Data Rescue for Mac Review – Has It Aged Like Wine or Milk?

Name: Data Rescue for Mac Review – Has It Aged Like Wine or Milk?
Item: Data Rescue for Mac
Rating: 3.26
Author: David Morelo

3.26

Out of 5 Total Score

No. 8 Among all macOS solutions

Price range $79...$399 • Prosoft Engineering, Inc. • macOS

Last update: October 19, 2023

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Data Rescue for Mac is among the oldest data recovery software applications for macOS. The latest version (6.0.8) has been available since July 2023, and we’re excited to see what it has to offer.

62^%

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Data Rescue – Gallery

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Top Pros

Mail alerts. Software can notify its users by email when it finds bad sectors.
Hex editor. The software comes with a Hex editor that can be used to analyze the entire content of the connected storage device.
Virtual RAID. Data Rescue for Mac can assemble virtual RAID arrays, which can help in repairing broken disk sets.
Specify the starting point for scanning. Advanced users can set the desired starting sector to focus scanning on a specific area of the storage device.
Passwordless launch. No need to enter the password every time one starts the program.
Dark mode. Although Data Rescue for Mac has an old-fashioned user interface, the developers have introduced support for dark mode.

Top Cons

Inability to scan system disks. Since macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Data Rescue can’t scan system disks directly. The user has to boot into Recovery Mode first.
Unreliable bootable recovery. To scan system drives, Data Rescue offers a bootable recovery option, but it didn’t work well on our Mac running the latest version of macOS.
Needs the internet at all times. Data Rescue for Mac requires a constant connection to the internet to validate the license.
Scanning duration. The data recovery software doesn’t display an estimated scanning duration.
Limited number of saved sessions. You can only save up to 15 scanning sessions, and Data Rescue won’t let you start another scan unless you delete all saved sessions first.
License pricing. Data Rescue now offers a trial mode where users can recover up to 1GB of data for free. Beyond the trial, the Standard license offers unlimited software access for 30 days at $79. The Professional license remains an Unlimited License but is priced at $399 for 1 year. While this offers more flexibility, the pricing is still on the higher side compared to other similar solutions.
Limited file system support. Data Rescue can recover file names and directory structures of HFS-formatted storage devices but not other file systems.
Hidden file size limitations. The size limitations for the searched files are set in the settings menu. For example, you can limit the program to ignore all files that are larger than 10 GB. The average user wouldn’t know the option exists in the first place, which would compromise the data recovery results.
Lackluster quick scanning capabilities. Recently deleted files can be quickly recovered only from APFS, HFS, NTFS, and exFAT disks. However, exFAT performance is lackluster at best, with only 10-20% of data recovered.
Bad sector management. The data recovery software knows when a scan is taking too long, but won't check for bad sectors and is unable to avoid them to minimize the ETA.
Complicated configuration. The default settings are mostly not ideal, and it takes a lot of work to figure out and adjust them.
Lack of M1 support. Data Rescue doesn’t work on M1 Macs without the Rosetta 2 compatibility layer.
Inability to resume an interrupted scan. When a storage device is disconnected while being scanned by Data Rescue for Mac, you don’t get a chance to resume the scan. Instead, you have to start it all over again.
Limited RAID support. The program can only work with RAID 0 and JBOD configurations.
macOS installer creation. Data Rescue doesn't allow creating USB installers for the latest versions of macOS.
Challenging scan session selection. The saved scan sessions don't have a sufficient description, thus it can be quite difficult to find the one you actually need to resume.
Usability issues. Data Rescue for Mac frequently refreshes the user interface after scanning, hiding search results in the process and potentially confusing the user.
Lack of translations. No other language besides English is supported.
Scan results filtering and ordering. There’s no way to change how found files are displayed, which makes it unnecessarily difficult to find what you’re looking for.
Device selection. It can be difficult to select the right storage device because Data Rescue doesn’t display much information about them. What’s more, the available devices can’t be sorted in any way.
Search for lost partitions. There is no method to search for lost partitions.
Encrypted storage devices. Data Rescue can’t scan encrypted APFS and HFS storage devices. What’s worse, the software doesn’t inform the user that encrypted storage devices are not supported—it simply doesn’t deliver any results.

