PhotoRec for Windows Review: Intimidating but Worth It

Name: PhotoRec for Windows Review: Intimidating but Worth It
Item: PhotoRec for Windows
Rating: 3.37
Author: David Morelo

3.37

Out of 5 Total Score

No. 12 Among all Windows solutions

Price range - free • CGSecurity • Windows

Last update: March 29, 2022

David M.
Author
LinkedIn Twitter Reddit
Nikolay L.
Approver
LinkedIn

Many articles that list the best data recovery solutions mention PhotoRec as a great alternative to commercial applications. To discover how good it really is, we put it to the test, and this PhotoRec review is here to tell you what we found out.

32^%

100^%

51^%

4^%

0^%

Photorec – Gallery

All screenshots Compare

1 of 6

Top Pros

Completely free. There is no need to buy a license to recover files. The program is completely free.
Open source. PhotoRec is open source, so anyone can study its source code and make modifications to it if desired.
Optional graphical user interface. The Windows version of PhotoRec comes with an optional graphical user interface that makes it more accessible.
Does not require installation. PhotoRec is a portable application, which means that you can launch it without installing it on your system.
Capable signature scanner. The program supports a large number of signatures, including recent ones.
Ability to narrow down scan results. You can enable/disable individual signatures to narrow down scan results.
Runs well even on low-end computers. You don’t need a powerful computer to use PhotoRec.
Works with raw disks. The program works with disks that do not have a file system or refuse to mount.
Scanning of disk images. The program knows how to scan byte-by-by-byte copies of disks.
Scanning unused disk space. You can tell PhotoRec to only scan unused (free) disk space, which helps speed up the recovery process.

Top Cons

Interface slows down during scanning. When the scanning process starts, the user interface becomes a lot less responsive.
Window size settings. The software doesn’t remember window size settings.
Rarely updated. The program rarely receives updates.
No auto-update. To update to the latest version, you have to manually download PhotoRec from its website and replace the version you have on your computer.
Scan automation. To start scanning you have to manually select the file system, scan area, and configure the types of files to be found.
Source selection. It takes some work to select the device you want to scan.
The need for an additional disk. Because PhotoRec can only recover all found files in bulk, you are almost guaranteed to need an additional disk to use as your recovery destination.
Disk backup creation. There is no way to create byte-to-byte copies of disks.
Lack of tech support. Customer support is provided only by volunteers on forums.
Lack of additional functionality. The program does not have any additional features beyond data recovery.
Only signature scanner. The program is able to find files only by signature. The file system will never be restored, so the user will never see the original names of files and folders where they were stored.
Doesn’t refresh storage devices. PhotoRec doesn’t automatically refresh the list of storage devices. To see a newly inserted storage device, you have to restart the application.
Multiple scans. If you need to scan many devices, you have to restart the program, because when the scanning process is finished there is only one option, which is to exit the program. You cannot go back to the home screen.
Usability issues. The software has no features that would help users analyze recovery results.
Terminal version. The terminal version of PhotoRec is not beginner-friendly at all.
Recovery path. The program does not remember the last file recovery path.
Warning messages. When attempting to restore files to the source drive, which is a dangerous thing to do because it can lead to overwriting, there’s no warning message displayed to alert inexperienced users.
Disabled signatures. By default, not all signatures are selected for scanning. To select everything, you have to manually click multiple checkboxes.

View more pros and cons

Top Competitors

Disk Drill

Score 4.55 35%

Best choice for Windows users

Compare

GetDataBack Pro

Score 2.50 26%

It really struggles to get your data back

Compare

Recuva

Score 3.04 10%

Good for basic data recovery jobs

Compare

More PhotoRec for Windows Alternatives

PhotoRec for Windows – Overview

PhotoRec has been around for many years, so you might have heard about it before. Regardless of if you have or haven’t, this overview chapter is here to tell you everything you need to know before we dissect the software in our in-depth PhotoRec review.

Factsheet

Requirements	Windows XP-10, 11 (unofficial support)
Latest version	7.2 • Released 1st Sep, 2021
Download size	25.1 MB
Category	Data Recovery Software
UI languages	English

Sibling version

PhotoRec for macOS

3.31

If you don’t fear software that runs in Terminal on Mac, then you should give PhotoRec a try because it can recover an unlimited amount of data for free. Read full review

No. 6 Among all macOS solutions

Pricing

Distributed as	Free All features are provided free of charge, and the software can be used, studied, and modified without restriction
Free version available	Free version available
Free version details	PhotoRec is free – this open source multi-platform application is distributed under GNU General Public License (GPLV v2+)
No credit card to try	No credit card to try

PhotoRec’s pricing could hardly be any simpler: the software is completely free and distributed under the GNU General Public License. As such, you are free to run, study, share, and modify the software however you please.

