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- Disk Drill for Windows Review
Disk Drill for Windows Review – Is It as Good as They Say?
Out of 5 Total Score
No. 1 Among all Windows solutions
Windows users have almost an overwhelming number of data recovery software applications to choose from, so it takes a lot for any single application to stand out from the crowd. Read this review to find out if Disk Drill for Windows deserves your attention (hint: it does).
Top Pros
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Two for one. When you buy Disk Drill for Windows, you also unlock Disk Drill for Mac.
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RAID Array Recovery. The latest Disk Drill for Windows can recover RAID arrays including 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 1E and JBOD.
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Windows Storage Spaces recovery. Disk Drill offers support for Windows Storage Spaces (Simple, Two-way mirror, Three-way mirror, and Parity).
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Organized scan results. Disk Drill categorizes scan results into three main categories (Deleted, Existing, and Reconstructed) and offers advanced filters for easier searching.
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Visualization of the scanning process. The scanning process is visualized in real time, with information about the number of scanned files and the time remaining available at a glance.
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Mount results as a virtual disk. The results of all scans can be mounted as a virtual disk and browsed using File Explorer.
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File previews. The program can generate previews for all file formats supported by Windows.
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Dark mode support. Your eyes will love Disk Drill's dark mode when recovering lost data late at night.
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Raw photo support. The raw image scanner is one of the best on the market because it can detect the largest number of raw file formats.
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Multiple view options. There are 4 types of view options: files, files and icons, folders, and folders with icons.
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Raw video support. Disk Drill for Windows excels at detecting professional raw video formats like Apple ProRes or Braw.
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S.M.A.R.T. Supports reading S.M.A.R.T. data from all compatible devices.
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Speedy scanning. Disk Drill's scanning speed continues to improve with each update.
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Linux file system support. Disk Drill can recover the original file structure even after formatting or partition loss on Linux systems.
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Clever scan. The program does a great job of restoring the original structure of files and folders on FAT32, exFAT, NTFS and ext3/4 partitions.
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Recovery Vault. There is a module, called Recovery Vault, which can store metadata about deleted files to make their recovery easier.
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Byte-by-byte disk copies. It's possible to create both full and partial byte-by-byte disk copies.
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Support content. On its YouTube channel, as well as on its blog, there is a vast database of support content that covers all sorts of data loss scenarios and solutions.
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Sessions. The program automatically saves scan sessions and has a friendly interface that makes it easily possible to resume scanning later.
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Cross-platform scanning. Disk Drill allows sharing of scan sessions between Mac and Windows versions of the software.
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Ease of use. The user can browse found files, preview them, filter them, and more while the software is still scanning.
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Active disk monitoring. If bad or unreadable disk areas are found during the scanning process, the program recommends the user to create a backup first.
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Scanning prompts. When there is a chance to find additional data, Disk Drill for Windows automatically prompts the user to scan again.
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Disk status icons. It's possible to display disk temperatures in the system tray.
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Auto resume. If the scanning or backup process is suddenly interrupted, the software automatically resumes it as soon as possible.
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Free space scan. Disk Drill for Windows can increase scanning speed by focusing on sectors that are marked as empty.
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Free recovery. The free version of the data recovery software can recover up to 500 MB of data.
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Recovery chances. The program automatically calculates recovery chances, making it obvious which files are recoverable and which are not.
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Ability to work with the HFS file system. Disk Drill for Windows can mount HFS disks and make it possible for the user to copy files from them.
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Recovery during scan. There's no need to wait for scanning to finish because you can restore your files even while it's in progress.
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VHD and VHDX support. Disk Drill can scan virtual hard drive images in VHD and VHDX format as if they were regular storage devices.
Top Cons
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Phone support. No phone number to call for support is provided.
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Bootable disks. The software doesn't have an option to create custom boot disks.
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Recovery over a network. It's not possible to perform remote recovery over a network.
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Video and photo repair. Disk Drill doesn't the ability to repair corrupted videos and photos.