View more pros and cons

Top Competitors

Disk Drill

Score 4.79 47%

Best choice for Mac users

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EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

Score 3.81 17%

Respectable free data recovery limit

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DiskWarrior

Score 2.29 30%

This warrior is ready for retirement

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Data Rescue for macOS – Overview

Developed by a US-based software company, Data Rescue seems like a safe bet for anyone interested in mature data recovery software. The line between mature and outdated software can be thin, however.

Factsheet

Requirements	macOS 10.12-13.0
Latest version	6.0.8 • Released 28th Jul, 2023
Download size	18.1 MB
Category	Data Recovery Software
UI languages	English

Sibling version

Data Rescue for Windows

3.24

Data Rescue isn't as well-known as industry-leading data recovery tools like Disk Drill and EaseUS. But, that may not be attributed to its effectiveness as a recovery solution. We take an extensive look at what Data Rescue has to offer so you understand exactly what it's capable of. Read full review

No. 16 Among all Windows solutions

Discounts and coupons

Discount	Description	Link
-15%	15% Off Mac Data Rescue 5 Coupon code - drmac15.	Get the Deal

Have you found a better discount coupon and would like to share it with our readers? Then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, and we’ll update this section promptly.

Developer — Prosoft Engineering, Inc.

Prosoft Engineering, Inc. has been around as a company since the 80s. Data Rescue is the company’s flagship product.

1% 10.6% than avg

Online market share

Reflects the share of online traffic within the niche captured by the data recovery software based on data taken from ahrefs.com and Google US.

840 96.4% than avg

Brand name popularity

Based on the number of brand-related search queries on Google US according to ahrefs.com.

If you wanted to visit Prosoft Engineering, Inc. in person, you would have to travel to sunny California. Fortunately, you don’t have to do that to get tech support or questions answered, because Prosoft Engineering, Inc. has multiple customer support channels open during standard business hours.

Developer website	prosofteng.com
Support email	support@prosofteng.com
Founded	1985 • 38 years on the market
HQ location	5424 Sunol Blvd Suite 10-253 Pleasanton, CA 94566
Phone	877-477-6763
Social media	LinkedIn Twitter YouTube

We like that it’s possible to speak to one of Prosoft’s US-based representatives Monday – Friday (8AM – 5PM PST). You can also contact the company via email and receive a reply within 1-2 business days.

Pricing

Distributed as	Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest
Trial version available	Trial version available
Trial version limitations	With trial version you can: Scan and Preview lost files Free Data recovery up to 1GB (New Users Only)
Paid plans	Standard Professional
Price range	$79.00...$399.00
License model	Subscription
No credit card to try	No credit card to try
Money back guarantee	Money back guarantee

Data Rescue has revised its pricing structure, but it remains on the pricier side:

Trial: Free data recovery up to 1GB for new users.
Standard License: $79 for unlimited software access for 30 days.
Professional License: $399 for unlimited recovery for one year.

While this new model offers more flexibility for users, the cost is still relatively high, especially when compared to other solutions in the market that offer unlimited recovery for less.

The good news is that the website now provides clear pricing details, including the trial limitations, eliminating the need to download the software to view the costs.

Pricing details

1	Price	$79.00
2	Details	Unlimited software access for 30 days Unlimited Data Recovery

1	Price	$399.00
2	Details	Auto Renew, Cancel Anytime Unlimited software access for one year Unlimited Data Recovery

Data Recovery with Data Rescue

Tested on: macOS 12.1 (21C52)

We’re always excited to test any popular data recovery software application—let alone the one that has been on the market for such a long time.

How We Test

We test data recovery software by following a meticulously crafted testing process whose purpose is to reveal all strengths and weaknesses of the test subject in the most objective and repeatable manner possible.

