partition: We could not correctly recover the avi file. | |
Recover My Files | 4.0 | For the 1 GB partition: All files, except docx and xlsx, were found upon opening the partitions and correctly recovered with their original names. We could not correctly recover the folder name. For the 500 MB partition: All files were found with changed names. Files that were successfully recovered: mpeg, tiff, png, mp4, rar, zip, flv, xls, pdf, jpg, doc, txt, m4v. | |
For the FAT32 test, most programs received fairly high ratings. For most of the programs, all the files could be found, with the exception of the avi, mp3, and acc files. GetDataBack could not recover some of the docx and xlsx files. R-Studio, DMDE, and Restorer Ultimate showed the best overall results. Moreover, R-Studio, Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise, and Restorer Ultimate could recover files in their original folders with their original file names even without scanning the disk for the 1 GB partition. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS)
Disk 1 - Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 1 GB
Disk 2 - Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 500 MB
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 5.5 | All files were immediately found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names upon opening the partitions. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were correctly recovered. The folder and file names could be correctly recovered starting from the second level. For example, if the files were in a folder, it was possible to recover the file names. If the files were in a sub-folder within a folder, it was possible to correctly recover the sub-folder and file names. | |
Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise | 5.5 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder upon opening the partitions and correctly recovered with their original names. The folder name could not be recovered. | |
Active@ File Recovery Ultimate Corporate | 5.5 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder upon opening the partitions and correctly recovered with their original names. The folder name could not be recovered. | |
Recover My Files | 5.5 | For the 1 GB partition: All files were found upon opening the partition and correctly recovered with their original names. The folder name could not be recovered. For the 500 MB partition: All files, except avi, were found upon opening the partition and correctly recovered with their original names. The folder name could not be recovered. | |
GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partitions. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were correctly recovered. The folder and file names could be correctly recovered starting from the second level. For example, if the files were in a folder, it was possible to recover the file names. If the files were in a sub-folder within a folder, it was possible to correctly recover the sub-folder and file names. | |
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partitions. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were correctly recovered. The folder and file names could be correctly recovered starting from the second level. For example, if the files were in a folder, it was possible to recover the file names. If the files were in a sub-folder within a folder, it was possible to correctly recover the sub-folder and file names. | |
DMDE | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partitions. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were correctly recovered. The folder and file names could be correctly recovered starting from the second level. For example, if the files were in a folder, it was possible to recover the file names. If the files were in a sub-folder within a folder, it was possible to correctly recover the sub-folder and file names. | |
Restorer Ultimate | 5.0 | All files were immediately found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names upon opening the partitions. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were correctly recovered. Folder and file names were correctly recovered starting from the second level (i.e. files and folders at root level had altered names). | |
Stellar Phoenix Technician | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partitions. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were correctly recovered. Folder and file names in the second level could be recovered (i.e. if the files or folders were in a folder, the names were recovered). | |
For the both disk setups, all programs successfully found and recover most of the files with a few exceptions. The avi, acc, and mp3 files were unrecoverable but several programs. R-Studio, Ontrack® EasyRecovery™ Enterprise, Restorer Ultimate, Active@ File Recovery, and Recover My Files could do that without performing a disk scan. All programs could correctly recover folder and file names starting from the second level. For example, if the files were in a folder, it was possible to recover the file names. If the files were in a sub-folder within a folder, it was possible to correctly recover the sub-folder and file names. |
Below are the results of the data recovery tests we performed with each of the software candidates. These tests were designed to recreate the most common data recovery scenarios faced by professionals. In each test, the operating system was Windows 7 32-bit.
For each test, the same set of test files were deleted from the disk. In instances where the file system was damaged or a partition was deleted, the files listed below were present on the disk prior to the damage or repartitioning.
Test File Set
- Archives: rar, zip
- Audio files: acc, mp3
- Documents: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, odt, ods, pdf, txt
- Video: files flv, mp4, mpg, avi, m4v
- Images: jpg, png, tiff
- Programs: exe
Emptied Recycle Bin
For this rating, the test file set was deleted and then the Recycle Bin was emptied.
Emptied Recycle Bin (FAT32)
Disk 1 – Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 1 GB
Disk 2 – Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 500 MB
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Restorer Ultimate | 5.5 | Most files were found and recovered in the original folder with original names without scanning. The same files were also found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. For the second disk setup, the program recovered the avi, mp3 and acc files incorrectly. | |
R-Studio | 5.5 | Most files were found and recovered in the original folder with original names without scanning. The same files were also found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. For the second disk setup, the program recovered the avi, mp3 and acc files incorrectly. | |
DMDE | 5.0 | Most files were found and recovered in the original folder with original names after a disk scan. For the second disk setup, the program recovered the avi, mp3 and acc files incorrectly. | |
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 5.0 | Most files were found in the original folder with original names without scanning. The same files were also found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. For the first disk setup, the avi file appeared damaged both in the original place and in Recycling Bin. For the second disk setup, the program recovered the avi, mp3 and acc files incorrectly. | |
GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 4.5 | Most files were found and recovered after disk scan. File and folder names were slightly altered (e.g., xOCUME~1.doc instead of DOCUMENT.doc). The same files were also found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names. The docx and xlsx files were recovered incorrectly for both disk setups. For the second disk setup, the program recovered the avi file incorrectly. | |
R-Studio, Restorer Ultimate, and DMDE showed the best results in file recovery. GetDataBack failed to recover some files and showed incorrect file names. |
Emptied Recycle Bin (NTFS)
Disk 1 - Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 1 GB
Disk 2 - Disk size: 1 GB, Partition size: 500 MB
Product | Rating | Test Results | |
---|---|---|---|
R-Studio | 5.5 | All files and folder information found successfully, except the avi file, which was found but appeared damaged. No disk scan required. | |
Restorer Ultimate | 5.5 | All files were immediately found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names upon opening the partition. All files, except avi, acc and mp3, were successfully recovered. The folder and file names could be successfully recovered starting from the second level. | |
UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partition. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were successfully recovered. The folder and file names could be successfully recovered starting from the second level. | |
GetDataBack + RAID Reconstructor + Captain Nemo | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partition. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were successfully recovered. The folder and file names could be successfully recovered starting from the second level. | |
DMDE | 5.0 | All files were found in the $Recycle.Bin folder with altered names after scanning the partition. All files, except avi, acc, and mp3, were successfully recovered. The folder and file names could be successfully recovered starting from the second level. | |
For both disk setups, all programs successfully found and recovered most files with some exceptions. R-Studio and Restorer Ultimate recovered deleted files without a disk scan. All programs could correctly recover folder and file names starting from the second level. For example, if the files were in a folder, it was possible to recover the file names but not the folder names. If the files were in a sub-folder within a folder, it was possible to correctly recover the sub-folder and file names. |