Top Competitors
Disk Drill for Windows – Overview
#Even though Disk Drill for Windows hasn’t been around for nearly as long as some other data recovery software applications, its developers have managed to accomplish a lot, and you can test the latest version yourself on any computer running Windows 10 and Windows 11 (Disk Drill 4 supports Windows 7-Windows 11 21H2, while Disk Drill 2 supports Windows XP and Vista).
Pricing
| Distributed as | Freemium Some features are provided free of charge, but money is required to unlock the rest |
| Trial version available | |
| Trial version limitations | Trial version of Disk Drill Basic includes:
|
| Paid plans |
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| Price range | $89.00...$598.00 |
| License model | Lifetime |
| No credit card to try | |
| Money back guarantee |
More and more data recovery software applications are embracing the subscription pricing model, but Disk Drill for Windows has yet to join their ranks. Instead, users can choose from two premium versions (one for regular users and one for enterprise customers) and, optionally, purchase lifetime upgrades. There’s also a free trial version that can recover up to 500 MB of data and prevent data loss with its backup and data protection features.
Pricing details
| 1 | PRO | $89.00 |
| 2 | PRO + Lifetime Upgrades | $118.00 |
| 3 | Details | Basic version plus:
|
| 1 | Enterprise | $499.00 |
| 2 | Enterprise + Lifetime Upgrades | $598.00 |
| 3 | Details | PRO version plus:
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Discounts and coupons
| -20% | Education, Non-profit & Government If you are a student, teacher or another representative of an educational establishment, as well as if you need to recover data for a government agency or a non-profit organization, you are eligible for a 20% discount on Disk Drill PRO or Enterprise! | Get the Deal |
| -50% | Competitive Upgrade If you already own another data recovery app for macOS or Windows and find it less effective than Disk Drill, you can easily switch to the equal edition of Disk Drill with a 50% discount. | Get the Deal |
| -50% | Upgrade to Disk Drill 4 Disk Drill 4 for macOS and Windows is here. To all our current premium users of Disk Drill 1, 2 or 3, a big thank you for supporting us through all these years! | Get the Deal |
Developer — 508 Software LLC
The company responsible for Disk Drill for Windows, CleverFiles was founded in 2009, so it’s been around for more than a decade. The company’s headquarters is located in the United States, Virginia.
18% 1015.5% than avg
Reflects the share of online traffic within the niche occupied by data recovery software, based on data taken from ahrefs.com (from Google US search engine).
38000 903.7% than avg
Based on the number of brand-related search queries on Google US according to ahrefs.com.
CleverFiles is a highly reputable software company with an impressive BBB customer rating of 4.87 stars out of 5 at the time of writing this review.
| Developer website | cleverfiles.com |
| Support email | help@cleverfiles.com |
| Founded | 2009 • 14 years on market |
| HQ location | 66 Canal Center Pl #505, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA |
| Social media |
If you’ve ever researched how to recover lost data on the web, it’s very likely that you’ve stumbled upon an in-depth guide published on the official website of Disk Drill for Windows. Indeed, 508 Software, LLC spends a lot of effort on content marketing, trying to promote Disk Drill by showing how it (along with other tools and techniques) can help solve real data loss issues.
Data Recovery with Disk Drill for Windows
Tested on: Windows 11 (version 22H2)
Okay, enough with the facts. We know that you’re just as excited to see how well Disk Drill for Windows performs as we are. But before we describe our experience with the software, let’s take a brief look at our testing process.
How We Test
Instead of simply downloading data recovery software and "playing with it" for some time, we follow our unique step-by-step testing process that we designed from the ground up to reveal how well applications like Disk Drill for Windows perform in the real world and how easy they are to use.