Developer — Christophe GRENIER

PhotoRec is developed by Christophe Grenier, a French software developer who owns and operates CGSecurity, the homepage of PhotoRec.

2% 59.5% than avg

Online market share

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).

5300 86.1% than avg

Brand name popularity

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

Christophe Grenier released the first version of PhotoRec in 2008, and he has been improving it ever since with the help of volunteers from around the world, who contribute to the project in a number of different ways.

Developer website	cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
Support email	grenier@cgsecurity.org
Founded	2008 • 15 years on the market
HQ location	GlobalSP, 78 rue la Condamine, 75017 PARIS, France
Social media	LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Unlike most commercial data recovery software applications, PhotoRec doesn’t have a marketing budget, and it doesn’t maintain an active social media presence, with support provided exclusively on the official forums.

Data Recovery with PhotoRec for Windows

Tested on: Windows 11 (version 21H2)

Let’s see if an open-source data recovery application can rival commercial software products. To give you the most comprehensive results possible, we tested both the command-line version of PhotoRec and the optional graphical user interface, called QPhotoRec.

How We Test

To ensure that our data recovery test results are comparable, we follow a specific test process that consists of the following stages.

#	Step	Description
1	Installation	Our testing always starts with the installation of the tested software on our testing computer.
2	Source selection	We test the capabilities of data recovery software by scanning custom-built virtual hard drives with an assortment of different file types.
3	Scanning process	Since data recovery applications often support multiple scanning modes, we repeat the scanning process as many times as necessary to comprehensively evaluate the tested software.
4	Managing found data	Here, we're interested in how easy the tested software makes it to preview, select, and otherwise manage found data.
5	Recovery and post-processing	After completing the recovery process, we analyze the recovery results to determine how many files have been successfully recovered.

By following these exact steps when reviewing data recovery software, including PhotoRec, we are able to produce reviews that are objective and verifiable.

Step 1

Installation

PhotoRec is a portable software application, which means that it doesn't have to be installed before it can be launched.

All you have to do is download the application from its website, unpack the archive it comes in, and launch the main executable.

The archive includes both the command-line version of PhotoRec and QPhotoRec, the graphical version of the software.

Step 2

Source selection

All screenshots

When you launch the graphical version of PhotoRec, you are presented with a source selection window. You need to make sure that the storage device you want to scan is connected before you launch the software because the list of available sources doesn't automatically refresh when you connect a new device to your computer.

Unlike other similar data recovery software applications, PhotoRec doesn't automatically detect which file system is used, so you have to specify it manually.

The command-line version of PhotoRec works much like the GUI version, featuring a step-by-step data recovery wizard that's designed to take you from source selection to scanning in a guided fashion.

Step 3

Scanning process

Both PhotoRec and QPhotoRec provide only a basic overview of the scanning process, telling how many sectors have been scanned and how many are yet to be scanned.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to preview scan results in real-time, and you also can't manage the scan process in any way. If you suddenly need to use your computer for other things, then your only option is to close the application and start again from scratch later.

Step 4

Managing found files

When PhotoRec and QPhotoRec finish scanning, they display a short overview of data recovery results and provide the option to quit the application.

Commercial data recovery software solutions typically provide scan result filters to help narrow down the results, and leading applications can even preview files before their actual recovery takes place.

Step 5

Recovery and post-processing

photorec view recovered files in explorer

To see the recovered files, you have to open File Explorer or some similar file browser, navigate to the recovery directory, and manually review its content.

Tutorials

PhotoRec for Windows – Tutorials and Other Videos

To see PhotoRec in action without downloading it to your computer, watch the tutorial below.

How to Easily Recover Lost Files by Using Photorec in 2021 (Windows and MacOS)

A while back I made a file recovery video and in that one I've used a program named TestDisk. Although many of you guys find it helpful, I kinda skipped over some basics. And, it raised some questions. To address them and further explain the data recovery process, I decide to create this video. So I hope you find it helpful.

How to recover encrypted files using PhotoRec?

In this video, we'll show you how to restore lost or encrypted files (photos, videos, docs, and others) using the free PhotoRec tool.

PhotoRec for Windows – Full Review

In the main part of our PhotoRec review, we perform an in-depth analysis of the data recovery software to reveal its strengths and weaknesses, helping you decide if it’s the right choice for you.

