Hard Drive Data Recovery Software for Windows

Looking for a tool to recover data from hard drive, SSD, memory card or USB drive? Missing information after a disk failure or accidental formatting? Deleted partitions caused loss of data? HDD data inaccessible after virus attack?

Hard Drive Data Recovery Software for Windows
Hetman Partition Recovery™ 4.9

Partition Recovery™ will reliably restore information from damaged FAT/exFAT, NTFS/ReFS, APFS/HFS+, Ext4/3/2/ReiserFS, ZFS, Btrfs, HikvisionFS and XFS/UFS disks, recovering the original file and folder structure. In addition to existing partitions, the tool discovers all previously created volumes. This allows the user to search and recover files from those deleted volumes. The tool can save the entire logical drive, recovering the original file and folder structure.

Supporting all versions of file systems used in all versions of Windows, MacOS, Linux and Unix, this hard drive recovery software can fix problems in storage media of any kind and capacity. Convenient step-by-step wizard and friendly graphical user interface make the recovery process as easy as one-two-three.

Quick Start

Watch the video tutorial below to learn about the product’s features and see for yourself how easy it makes to recover information. You can download the demo free of charge, scan the disk, preview recoverable files – and then upgrade to the full version instantly without the need to re-scan your disk.

Comprehensive Hard Drive Recovery

Partition Recovery™ is Hetman Software top of the line data recovery solution. Fully supporting FAT / exFAT (memory card or USB drive), NTFS / ReFS (Windows), APFS / HFS+ (Apple MacOS), Ext2 / 3 / 4 / ReiserFS / XFS / UFS / ZFS (Linux, Unix, Solaris, FreeBSD, Open BSD, NetBSD) file systems, the tool is equipped with the most sophisticated algorithms that allow full recovery in the most difficult cases.

Deleted File Recovery

Deleted File Recovery

The software can undelete all types of files accidentally deleted from hard disks, USB drives, memory cards and other types of storage media regardless of the file system. Low-level content-aware algorithms are readily available in complex cases.

Formatted Disk Recovery

Formatted Disk Recovery

Recovers information from formatted partitions, deleted volumes and repartitioned hard drives regardless of the type of file system. Partition Recovery™ can search for deleted partitions and locate missing file systems.

Even if the file system is completely empty or missing, the tool can recover the files by applying content-aware algorithms locating files on the disk by their characteristic signatures.

Recovers “Permanently Deleted” Files

Recovers “Permanently Deleted” Files

The program can successfully undelete files that were deleted with the Shift + Del combination, erased in third-party programs or removed from the Recycle Bin.

In the Quick mode the recovery only takes seconds, while the Comprehensive Analysis mode reads the entire surface of the hard drive in order to locate recoverable information by looking for identifiable features and common signatures.

Recovers Information after Malware Attacks

Recovers Information after Malware Attacks

Recovers information destroyed or locked as a result of virus attacks, power outages or hardware failures. Viruses, Trojans and other types malware may deliberately destroy information or render it inaccessible by corrupting or erasing important system structures.

Partition Recovery™ is equipped with low-level algorithms that can successfully extract information from affected hard drives.

Recovers Data after a Drive Failure

Recovers Data after a Drive Failure

Restores information that goes missing after system failures, file system corruption or hardware faults. The disk can easily become corrupted and generally inaccessible if a lengthy file transfer operation is interrupted by a system crash or power failure.

The tool can successfully recover files from disks with corrupted file systems and other system structures.

Extracts Information from Corrupted Media

Extracts Information from Corrupted Media

Recovers files and folders from damaged, corrupted, unreadable and inaccessible devices such as SD memory cards, pen drives and hard disks. Firmware bugs, loose pins and oxidized electric contacts can and do contribute to memory card errors.

Partition Recovery™ can successfully restore information from inaccessible and unreadable memory cards with corrupted and missing file systems.

Features

It is a truly universal solution for resolving all kinds of problems with missing information. The tool can recover lost data from healthy, corrupted and unreadable devices, restore information from formatted disks and deleted volumes.