| # | Step | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Installation | We expect the best data recovery software applications to be easy to install and get started with because users who have found themselves in desperate data loss situations shouldn't have to jump through all kinds of hoops just to begin the recovery process. |
| 2 | Source selection | Once installed, the data recovery software should make storage device selection painless, providing enough information about available storage devices so that it's crystal clear which is the right one. |
| 3 | Scanning process | There's nothing worse than using a data recovery software tool that doesn't display scanning progress in real time, forcing you to wait and hope the scan is still progressing without any issues. It's also great when you can pause the scan at any time and resume it later. These are some of the things we look for when testing data recovery software. |
| 4 | Managing found data | Even the best data recovery software can't read your mind and know which files you want to recover. That's why it's so important for found files to be organized well. Ideally, it should be possible to preview recoverable files, filter them by file type, and search for files by name. |
| 5 | Recovery and post-processing | With the right files selected, the actual recovery should be a matter of a simple click. Since it's never a good idea to recover lost data to the same storage device on which they were stored, data recovery software should help select a suitable recovery location. |
In addition to performing one documented test for this review section, we perform as many other tests as necessary to evaluate all recovery methods supported by the software, including Quick and Deep scan methods.
Installation
Disk Drill for Windows is a freemium software application, which means that you can download it from its website without paying any money and use it with certain limitations. In particular, you can recover only up to 500 MB of data. To recover more, you can purchase either the Pro or the Enterprise version of the software. The good news is that the free version can be upgraded easily—no need to reinstall the software.
The installation of Disk Drill for Windows is straightforward and shouldn't take you more than a minute or two. You just need to download the installer file from the official website, launch it, and then follow the instructions provided by the installation wizard. Once Disk Drill is installed on your computer, you can launch it and immediately tell it which device you want to scan.
Source selection
The source selection screen displays a comprehensive list of all connected storage devices. You can expand each device to see its partitions. For more information, you can switch to the General section, which is where Disk Drill for Windows displays things such as the device model, serial number, revision, or physical number. Storage devices that are not in good working order are marked with a clickable "!" symbol.
Disk Drill categorizes connected storage devices into four sub-groups: Hardware disks, Logical volumes, RAIDs (which can be reconstructed and recovered just as easily as regular storage devices), and Other. You can display these sub-groups individually or all at once.
We selected our storage device by clicking on it and initiated a scan using the Search for lost data button. Since version 5, Disk Drill always automatically uses the best recovery method to find as many recoverable files as possible on the first try.
Thanks to Disk Drill's robust session management capabilities, there's no need to scan the same device again—you can simply load the last scan session and continue recovering your data.
Scanning process
During scanning, Disk Drill for Windows kept us informed by displaying the number of found files across six different categories (Pictures, Video, Audio, Documents, Archives, and Other).
We were pleasantly surprised with Disk Drill's scanning speed because the software managed to blaze through our storage device, discovering recoverable files at a truly impressive rate.
While we let Disk Drill finish its job before we moved on to the next step, it's actually possible to restore files during a scan. This can be handy when you're pressed for time and just want to get back your lost files as quickly as possible.
Managing found files
One area where Disk Drill for Windows excels is the management of found files. You can choose between several different views depending on if you want to see more information about each file or handy thumbnails, and there are multiple filters in the left pane and above the scan results to help you narrow down the scan results with a simple click. For example, you can display only certain file types or focus on a specific date.
Disk Drill's preview feature makes it easy to tell apart recoverable files that have been damaged beyond repair from those that can be recovered without any issues. But you don't even need to preview each and every file to know that it can be recovered because Disk Drill for Windows automatically displays the recovery chances of each file.
Disk Drill organizes recoverable files into three categories: Deleted or lost, Reconstructed, and Existing. The Deleted or lost category is opened by default because it contains deleted files with their original names and paths. Files in the Reconstructed category are restored by file signatures, and there's no folder structure associated with them. Finally, the Existing category is reserved for files that are currently located on the storage device.
Recovery and post-processing
Thanks to Disk Drill's preview feature and file filters, it took us just a short while to find the missing files and add them to the recovery queue. From there, we just had to click the Recover button and select the desired recovery destination.
The data recovery software confirmed that the selected destination was suitable before recovering all files. It then displayed a concise summary of the recovery process, letting us know how many files were recovered and providing a button to view them in File Explorer. We clicked the button and confirmed that all files were successfully recovered.
Tutorials
Disk Drill for Windows – Tutorials and Other Videos
To help you better understand how Disk Drill for Windows works, we’ve put together a collection of useful tutorials and other video resources.
In this video, we explain why it’s possible to recover deleted files from a Recycle Bin, and we provide step-by-step instructions on how to do it.