32^%

Karma

12 rating criteria

In terms of maturity and trustworthiness, PhotoRec leaves very little to be desired. Unfortunately, the application loses a lot of points due to how stagnant its development has been in recent years. There are also no official customer support channels to speak of, which is understandable considering that PhotoRec is completely free and open source, but it’s still a downside.

#	Feature	Result
1	Update frequency	More than 6 months
2	Updated recently	No
3	Changelog available	Available (View full update history)
4	Latest Windows release supported	Nope, Windows 10 and older
5	Genuine or clone?	Genuine
6	Brand name popularity	Unpopular
7	Online market share	Poor
8	Maturity	Mature
9	Extensive knowledge base	Available
10	Helpdesk support	Not available
11	Live chat	Not available
12	Phone support	No

100^%

Bang for the buck

8 rating criteria

Unsurprisingly, value is where PhotoRec shines the most considering the application is completely free and not limited in any way whatsoever. If it wasn’t for the immense value provided by this software, the overall rating given to it in this PhotoRec review would be quite different.

#	Feature	Result
1	Competitive pricing	Yes
2	Price-quality ratio	Excellent
3	Free trial	No limitations
4	Is it free?	Completely
5	Pricing policy	Freeware
6	Unlimited recovery in full version	Yes
7	Free upgrades	Yes
8	Commercial rights in the cheapest license	No licenses to purchase

4^%

Usability

18 rating criteria

In contrast with the excellent value offered by PhotoRec, there’s not much positive we can say about its usability. Even the optional graphical user interface is far from modern, and quality-of-life features like auto-resuming, previewing, and others are absent.

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

51^%

Recovery performance

122 rating criteria

PhotoRec has decent signature scanning capabilities, but the application doesn’t support any other scanning modes, which greatly limits its ability to solve a broad range of data loss scenarios.

#	Feature	Result	Description
1	Deep scan	Bad	Not supported
2	Quick scan	Bad	Not supported
3	Other types of scan	Fine	Limited to signature scanning
4	Device support	Fine	Works with most storage devices
5	Real-life recovery challenge	Good	Delivers good real-life results
6	Other notable recovery features	Bad	No extra features

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

Average Score

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

PhotoRec doesn’t restore the original folder structure and file names because it always assumes that the file system has been damaged.

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

Average Score

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

You can’t quickly recover recently deleted files using PhotoRec because the software can only perform a deep signature scan.

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

39%

Average Score

#	Feature	Score
1	The number of formats supported by deep scan	4
2	BitLocker support	0
3	Windows shadow copies scanning	0
4	Scan for lost partitions	0
5	Recovered files' labeling	3
6	Partial file recovery	0
7	Disk images: scan and recovery	5

PhotoRec’s data recovery performance stems from its fairly impressive signature scanning capabilities, which allow it to recognize and recover more than 480 file extensions (about 300 file families). The software can also scan disk images, giving you one extra option for addressing data loss.

Device Support

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

53%

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	Android devices	0
7	Recovery from RAID1, 0, JBOD	0
8	Unmountable partitions	5

PhotoRec is a multi-platform data recovery application that supports several commonly used Windows, macOS, and Linux file systems, including FAT, NTFS, exFAT, ext2/ext3/ext4, and HFS+. All storage devices that use these file systems should be recoverable. What isn’t recoverable are mobile devices and RAID storage.

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 its promises

67%

Average Score

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

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

69%

Average Score

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

With only a few exceptions, PhotoRec performed well when recovering the variety of image file formats included in our test data sets, living up to its name. Even fairly modern raw photo file formats were recognized by PhotoRec.

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

67%

Average Score

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

PhotoRec’s video recovery performance is almost as good as its photo recovery performance. Again, even advanced file formats that haven’t been around for a long time were recognized and recovered by the data recovery application.

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

64%

Average Score

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

When it comes to document file recovery, PhotoRec delivers mixed results. On the one hand, it recovers certain file formats, such as DOC, ODS, and XLS, almost perfectly. On the other hand, it sometimes struggles to recover file formats that we wouldn’t expect to be problematic, such as those associated with Apple’s office suite.

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

16%

Average Score

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

PhotoRec is a straightforward data recovery application that focuses on the recovery of lost files from local storage devices using its signature scanner. As such, there’s only a small handful of additional recovery features, including the option to skip free storage space during scanning.

0^%

Extras

10 rating criteria

It has become a common practice for the developers of data recovery software to bundle their applications with extra data management and data protection tools as a way to help users prevent data loss from occurring in the first place. Unfortunately, PhotoRec doesn’t come with any such tools.

#	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.	No	Not supported
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

Perhaps the optional graphical user interface, called QPhotoRec, could be considered an extra feature, but it’s also something that users expect by default.