Supported File Formats

Partition Recovery™ can recover files of absolutely any type with no exceptions. For many types of files such as documents, pictures and archives, comprehensive content-aware analysis is available, making it possible to locate and recover those files even if no trace of the file system is left on a disk. Content-aware analysis supports the following types of files:

  • Documents in Microsoft and Open Office formats (e.g. DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, HTML, PDF and so on).
  • Digital pictures and RAW images (e.g. JPEG, PSD, EPS, TIFF, PNG, RAW, DNG, CR2, NEF etc.).
  • Presentations and spreadsheets (e.g. XLS, XLSX, ODS etc.).
  • Archives and backups (e.g. ZIP, RAR etc.).
  • Audio and video files (e.g. AVI, DAT, MKV, MPG, VOB, MP3 and many other formats).
*.docx
*.rtf
*.pdf
*.jpeg
*.psd
*.png
*.xls
*.zip
*.avi
more...

Recovers Data from Hard Drives, External USB and SSD

Partition Recovery™ has been thoroughly tested with many groups of devices including desktop and laptop hard drives (IDE, ATA, SATA and SCSI models were tested), external enclosures and storage systems connected via a USB cord.

The tool supports all popular memory card formats including SD/SDHC/SDXC, microSD, Compact Flash, Memory Stick etc., and can recover information from many models of MP3 players, tablets, smartphones, digital cameras and GPS navigation devices connecting to a PC via a USB cord.

Partition Recovery™ recognizes and supports solid state disk of all models and makes including A-Data, Corsair, Goodram, HP, Kingston, LaCie, PhotoFast, PNY, SanDisk, Silicon Power, TDK, Team, Toshiba, Transcend, Verbatim etc.

HDD, SSD
and SSHD
External
USB disk
USB
flash drive
Memory
card
Internal
storage
Virtual machine
hard disks

Ease of Use

Using Partition Recovery™ to recover files and folders is easy as 1-2-3. The built-in File Recovery Wizard is fully guided, taking you through the entire recovery process one step after another. We made the recovery process safe and error-proof, enabling anyone use Partition Recovery™ as their first disk data recovery tool ever. The tool operates in strictly enforced read-only mode to ensure the ultimate safety of information stored on the damaged disk.

Users will feel immediately at home with its Explorer-like user interface allowing to browse through deleted information just as easily as navigating in Windows Explorer. Recovering files with Partition Recovery™ can be easier than deleting!

Data Recovery Engine

Analyzing the file system is step one of the data recovery process. As files can be scattered evenly across the disk, sometimes fragmented beyond reproach, reading the file system is essential to reconstruct information about the exact physical blocks occupied by a given file. When a file is deleted, the file system does not physically wipe or erase the file from the disk. Instead, it simply marks the file’s record in the file system as “deleted”, releasing its disk space for use by other files. In its Quick Scan mode, Partition Recovery™ performs a scan of the file system in order to locate any files marked as deleted. This approach will not work for formatted disks or badly damaged file systems, so on such disks the tool will perform a full disk search (Comprehensive Analysis mode) instead.

Scanning the File System

Program includes comprehensive algorithms allowing the tool to extract usable information even from damaged, corrupted and partially overwritten file systems. Virus attacks, data corruption, physical damage and other errors may easily lead to unreadable files or inaccessible disks. Partition Recovery™ can correct those errors by locating the file systems or their backup copies (for NTFS volumes) and use all information still available to rebuild the original file and folder structure. After that, you will be able to actually recover files and folders, saving them to a safe location.

Full Disk Analysis with Signature Search

File system records representing deleted files can be overwritten with new stuff rather rapidly. Even though the file itself is still stored somewhere on the disk, a record pointing to that file may not be available. This is also the case if the file system is emptied after a Quick Format operation, or if the disk is damaged or corrupted. In this situation, Partition Recovery™ uses content-aware signature search, reading the entire disk surface in order to locate supported file types by their characteristic signatures. This algorithm allows the tool to recover files from formatted, repartitioned and inaccessible disks, as well as undelete files removed a long time ago. The final result often exceeds the quality delivered by renowned data recovery labs.

Saving Analysis Data

Recovering data from high-capacity hard disks (6, 8, 10 or 16 TB) is quite a long process. Analyzing large HDDs may take many hours to complete.

To help users handle this problem, Partition Recovery™ offers the chance to Save analysis information on the hard disk the utility has been scanning. As a result, now you can load the analysis data for your storage device and recover your files from there when the time is right for you.