Just deleted an important batch of images from your memory card? Never fear, I’m going to show you how to recover lost files from an SD card on Windows & Mac.
Today, we're going to be talking on how to recover data from a lost or deleted partition. Try Disk Drill for free.
Meet Disk Drill 5, your one stop data recovery and protection solution for macOS and Windows PC
Disk Drill for Windows – Full Review
We don’t always look forward to reviewing data recovery software because some applications are a pain to use. Fortunately, Disk Drill for Windows is among the most polished solutions of its kind currently available, so reviewing it was a pleasure.
89%
Karma
12 rating criteria
Disk Drill for Windows is an authentic data recovery software application that receives updates on a regular basis to maintain support with the latest version of the Windows operating system.
Disk Drill users and potential customers can ask questions with live chat and email, but they often don’t have to because of the extensive knowledge base and numerous step-by-step data recovery tutorials that are published on the official blog.
| # | Feature | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Update frequency | Every 3 months |
| 2 | Updated recently | Yes |
| 3 | Changelog available | Available (View full update history) |
| 4 | Latest Windows release supported | Yes, all good |
| 5 | Genuine or clone? | Genuine |
| 6 | Brand name popularity | Recognizable |
| 7 | Online market share | Excellent |
| 8 | Maturity | Mature |
| 9 | Extensive knowledge base | Available |
| 10 | Helpdesk support | Available |
| 11 | Live chat | Available |
| 12 | Phone support | No |
71%
Bang for the buck
8 rating criteria
Disk Drill for Windows offers great value for money because the free version can preview an unlimited number of files and recover up to 500 MB for free. To go beyond the limit and unlock all features of this data recovery software, you can choose between two paid versions with optional lifetime upgrades.
| # | Feature | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Competitive pricing | Yes |
| 2 | Price-quality ratio | Good |
| 3 | Free trial | Yes (unlimited time but limited features and data) |
| 4 | Is it free? | Trial version can recover 500 MB for free |
| 5 | Pricing policy | Two paid versions + lifetime upgrades |
| 6 | Unlimited recovery in full version | Yes |
| 7 | Free upgrades | Only with Lifetime license |
| 8 | Commercial rights in the cheapest license | No |
100%
Usability
18 rating criteria
Disk Drill is packed with useful features designed to make your life easier, and its modular user interface is so well-thought-out that it makes recovering lost data almost fun.
Because it takes just a single click to scan a storage device, even inexperience users can achieve great results with confidence. With each new version, Disk Drill introduces additional usability enhancements, such as dark mode support and granular scan result filters, that further improve its already excellent usability.
We appreciate that Disk Drill for Windows speaks many different languages. When users can configure data recovery software to use their native language, they feel much less intimidated by the task ahead.
| # | Feature | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modern user-friendly interface | Yes |
| 2 | Dark mode | Yes |
| 3 | Easy-to-locate features | Yes |
| 4 | Automatic implementation of multiple appropriate scanning methods without user interaction | Yes |
| 5 | Auto-resuming scans of failing drives | Yes |
| 6 | Auto-resuming backups of failing drives | Yes |
| 7 | Convenient source selection on start | Yes |
| 8 | Convenient file-by-file preview of recoverable items | Yes |
| 9 | Convenient thumbnail preview of recoverable items | Yes |
| 10 | Mount recoverable items as disk | Yes |
| 11 | Built-in updater | Yes |
| 12 | Multiple view modes in scan results | Yes |
| 13 | Hex view for recoverable items | Yes |
| 14 | Filter recoverable items by type | Yes |
| 15 | Search recoverable items by file names | Yes |
| 16 | Sort results | Yes |
| 17 | Multilingual UI | Yes |
| 18 | Simple deployment | Yes |
91%
Recovery performance
120 rating criteria
We test many great-looking data recovery software applications that don’t actually perform all that well when put to the test. We’re very happy that Disk Drill for Windows isn’t among them.
The application’s data recovery performance is decisively above-average thanks to its support for hundreds of different file formats and powerful algorithms capable of restoring data even from encrypted drives (as long as you know the password, of course) and lost partitions.