#	Step	Description
1	Installation	We downloaded and installed the latest version of Data Rescue on our testing Mac computer.
2	Source selection	Next, we created data sets spanning virtually all types, including document, image, video, audio, and archive file formats.
3	Scanning process	We created virtual testing drives containing the various data sets to guarantee that our testing emulates the real-life situations. We then scanned the drives using Data Rescue for Mac.
4	Managing found data	After completing multiple scanning tests, we gathered recovered data for subsequent analysis, paying attention to the software's ease of use.
5	Recovery and post-processing	Finally, we analyzed the recovery results to determine how well Data Rescue performs when compared with other similar data recovery software applications.

When testing data recovery performance, we evaluate all available recovery modes against our diverse data sets. In addition to how many files a data recovery software application can recover, we also focus on recovery speed and user-friendliness.

Step 1

Installation

To get started, we first downloaded the free demo version of Data Rescue from its official website. To install it, we opened the downloaded image file and copied the application to the Applications folder.

When we launched Data Rescue for the first time, we were asked to give it Full Disk Access, which is a common requirement of all data recovery software applications for macOS.

Data Rescue requires the user to enter the admin password only for the first time. Subsequent launches are instant.

Step 2

Source selection

While not immediately obvious, Data Rescue actually has two different user interfaces. The default one is intended for beginners, and it offers four self-descriptive options: Start Recovering Files, View Previous Scan Results, Clone, and Create Recovery Drive.

To access the other user interface, you need to click the View menu and select the Switch to Professional Mode option. As you can guess, Professional Mode is aimed at advanced users, and it gives you access to the application's hex editor and more.

We used the standard user interface, so starting a scan was as easy as clicking the Start Recovering Files option. We then selected our testing disk image and proceeded.

Step 3

Scanning process

After selecting our testing disk image, we were asked to choose from two scanning modes: Quick Scan and Deep Scan.

Data Rescue provides a handy description of each mode, going over its characteristics, advantages, and potential disadvantages. Because we wanted to examine the test image using advanced techniques to find every recoverable file, we selected Deep Scan.

Scan progress was displayed in real time, which was reassuring because we could see the application doing what it's supposed to do, however Data Rescue doesn't display an estimated remaining time.

Step 4

Managing found files

When it comes to the management of found files, Data Rescue doesn't offer much more beyond the basics. You can see files grouped into their original folders (when such information is available), preview the supported file formats, and search for specific files, but that's about it.

You can't filter the scan results in any way, and it's not even possible to change how the results are sorted, even though the user interface suggests that such functionality is supported.

Step 5

Recovery and post-processing

Before you can recover any deleted file found by Data Rescue, you need to select it. To do that, you simply click the checkbox next to it. Data Rescue displays the total number of selected files at the bottom, along with their total size.

Once we had made our selection, we clicked the Recover button and were asked to specify the recovery directory. We confirmed our choice, and Data Rescue displayed a pop-up message, telling us the recovery had been completed.

Tutorials

Data Rescue for Mac – Tutorials and Other Videos

To help you better understand how Data Rescue works, we’ve put together a collection of useful tutorials and other video resources.

How to Recover Files From a Mac That Fails to Boot (or hard drive that won't mount)

This video shows you how to run a Quick Scan with Data Rescue 4.

How To Use Data Rescue ONE - All-In-One Recovery Solution

Data Rescue ONE is a self-contained computer hard drive recovery solution, which integrates software, services and hardware into ONE product.

Data Rescue for Mac – Full Review

Let’s take a closer look at what Data Rescue can offer as a data recovery software application by evaluating everything from its reputation to its usability and data recovery performance.

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Karma

13 rating criteria

Prosoft Engineering, Inc., the developers of Data Rescue, are headquartered in California, and they’ve been around for a long time. You can reach them during standard business hours and speak to one of their US-based representatives.

Data Rescue receives updates fairly often, but the developers have yet to implement native support for Apple Silicon Macs. And because it’s not possible to directly scan system drives on newer Macs, it’s clear that Prosoft Engineering, Inc. is struggling to keep up with the operating system for which they develop their software.

