Which is the best free data recovery software for external hard drive?

External hard drives like USB flash drive and SD cards are great assets in storing precious data as well as important document. Unfortunately, similar to other storage media, it is also prone to data loss. This is where a data recovery software can help – by scanning your entire drive and getting your data back. In the following guide, we’ll introduce 5 best free data recovery software for external hard drive. You can pick the best one and retrieve your precious data.

List of 5 best data data recovery software

1. Soouya RecoveryMaster

RecoveryMaster is undoubtedly a formidable data recovery software for external hard drive that ranks high in the information technology industry. Its intuitive interface makes data recovery process an easy task for everyone. It empowers you to recover lost, deleted or formatted data from external hard drive including USB drive, SD card, HDD, SSD, zip drive. This fantastic tool fully supports Windows 10-7, as well as Mac OS 10.15- 10.9.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface
• Filter specific file type
• Pause and resume scan
• Preview the file before recovery
• Recover hundreds of file formats
• Recover data even when your system cannot boot
• Support various file systems like NTFS, FAT, APFS, HFS +

Cons:

• Upgrade to paid version for unlimited data

2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

The next one on the list is EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. It gives you ability to recover a large number of file formats from external hard drive. You can recover photos, videos, documents with a few clicks. This software support Windows XP-10, as well as Mac OS 10.15 – 10.9.

Pros:

• Clear design
• Recover various file formats
• Fast deep-scan algorithm
• Recover data even when your system cannot boot
• Support FAT, exFAT, NTFS, ext2/ext3, HFS+, ReFS file systems

Cons:

• Time-consuming deep scan
• No portable version

3. Recuva

Recuva is another reliable data recovery software for external hard drive. Its biggest advantage is the fact that it can recover an unlimited amount of data from USB drive, memory card and other storage devices. It is easy to use but has many optional advanced features as well. Recuva will undelete files in Windows XP-10 and older Window versions like 2000, NT, ME and 98.

Pros:

• Intuitive interface
• Preview files before recovery
• Recover unlimited data
• Deep scanning

Cons:

• Limited raw photo capabilities
• Only for Windows

4. PhotoRec

PhotoRec is a powerful data recovery software that runs on basically any operating system. It can recover over 300 file formats, making it a good choice for those who would like to recover deleted data for free. This software works on Windows 10-7 and Mac OS X.

Pros:

• Cross-platform software
• Support over 300 file formats

Cons:

• Interface is not intuitive

5. Data Rescue

Data Rescue is an advanced data recovery software that helps you recover lost and deleted files from external hard drive. It’s capable of duplicating a potentially failing drive onto a healthy drive. This reliable tool supports Windows 7 and later.

Pros:

• Support many file types
• Capable of cloning
• Quick and deep scan

Cons:

• Time-consuming scanning
• No pause and resume feature

Why is data recovery software necessary？

In some case, it’s quite necessary to utilize data recovery software. Actually, data recovery tool is the only way to recover deleted files that are no longer in the recycle bin and are not backed up. Moreover, it is especially useful in situations when you accidentally formatted a storage device or deleted an important file and immediately realized your mistake.

What if data recovery software failed?

Data loss can occur in various ways such as human error, computer malware and physical damage. While non-mechanical issues are relatively easy to deal with, physical damage presents a serious obstacle to data recovery. It requires specialized data recovery service that can deal with physical damage and get back your data.

Conclusion

There are various data recovery software for external hard drive available on the market. We’ve only included 5 best software because they can meet your most needs of recovering lost or deleted data. Nevertheless, Chamspy stands out from the crowd due to its performance and ease of use. You can download its free trial and see how it can work for you.