Disk Drill for Windows should be the first choice of professional photographers and videographers who rely on raw photo and video file formats because of how well it recovers them.
| # | Feature | Result | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deep scan | Good | When scanning Windows file systems, the Clever in-depth scan feature works well, but Apple file systems are not supported. |
| 2 | Quick scan | Good | Disk Drill for Windows can reliably find recently deleted files by performing a Quick scan. |
| 3 | Other types of scan | Good | Even encrypted storage devices and lost partitions don't stop this data recovery software from finding recoverable files. |
| 4 | Device support | Good | All internal and external storage devices are supported, but iOS and Android mobile devices are not. |
| 5 | Real-life recovery challenge | Good | Disk Drill for Windows passed our real-life recovery challenges with flying colors, performing exceptionally well when recovering raw photos and videos. |
| 6 | Other notable recovery features | Good | The software can read S.M.A.R.T. data, and it also has useful data protection and backup features. |
Clever scan
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HFS+ partitions | |
| 2 | APFS partitions | |
| 3 | FAT32 partitions | |
| 4 | exFAT partitions | |
| 5 | NTFS partitions | |
| 6 | EXT4 partitions |
When recovering Windows file systems, namely FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS, Disk Drill for Windows can usually restore original folder structure and file names. The same is true when it comes to Linux ext4 partitions. Only Apple’s HFS+ and APFS partitions are not supported by the Windows version of Disk Drill (the Mac version does support them, however).
Quick scan
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HFS+ partitions | |
| 2 | APFS partitions | |
| 3 | FAT32 partitions | |
| 4 | exFAT partitions | |
| 5 | NTFS partitions | |
| 6 | EXT4 partitions |
Disk Drill for Windows performs just as well when recovering recently deleted files from Windows and Linux file systems. Again, HFS+ and APFS partitions are not supported, but you can easily recover them using the Mac version of Disk Drill if you have access to a Mac computer.
Other scan types
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The number of formats supported by deep scan | |
| 2 | BitLocker support | |
| 3 | Windows shadow copies scanning | |
| 4 | Scan for lost partitions | |
| 5 | Recovered files' labeling | |
| 6 | Partial file recovery | |
| 7 | Disk images: scan and recovery |
Underneath Disk Drill’s intuitive user interface are powerful data recovery algorithms that can recover data from BitLocker-encrypted storage devices, find lost partitions, restore file names, and more.
Device Support
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Internal and external HDD | |
| 2 | Internal and external SSD | |
| 3 | USB thumb drives / Classic iPods (non-iOS) / FireWire devices | |
| 4 | Memory cards | |
| 5 | iOS devices | |
| 6 | Android devices | |
| 7 | Recovery from RAID1, 0, JBOD | |
| 8 | Unmountable partitions |
The Windows version of Disk Drill can’t recover iOS and Android devices, but all other internal and external storage devices are otherwise supported. Especially worth highlighting are Disk Drill’s RAID recovery capabilities, which include support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 1E, JBOD arrays, and Windows Storage spaces. Disk Drill can automatically reconstruct RAID arrays, and its developers have promised to introduce manual RAID reconstruction functionality for advanced users in the future.