#	Feature	Result
1	Update frequency	Every 6 months
2	Updated recently	Yes
3	Changelog available	Available (View full update history)
4	Latest macOS supported	Nope, older versions of macOS
5	Runs natively on M1/M2 Macs	Does not support
6	Genuine or clone?	Genuine
7	Brand name popularity	Unpopular
8	Online market share	Poor
9	Maturity	Mature
10	Extensive knowledge base	Available
11	Helpdesk support	Available
12	Live chat	Available
13	Phone support	Yes

24^%

Bang for the buck

8 rating criteria

Data Rescue has made strides in transparency by now displaying its pricing details directly on the website. Additionally, they now offer a trial mode where users can recover up to 1GB of data for free, providing an opportunity to test the software’s capabilities before committing to a purchase. However, while the pricing structure has been revised, it remains on the pricier side. The Standard license offers unlimited software access for 30 days at $79, and the Professional license provides unlimited recovery for $399 per year. Despite the clearer pricing presentation and improved trial offering, potential customers should still carefully evaluate the cost against the software’s capabilities and compare it with other solutions in the market.

#	Feature	Result
1	Competitive pricing	No
2	Price-quality ratio	Poor
3	Free trial	Free demo is available
4	Is it free?	Paid license is required to recover files
5	Pricing policy	Unlimited subscription plans
6	Unlimited recovery in full version	Yes
7	Free upgrades	Yes, with an annual subscription
8	Commercial rights in the cheapest license	No

33^%

Usability

18 rating criteria

Data Rescue isn’t a modern data recovery application with a beautiful user interface. The software has been around for a long time, and not all parts have aged equally well (and not all parts have received the same attention from the software’s developers).

Selecting the right storage device is fairly easy (as long as you know which volume you want to scan), but from there it’s a parade of usability issues. For example, Data Rescue doesn’t show the remaining scanning time, and the tool also doesn’t make it easy to browse recoverable files and select the right ones from them.

The Expert mode seems like a lazy way to provide more advanced users with extra options without making the software too complicated for beginners. Many other data recovery software applications are both capable and accessible, so why can’t Data Rescue be the same?

#	Feature	Result
1	Modern user-friendly interface	No
2	Dark mode	Yes
3	Easy-to-locate features	Yes
4	Automatic implementation of multiple appropriate scanning methods without user interaction	No
5	Auto-resuming scans of failing drives	No
6	Auto-resuming backups of failing drives	No
7	Convenient source selection on start	So-so
8	Convenient file-by-file preview of recoverable items	So-so
9	Convenient thumbnail preview of recoverable items	No
10	Mount recoverable items as disk	No
11	Built-in updater	Yes
12	Multiple view modes in scan results	No
13	Hex view for recoverable items	Yes
14	Filter recoverable items by type	No
15	Search recoverable items by file names	Yes
16	Sort results	No
17	Multilingual UI	No
18	Simple deployment	Yes

44^%

Recovery performance

128 rating criteria

The price of any software application is setting the expectations. Data Rescue is priced like a professional data recovery software tool, but its recovery performance more closely matches a free tool.

The biggest issue we have with Data Rescue is the lack of support for certain commonly used file systems. It doesn’t help that encrypted storage devices are not supported as well, regardless of which file system they use.

As if that wasn’t enough, Data Rescue can’t even scan the system drive on newer Macs without you first booting into Recovery Mode, which is anything but convenient.

#	Feature	Result	Description
1	Deep scan	Bad	Only the HFS+ file system is supported.
2	Quick scan	Fine	Some of the most popular file systems, including FAT32, exFAT, and ext4, are either not supported at all or are supported poorly.
3	Other types of scan	Bad	Data Rescue doesn't offer too much when it comes to advanced data recovery capabilities.
4	Device support	Fine	Except for mobile devices and encrypted drives, the software can scan all storage devices.
5	Real-life recovery challenge	Fine	Data Rescue sometimes performs surprisingly great and sometimes surprisingly poorly.
6	Other notable recovery features	Fine	You can use Data Rescue to create a byte-to-byte copy of any storage device, among other things.