This way, you save time and effort you would need to rescan the hard disk once more. In some cases, it can even improve the quality of data recovery (especially if data loss occurs because of the growing number of bad blocks).

In the period between saving the analysis information and loading it for file recovery, we recommend against saving any data to such disk (or do anything that can result in writing files to the disk). If it happens, the quality of data recovery will deteriorate, or it can even become impossible.

Saving analysis data

Visual Pre-Recovery Preview and the HEX Editor

Partition Recovery™ comes with two different modes to preview deleted files: visual and HEX. In visual mode, the tool will display the content of documents, pictures, spreadsheets and other supported types of files the way you would see them in Microsoft Office or picture viewer.

The built-in HEX editor offers low-level, binary-mode preview for advanced users such as system administrators and data recovery professionals. In addition to file content, the HEX editor displays low-level system information such as the file’s exact physical location on a disk. The HEX editor can also display information about volumes and partitions such as boot sectors and MFT records. Both visual and binary-level previews are available even in the free evaluation version of the tool. Files that can be successfully opened by the visual preview tool are guaranteed recovery.

Visual Pre-Recovery Preview and the HEX Editor

Recover Virtual Hard Disks and Virtual Machine Disks

The tool can handle virtual machine disks or virtual hard disks. You can always recover any data lost while working with a virtual machine (VMware Workstation, Oracle VirtualBox, Microsoft Hyper-V and others), if the virtual machine becomes inoperable or the virtual hard disk gets damaged.

Just mount the virtual hard disk in the utility menu, and it will appear under «Mounted Disks». After that, you will be able to work with such disk just like you would with any other storage device (an external or internal HDD, flash drive or memory card).

Partition Recovery™ supports the most widespread hard disk formats used by popular virtual machines:

  • VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) — VirtualBox disk format;
  • VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) — VMware Player/Workstation disk format;
  • VHD, VHDX (Virtual Hard Disk) — Microsoft Hyper-V disk format;
  • HDD, HDS (Parallels Hard Disk) — Parallels Desktop disk format;
  • QCOW, QCOW2, IMG, QED, COW — the format for QEMU/KVM.
Recover virtual hard disks and virtual machine disks

Absolute Safety

Strictly following safety precautions is essential for a successful recovery. Every file operation, even opening a file with a viewer, may lead to a series of write operations. Windows modifies file attributes such as last access date, and may perform other writes without you even noting. On a corrupted disk, this may cause severe damage to the file system.

Partition Recovery™ implements read-only low-level access in such a way that no write operation occurs on the disk being analyzed or to information being recovered. To make the process even more secure, Partition Recovery™ can read the entire device in a single long read operation, creating a bit-precise virtual image of the device. These virtual images can be used to recover information without further accessing the original device.

Saving Files

As you know, you must use a separate disk or another storage device to receive files being recovered; otherwise, you’ll be risking in losing your data. However, most users have gigabytes worth of useful information stored on their disks, and little free space available on other disks to accommodate for those files.

Partition Recovery™ solves this issue by allowing uploading recoverable files to a network location over the FTP protocol, creating a bunch of burnable ISO images, or burning a number of CD/DVD discs directly with a built-in burner. You can also use network attached storage (NAS) devices, USB enclosures, USB pen drives and memory cards.

Saving Files

Supported File Systems and System Requirements

Partition Recovery™ supports all versions of FAT and NTFS file systems. For NTFS disks, the tool supports alternative data streams (ADS), and can recover compressed and encrypted files and folders.

  • exFAT, VFAT, FAT 12 / 16 / 32 (memory card or USB drive);
  • NTFS / ReFS (Windows);
  • APFS / HFS+ (Apple MacOS);
  • Ext2 / 3 / 4 / ReiserFS / XFS / UFS / ZFS / Btrfs (Linux, Unix, Solaris, FreeBSD, Open BSD, NetBSD);
  • VMFS / HikvisionFS.

It runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows. Please note that you must have administrator rights on your computer in order to install and use our software on any of the operating systems listed below:

  • Windows XP;
  • Windows Vista;
  • Windows 8 / 8.1;
  • Windows 7;
  • Windows Server;
  • Windows 10;
  • Windows 11.

Questions and answers

  • Is it possible to copy data from one hard disk to another without using a computer?