Real-life recovery challenges
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Document formats recovery | |
| 2 | Raw photo recovery | |
| 3 | Video formats recovery |
Raw photo recovery
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3fr (Hasselblad 3F raw image) | |
| 2 | arw (Sony alpha raw) | |
| 3 | bmp (bitmap image file) | |
| 4 | cr2 (Canon raw version 2) | |
| 5 | cr3 (Canon raw version 3) | |
| 6 | crw (Canon raw CIFF image file) | |
| 7 | dcr (Kodak digital camera raw) | |
| 8 | dng (digital negative lossless raw image) | |
| 9 | CinemaDNG (Blackmagic, Penelope, Pocket) | |
| 10 | erf (Epson raw file) | |
| 11 | exr (high dynamic-range file format) | |
| 12 | fff (Hasselblad raw image) | |
| 13 | gpr (GoPro raw format) | |
| 14 | heic (high efficiency image file format) | |
| 15 | iiq (intelligent image quality raw Leaf, Phase One) | |
| 16 | insp (panoramic image Insta360) | |
| 17 | jp2 (bitmap image format JPEG 2000) | |
| 18 | jpg (joint photographic experts group compressed image) | |
| 19 | kdc (Kodak digital camera raw image) | |
| 20 | mef (Mamiya raw image file) | |
| 21 | mos (Leaf and Mamiya raw image file) | |
| 22 | mpo (multi picture stereoscopic object file) | |
| 23 | mrw (Konica Minolta raw image format) | |
| 24 | nef (Nikon raw image file) | |
| 25 | nrw (Nikon raw image file) | |
| 26 | orf (Olympus raw format) | |
| 27 | pef (Pentax raw image file) | |
| 28 | raf (Fujifilm raw image file) | |
| 29 | raw (native digital camera file) | |
| 30 | rw2 (Panasonic LUMIX raw image file) | |
| 31 | rwl (Leica raw image format) | |
| 32 | sr2 (Sony raw 2 image file) | |
| 33 | srf (Sony raw file) | |
| 34 | srw (Samsung raw image file) | |
| 35 | tiff (tag image file format) | |
| 36 | x3f (Sigma camera raw picture file) | |
| 37 | x3i (Sigma super fine detail picture file) |
In recent years, even casual photographers and regular smartphone owners have found an appreciation for raw photo file formats. The developers of Disk Drill for Windows are clearly aware of the growing popularity of raw photo file formats because the software can recover most of them extremely well, including those used by Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, and Sony digital cameras.
Video formats recovery
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 360 (GoPRO 360 degree videos) | |
| 2 | ari (ARRI professional digital video camera) | |
| 3 | arx (ARRI professional digital video camera) | |
| 4 | avi (GoPRO CineForm intermediate codec) | |
| 5 | avi (MJPG, H.264, MSMPEG4 v2 codecs) | |
| 6 | braw (Blackmagic raw video file) | |
| 7 | insv (Insta360 panoramic AVC H.264 video file) | |
| 8 | insv (Insta360 panoramic HEVC HVC1 video file) | |
| 9 | mov (Apple ProRes 422 Proxy/LT/HQ) | |
| 10 | mov (Apple ProRes 4444 Raw/HQ) | |
| 11 | mov (advanced video coding H.264) | |
| 12 | mov (CineForm HD codec) | |
| 13 | mov (HEVC, HVC1 codecs) | |
| 14 | mp4 (advanced video coding H.264) | |
| 15 | mp4 (HEVC, HVC1, Apple ProRes codecs) | |
| 16 | mxf (advanced video coding H.264) | |
| 17 | mxf (DVCPRO HD codec) | |
| 18 | mxf (ARRI raw, Apple ProRes codecs) | |
| 19 | mxf (XDCAM HD422, HD35 MPEG2 codecs) | |
| 20 | r3d (Red digital camera company raw video file) | |
| 21 | wmv (pro raw 9 codec) |
The fact that Disk Drill for Windows has no trouble at all with the recovery of commonly used video file formats is praiseworthy, but it’s not unusual. What is extraordinary is how well the data recovery software recovers professional raw video file formats, including Apple ProRes and Blackmagic raw video files.
Document formats recovery
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | accdb (Microsoft Access 2007+ database file) | |
| 2 | key (Apple Keynote) | |
| 3 | pages (Apple Pages) | |
| 4 | numbers (Apple Numbers) | |
| 5 | djvu (compressed image format) | |
| 6 | doc (Microsoft Word 97 – 2003 document file) | |
| 7 | docx (Microsoft Word 2007+ document file) | |
| 8 | fb2 (FictionBook 2.0 File) | |
| 9 | mdb (Microsoft Access 97 - 2003 database file) | |
| 10 | odp (OpenOffice presentation file format) | |
| 11 | ods (OpenDocument spreadsheet file format) | |
| 12 | odt (OpenDocument text document file format) | |
| 13 | pdf (portable document format) | |
| 14 | ppt (Microsoft Powerpoint 97 - 2003 presentation file) | |
| 15 | pptx (Microsoft Powerpoint 2007+ presentation file) | |
| 16 | rtf (rich text format) | |
| 17 | xls (Microsoft Excel 97 - 2003 spreadsheet file) | |
| 18 | xlsx (Microsoft Excel 2007+ spreadsheet file) |
If we had to recover a document file format, such as a lost PDF file or a Word document, then Disk Drill for Windows would be our top choice because of its excellent performance.