Clever scan

The ability to restore original folder structure and file names. Most consumer-oriented data recovery software applications can attempt to not only restore deleted files but also recover their original file names and folder structure. We call this type of functionality Clever scan.

15%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	HFS+ partitions	5
2	APFS partitions	0
3	FAT32 partitions	0
4	exFAT partitions	0
5	NTFS partitions	0
6	EXT4 partitions	0

Data Rescue can recover files with their original names and folder structure only from HFS+ partitions—no other file systems are supported.

Quick scan

Recovery of recently deleted files Every lost minute can significantly worsen the outcome of a data recovery attempt, and Quick scan certainly doesn’t waste your time because it’s designed to find as many recently deleted files as quickly as possible

40%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	HFS+ partitions	4
2	APFS partitions	4
3	FAT32 partitions	0
4	exFAT partitions	2
5	NTFS partitions	4
6	EXT4 partitions	0

The Quick scan mode works fine when scanning supported file systems (with the exception of exFAT), but several commonly used file systems are not supported at all.

Other scan types

Advanced scan types for solving complicated data loss situations Basic data recovery algorithms aimed at recovering recently deleted data cover only a small subset of the data loss issues users experience every day. That’s why developers also implement all kinds of advanced scan types

28%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	The number of formats supported by deep scan	3
2	Native deep scan of system drives on M1/M2-powered Macs	0
3	Native deep scan of system drives on T2-encrypted Macs	0
4	Native data recovery from local Time Machine snapshots	0
5	Scan for lost partitions	0
6	HFS+ directory rebuild	0
7	Recovered files' labeling	0
8	Partial file recovery	5
9	Disk images: scan and recovery	5

Despite the fact that Data Rescue has a special Expert mode that you can activate to reveal additional options, the data recovery software doesn’t offer much in terms of advanced recovery capabilities.

Device Support

Supported internal and external storage devices Ideally, data recovery software applications should be able to recover internal and external hard drives, external USB flash drives, memory cards, smartphones, and other commonly used storage devices

48%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	Internal and external HDD	5
2	Internal and external SSD	5
3	USB thumb drives / Classic iPods (non-iOS) / FireWire devices	5
4	Memory cards	5
5	iOS devices	0
6	iOS backups	0
7	iCloud	0
8	Android devices	0
9	Recovery from RAID arrays	3
10	Encrypted device support	0
11	Unmountable partitions	5

Data Rescue doesn’t support mobile devices (of course, you can still remove a memory card from your Android smartphone and scan it directly). Unfortunately, it also doesn’t support encrypted storage devices, which are becoming more and more common.

Real-life recovery challenges

Results of real-life data recovery tests performed under controlled conditions It’s one thing to advertise support for hundreds of file formats, and it’s something else entirely to recover them in practice. Our tests reveal whether the data recovery software lives up to what it promises.

51%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	Document formats recovery	4
2	Raw photo recovery	2
3	Video formats recovery	3

Raw photo recovery

The ability to recover raw photo file formats used by digital cameras and mobile devices Most modern digital cameras and increasingly many mobile devices let their users capture raw image data in a variety of raw file formats, so having the ability to recover them can be extremely helpful

38%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	3FR	0
2	ARW	3
3	BMP	5
4	CR2	3
5	CR3	0
6	CRW	2
7	DCR	3
8	DNG	3
9	CinemaDNG	0
10	ERF	2
11	EXR	0
12	FFF	2
13	GPR	0
14	HEIC	0
15	IIQ	2
16	INSP	0
17	JP2	2
18	JPG	5
19	KDC	5
20	MEF	5
21	MOS	0
22	MPO	0
23	MRW	3
24	NEF	4
25	NRW	0
26	ORF	3
27	PEF	3
28	RAF	3
29	RAW	3
30	RW2	2
31	RWL	3
32	SR2	0
33	SRF	2
34	SRW	0
35	TIFF	3
36	X3F	3
37	X3I	0

Strangely, some RAW photo file formats, namely KDC, MEF, and NEF, can be recovered without any struggle, but most other file formats used by modern digital cameras fall through the cracks during scanning.