What Users Say about PhotoRec for Windows

Don't let the DOS-like user interface fool you. This is the BEST software to recover photos from SDCard. You just select the SD Card, select a directory to place the recovered files, and BOOM, everything will be there. Can't be better than that. And it's totally free!
danarrib

The draw of free and open-source software is always strong and while TestDisk and PhotoRec deliver, neither tool seems good enough to fully recover data from the source disk. Useful for low-level recovery, they appear unsuitable for recovering long-lost data.

TechRadar

The oldest and the best. Simply scans the disk and shows you what it finds, good for recovering files of all types, on all types of media.

Jo Owen

I've tried the program, but it doesn't recover my videos files completely. Just some of the audio. Any help?
Ryan Handt

Bottom line

PhotoRec for Windows is a single-purpose data recovery application that delivers excellent value thanks to its open-source license and an appealing price tag of exactly $0.

Compared with commercial data recovery applications, PhotoRec offers almost nothing in terms of extra features, and the software also falls short when it comes to usability.

If you decide to give PhotoRec a try, then we recommend you start with QPhotoRec because it has a convenient graphical user interface.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s answer some commonly asked questions about Stellar Data Recovery for Windows.

What is PhotoRec?

PhotoRec is an open-source data recovery software application developed by CGSecurity and volunteers from around the world.

What is PhotoRec used for?

PhotoRec is used to recover hundreds of different file formats (not just photos) from Windows, macOS, and Linux storage devices.

How to install PhotoRec?

On Windows, you don’t have to install PhotoRec at all because the application is portable, so all you have to do is extract its files and launch the main executable.

How to use PhotoRec?

PhotoRec is a command-line application, so it must be launched from a terminal emulator. Fortunately, it does feature a step-by-step recovery wizard that makes the recovery process easy. You can also use the optional graphical user interface, called QPhotoRec, but it runs only on Windows.

Is PhotoRec open source?

Yes, PhotoRec is open source and completely free, so you can use it to recover an unlimited amount of data.

Is PhotoRec safe?

Absolutely! PhotoRec has been around since 2002, and it has established itself as one of the most popular applications of its kind.

What is the difference between TestDisk and PhotoRec?

Both TestDisk and PhotoRec are data recovery applications developed by CGSecurity. The purpose of TestDisk is to repair damaged file systems so that files can be recovered with metadata intact. PhotoRec, on the other hand, assumes that the file system can’t be repaired, so it uses different methods to recover lost data.

What does PhotoRec recover?

The latest version of PhotoRec can recover over 400 file extensions, including photos, videos, audio, office documents, file archives, and more.

Can PhotoRec recover video?

Yes, PhotoRec can recover many popular video file formats.

Can PhotoRec recover corrupted files?

When PhotoRec encounters a corrupted file system, it performs a signature-based scan to find and recover as many files as possible. However, not all corrupted files that can be recovered are guaranteed to be openable.

Does PhotoRec recover folder structure?

No, PhotoRec isn’t designed to recover the folder structure. To do that, you can use its sister application, TestDisk.

Where does PhotoRec store the recovered files?

PhotoRec creates a directory called “recup_dir” in the folder where its executable is located, and it stores all recovered files there.

👍 Worth a try

PhotoRec for Windows Review: Intimidating but Worth It

3.37

Out of 5 Total score

No. 12 Among all Windows solutions

PhotoRec may have a steeper learning curve than most commercial data recovery software applications, but the value it offers is hard to ignore, and its data recovery performance isn’t bad either.

Visit developer's website

Download for Windows

More Data Recovery Software You Should Also Consider

No. 1

#1 Disk Drill

The Windows version of Disk Drill empowers regular users to reliably recover all kinds of lost data with a few simple clicks.

4.55

No. 2

#2 R-Studio

R-Studio for Windows is a powerful data recovery software application, but regular home users may struggle to master it and put its capabilities to good use.

3.88

No. 3

#3 EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

Easy to use and capable of delivering solid results, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is good at what it does.

3.85

No. 4

#4 Cisdem Data Recovery

Cisdem Data Recovery is well-suited for recovering data from a multitude of data loss scenarios, but it won’t satisfy professionals and technicians.

3.8

No. 5

#5 DiskGenius

DiskGenius is a feature-rich data recovery solution that equips its users with a highly technical toolset to tackle complex data recovery situations.

3.72

View all Windows data recovery solutions

David Morelo

Author

70 publishings
Czech Republic
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit

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.

David’s recent reviews

David’s recent publishings

Nikolay Lankevich

Approver

Houston, Texas, United States
LinkedIn

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.