Other notable recovery features
| # | Feature | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overall non-intrusive read-only algorithms | |
| 2 | Network recovery | |
| 3 | Effectively filters out corrupted scan results | |
| 4 | Byte-to-byte device backups | |
| 5 | Bootable recovery drive creation | |
| 6 | Convenient scan session management | |
| 7 | Bad sector management | |
| 8 | Recovery chance prediction | |
| 9 | RAID reconstructor | |
| 10 | Disk vitals monitoring and tracking during scan | |
| 11 | Data protection | |
| 12 | Links to in-lab recovery service for physically damaged devices | |
| 13 | Scan speed | |
| 14 | Scan free space only | |
| 15 | Start file recovery without interrupting the scan | |
| 16 | Preview recoverable items without interrupting the scan | |
| 17 | Forensic features |
Disk Drill for Windows has useful data protection and backup features, which can store file metadata to improve data recovery outcomes and create byte-to-byte storage device images, respectively. The software makes scanning easy with its non-intrusive read-only algorithms, real-time indication of scan progress, and a built-in scan session manager, among other things.
We’ve already mentioned its RAID recovery capabilities several times in this review, but we think they’re worth highlighting one more time because Disk Drill’s RAID reconstructor can piece back together arrays that have become corrupted and unusable.
A scan session can be exported from Disk Drill for Windows and imported using Disk Drill for Mac, so those who use both Windows and Mac can save a lot of time.
The speed of scanning has improved significantly with the release of Disk Drill 5, but it, of course, still depends largely on the performance of the scanned storage device. At any point during a scan, the user can choose to see the recoverable files that have been found so far and get them back without waiting for the recovery process to finish.
20%
Extras
10 rating criteria
Because we’re familiar with the Mac version of Disk Drill, which we’ve reviewed in the past, we were surprised to find out that Disk Drill for Windows offers only a handful of extra features. Still, some extra features are better than no extra features at all.
| # | 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 | S.M.A.R.T. | Yes | Disk Drill for Windows can read S.M.A.R.T. data of all connected storage devices that support the feature. |
| 6 | Duplicate finder | No | Not supported. |
| 7 | Built-in disk space secure eraser | No | Not supported. |
| 8 | Disk cloning | No | Not supported. |
| 9 | Disk surface test | No | Not supported. |
| 10 | Secure data shredding | No | Not supported. |
The ability to read S.M.A.R.T. data is an essential capability that can help avoid data loss incidents by revealing disk issues in a timely manner, so it’s great that Disk Drill for Windows supports it.
A complete disk recovery solution presented with a clear, intuitive UI. Disk Drill's PRO option might seem expensive, but the 2-for-1 deal on the macOS version and various discounts make up for this.
I hired a drone with a card that was not empty. I asked the leaser of the drone about the content in the card. "OMG, that card failed and was I was to erase it. I need the footage on it. Can you save it?"
Of course, I said. I have this tool ... DISK DRILL. I started using the software and I am still amazed. Recovered over 100GB from a 64GB card.
Thank you CleverFiles. Thank you.
Disk Drill was able to turn a moment of panic (realizing I'd erased a full set of job site pics from a card) into a sigh of relief in less than 20 minutes. The app did everything it said it would, did it easily, and did it quickly. It was well worth the purchase and impressed me enough to commit to the lifetime upgrades in case I ever do a bonehead thing like that again. Kudos to Disk Drill on an outstanding solution!
Bottom line
Disk Drill for Windows is among the best data recovery software applications for Microsoft’s operating system.
With its easy-to-use interface and advanced data recovery algorithms, it makes it easy to recover more than 300 file formats from all kinds of storage devices that use Windows- and Linux-supported file systems, such as NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ext4.