Video formats recovery

Video recovery performance measured against commonly used video formats Video file formats have evolved a lot during the last decade, and not all recovery software tools support modern formats used by the latest digital cameras, camcorders, and mobile devices

51%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	360	5
2	ARI	3
3	ARX	0
4	AVI	4
5	AVI	5
6	BRAW	4
7	INSV	3
8	INSV	3
9	MOV	3
10	MOV	3
11	MOV	4
12	MOV	2
13	MOV	3
14	MP4	4
15	MP4	4
16	MXF	0
17	MXF	0
18	MXF	0
19	MXF	0
20	R3D	2
21	WMV	3

Your experience with Data Rescue will depend greatly on which file format you want to recover. File formats like MP4 or AVI can be recovered easily, but the likes of MOV or WMV will give you trouble.

Document formats recovery

Determining how well the software recovers document file formats Documents are among the most commonly recovered file formats because their importance can be tremendous, especially when they're related to work or school. Because of how many document file formats exist these days, older and less developed data recovery software often struggle recovering and recognizing all of them

74%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	ACCDB	0
2	KEY	4
3	PAGES	4
4	NUMBERS	4
5	DJVU	0
6	DOC	5
7	DOCX	5
8	FB2	0
9	MDB	0
10	ODP	3
11	ODS	5
12	ODT	5
13	PDF	5
14	PPT	5
15	PPTX	4
16	RTF	2
17	XLS	4
18	XLSX	5

Commonly used document file formats, including DOC, DOCX, PDF, PPT, PPTX, XLS, and XLSX files can be recovered without any serious issues. Less popular document file formats are often not supported, unfortunately.

Other notable recovery features

Additional recovery features and their performance These additional recovery features are what often separates average data recovery software solutions from those that can satisfy the needs of professionals and power users

33%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	Overall non-intrusive read-only algorithms	3
2	Network recovery	0
3	Effectively filters out corrupted scan results	0
4	Byte-to-byte device backups	5
5	Bootable recovery drive creation	5
6	Runs in macOS native recovery mode	0
7	Convenient scan session management	5
8	Bad sector management	0
9	Recovery chance prediction	0
10	RAID reconstructor	3
11	Disk vitals monitoring and tracking during scan	0
12	Data protection	0
13	Links to in-lab recovery service for physically damaged devices	0
14	Scan speed	4
15	Scan free space only	0
16	Start file recovery without interrupting the scan	0
17	Preview recoverable items without interrupting the scan	0
18	Forensic features	0

Data Rescue focuses on the recovery of lost data, and all available features reflect this. It would be nice to also see at least some data management features because such features can prevent data loss from occurring in the first place.

23^%

Extras

12 rating criteria

Data Rescue isn’t exactly a feature-packed data recovery software application, which should be evident just by glancing at the table below.

#	Feature	Result	Description
1	Disk space mapping	No	Not supported.
2	Disk clean up	No	Not supported.
3	Corrupted video repair tool	No	Not supported.
4	Corrupted photo repair tool	No	Not supported.
5	Time Machine backups parser	No	Not supported.
6	S.M.A.R.T.	No	Not supported.
7	Bootable macOS installer	Yes	Data Rescue can create a bootable recovery drive. In fact, you need to create one if you want to recover a system drive.
8	Duplicate finder	No	Not supported.
9	Built-in disk space secure eraser	Yes	The Erase Drive/Volume feature allows you to easily erase the selected drive or volume.
10	Disk cloning	Yes	Data Rescue can clone any storage device, and the feature can be accessed directly from the main menu.
11	Disk surface test	No	Not supported.
12	Secure data shredding	No	Not supported.

Considering how many data recovery software applications these days come packed with extra features to help their users manage data, the developers of Data Rescue should strongly consider introducing additional extra features to make the software more competitive.

What Users Say about Data Rescue

I bought data rescue several years ago after we had a few issues with corrupt SD and CF cards. It has done an excellent job over the years even still running an old version.
Andrew H.