The few extra features that are included with Disk Drill for Windows can go a long way in preventing bad data loss scenarios, greatly increasing the value of the already affordable application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to several frequently asked questions about Disk Drill for Windows.
Disk Drill is a capable data recovery software application for Windows and macOS. It supports hundreds of file formats and comes with extra data management and backup features.
As a data recovery software application, Disk Drill’s main purpose is to analyze storage devices to find and recover permanently deleted files from them. It also has a number of extra features to help users better manage their data and protect themselves against data loss.
Disk Drill features multiple data recovery algorithms that allow it to recognize traces of permanently and recently deleted files alike, giving the user the ability to preview and recover them.
You can download the latest version of Disk Drill for Windows and macOS from its official website.
To recover lost files using Disk Drill for Windows, you need to:
- Download and install Disk Drill for Windows.
- Launch the application and scan your storage device.
- Select and recover lost files.
Disk Drill allows users to recover lost files to any folder, but it’s highly recommended to never recover to the same storage device on which the lost files are located.
Yes, but the free version of Disk Drill for Windows can only recover up to 500 MB of data. To recover more, you must purchase Disk Drill PRO or Enterprise.
The PRO version of Disk Drill costs $89.00, and the Enterprise version costs $499.00.
Yes, when you purchase a Disk Drill license, you can use the software for as long as you want. And if you also purchase the optional lifetime upgrades extra, then you will always have access to the latest version of the software.
Disk Drill is a reasonably fast data recovery software application, but its data recovery performance greatly depends on the size and speed of the scanned storage device.
If Disk Drill takes a long time to finish scanning, then the most likely cause is the limited performance of the scanned storage device.
Theoretically, Disk Drill can recover even files that were deleted years ago as long as the physical storage device which they ocuppy hasn’t been filled with new data.
Disk Drill’s Quick Scan or Clever Scan modes can recover data with its metadata intact, allowing you to recover files with their original names.
Sometimes, saved over files are not physically overwritten. When that’s the case, it’s possible to recover them using Disk Drill just as easily as any other files.
Yes, Disk Drill can recover even corrupted files, but such files may be unreadable or impossible to open—it all depends on the extent of the corruption.
If Disk Drill for Windows is refusing to install, then you should restart your computer and try again (there could be pending updates or some unresolved issues). If that doesn’t help, download the latest version of the software again and try one more time.
If the free version of Disk Drill for Windows can’t recover your lost file, then it’s possible that the file is larger than 500 MB. In that case, you must upgrade to Disk Drill PRO or Enterprise.
Yes. Disk Drill is safe and risk-free to use. It operates in read-only mode during scanning to prevent data loss, and has built-in safety features to avoid accidental file overwriting. It is a reliable data recovery tool that can help you retrieve lost files without exposing your device to any malware or ransomware threats.
Absolutely! Disk Drill is a reliable data recovery software application that can quickly and easily recover lost documents, videos, photos, audio files, archives, and more from all storage devices recognized by Windows.
To uninstall Disk Drill:
- Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows + i on your keyboard.
- Click “Apps” in the sidebar and then select “Apps & Features.”
- Locate Disk Drill and click the three dots button beside it.
- Finally, select “Uninstall” in the menu that appears.
Worth a try ✅
Out of 5 Total score
No. 1 Among all Windows solutions
Disk Drill for Windows is among the best data recovery software applications available to Windows users.
Visit developer websiteThe Windows version of Disk Drill empowers regular users to reliably recover all kinds of lost data with a few simple clicks.
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David Morelo is a professional content writer with a specialization in data recovery. He spends his days helping users from around the world recover from data loss and address the numerous issues associated with it.
When not writing about data recovery techniques and solutions, he enjoys tinkering with new technology, working on personal projects, exploring the world on his bike, and, above all else, spending time with his family.
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Houston, Texas, United States
Nikolay Lankevich has over 15 years of strong experience in various fields and platform includes Disaster Recovery, Windows XP/7. System analysis, design, application (Inter/Intranet) development, and testing. Provided technical supports on desktop and laptops on Win-XP and Macintosh for about 2000 employees.
What Users Say about Disk Drill for Windows