When I first bought DR4 years ago it worked great. I was able to recover data with it, no problem. It worked up through 10.14 Mojave and I was happy with it. Then it suddenly stopped working. It couldn't contact the licensing servers. I emailed Prosoft support and they gave me a link for an updated version. Okay, fine. This updated version would not work on anything later than Mac OS 10.10. Even though they were selling it up until the release of 10.13 and were advertising it as compatible with the latest version of Mac OS, so it should at least be functional in 10.12. They had switched off the licensing servers, then gave paying customers a kneecapped version and told me to just pay to upgrade to DR5 instead. I can't help but think that was a deliberate move to try and milk more money out of people. Fat chance. This is an unbelievably awful move and probably grounds for a class-action lawsuit, but I'm not a lawyer. In any case, I didn't take their lousy upgrade offer and I will never purchase another product from this horrible scum company for as long as I live.
SomeoneElse

If I could give it zero stars, I would. Useless, worthless, confusing, overpriced, over complex, not user friendly, useless customer support, upgrade pricing is ridiculous. NOT worth $0.99 based on my experience. Bought/paid a riduclous $99 for my mom's Mac and the documentation did not clearly indicate what it would work on. DOES NOT WORK/ they greedily want to charge for upgrade instead of doing great customer service and offering to replace for my $99 to a version that does. P.O.* pure....Crapware

cade1

Data Rescue used to be about helping the customer - it now seems more about helping the developer make money. They have lost their way and in the process come up with a product inferior to Data Rescue 3. Thumbs down

mzulgis

Bottom line

Data Rescue for Mac is a trustworthy data recovery application developed by a company that has been around for a long time, but the latest version leaves a lot to be desired in terms of how much value it provides.

With so many other excellent data recovery software applications available, many of which we have already reviewed on this site, justifying the expensive Data Rescue subscription is not just difficult—it’s unwise.

We hope that future versions of this data recovery software will improve compatibility with ARM-based Macs and introduce a new user interface. Then, Data Rescue could once again deserve our recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to the frequently asked questions about Data Rescue.

What is Data Rescue for Mac?

Data Rescue is a data recovery software application developed by Prosoft Engineering, Inc. The application can be used to recover permanently deleted files from hard drives, external USB flash drives, and other devices.

Is Data Rescue safe for Mac?

Yes, Data Rescue is developed by a reputable company, Prosoft Engineering, Inc., and it won’t harm your Mac in any way even though it does require elevated access permissions.

Where can I download Data Rescue for macOS?

A free demo version of Data Rescue can be downloaded from the official website of the application.

How to install Data Rescue on a Mac?

To install Data Rescue on your Mac, you need to:

Download the free demo version.
Open the installer image.
Drag the Data Rescue icon to your Applications folder.

How to uninstall Data Rescue from Mac?

To completely remove Data Rescue, you can use a third-party app uninstaller. Alternatively, you can simply drag the application from the Applications folder to Trash.

How to access Data Rescue on Mac?

To access Data Rescue, open the Applications folder and double-click the Data Rescue icon. Alternatively, you can launch the software using Spotlight.

How do you use Data Rescue on a Mac?

You can use Data Rescue on your Mac to scan most internal and external storage devices by selecting the Start Recovering Files option.

Is Data Rescue for Mac free?

No, Data Rescue for Mac isn’t free, but there’s a free demo version that you can use to evaluate the application before purchasing a license.

How long does Data Rescue Mac take to scan?

When scanning a fast SSD, the entire scan process shouldn’t take a lot of time, but the same can’t be said about traditional hard drives, which may take over an hour to scan.

How do I know if Data Rescue for Mac has found the files I need to recover?

To know if Data Rescue has found the files you’re looking for, you need to go through the list for recoverable files. Fortunately, there’s a handy search feature that can help you locate files by name.

How to create a recovery disk with Data Rescue for Mac?

To create a recovery disk so that you can recover data from a Mac that refuses to boot properly, launch Data Rescue for Mac and click the Create Recovery Drive button on the welcome screen.