    Yes, and for this purpose, special devices known as duplicators are used to copy data from one disk to another. They can be applied to create backup copies or recover data from damaged disks.

    Here are a few types of such duplicators:

    • Standalone HDD Duplicators: These are autonomous devices that don’t need to be connected to a computer.
    • Multi-bay HDD Duplicators: These devices have several slots to copy data to several hard disks simultaneously.
    • High-Speed HDD Duplicators: This category is designed for copying large amounts of data.
    • RAID Duplicators: Such devices support copying RAID arrays.
    • USB HDD Duplicators: This type is meant to copy data between hard disks and USB drives.
    • Data Erasure Duplicators: These devices not only copy data, but also have certain features to erase information from disks safely.
  • Are there any portable means to recover data from hard disks?

    Yes, portable data recovery means are specialized devices able to read and recover data from hard disks. They are often used by professional data recovery companies.

    Here are some of them:

    • Portable USB adapters for hard disks.
    • Portable docking stations for hard disks.
    • External cases for hard disks.
    • Portable devices for creating backups (Backup devices).
    • Mobile devices for cloning hard disks.
    • Portable tools for disk testing and diagnostics.
  • What are hardware tools for data recovery from hard disks?

    Here are some well-known hardware tool for hard disk data recovery:

    • Atola Technology: Atola Insight, Atola DiskSense
    • Deepspar: DeepSpar Disk Imager
    • ACE Laboratory: PC-3000 Portable III, PC-3000 Express
    • SalvationDATA: Data Compass, HDD Super Clone
    • RapidSpar: RapidSpar Data Recovery Device
    • Prosoft Engineering: Drive Genius
    • Gillware: Gillware Data Recovery Tools
    • Disk Doctors: Disk Doctors Data Recovery Kit
  • Is it possible to recover physically damaged hard disks?

    Recovery of physically damaged hard disks is possible. However, the probability of recovery and its quality depend on how serious the damage is.

    To handle physically damaged hard disks, special devices are used which are designed to work with hard disks after mechanical or electronic damage.

    Here are some of such devices:

    • Cleanrooms (for example, Class 100 cleanrooms).
    • Read/write head replacement systems (for example, HDD Head Replacement Tools by ACE Laboratory, HeadCombs by HDD Surgery).
    • Devices for drive repair and calibration (for example, PC-3000 Portable by ACE Laboratory, HPE Proliant DL580).
    • Electronics repair systems (for example, DeepSpar Disk Imager, RapidSpar).
    • Tools to create images of damaged disks (for example, DeepSpar Disk Imager, Atola Insight Forensic).
    • Hard disk repair kits (for example, SalvationDATA HDD Combo Toolkit, HDD Repair Tools by HDD Recovery Services).
    • Devices to power off HDDs on the go (for example, PC-3000 Portable III, HD HPE Proliant DL580).
  • How to diagnose the condition of a hard disk to avoid loss of data?

    For diagnosing the condition of HDDs and SSDs, SMART monitoring systems or software tools are typically used.

    Here are some titles worth mentioning when it comes to software tools that monitor the condition of hard disks and other storage media, help avoid possible failures, and prevent loss of data:

    • CrystalDiskInfo
    • Hard Disk Sentinel
    • Acronis Drive Monitor
    • GSmartControl
    • SMART Utility
    • Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostics
    • Seagate SeaTools
    • HD Tune
    • Samsung Magician
    • Intel SSD Toolbox

Reviews and Awards

Leading computer publications and laboratories recommend using our software package to work with hard drives and external drives. Read the opinion of independent experts.

User reviews

Read user reviews of Hetman Software programs or share your experiences. Your review will be published after being moderated. We value your opinion! Total reviews: 34. Average ratings: 4.79.

Adrian H
Adrian H
This product saved the day, when all other (so called \\\"Top Rated\\\") products failed me miserably. I was able to *easily* recover over 50gb of data I accidentally deleted off one of my VeraCrypt encrypted drives. Other products simply failed to recognize the existence of the Mounted encrypted partition, or if they could see it, could not read anything from it Hetman Partition Recovery saw *all* of my deleted files immediately with no fuss or muss. I purchased the registration code and was able to recover all files completely. This product is the real deal and proof is in the pudding. It got the job done when others could not. Thanks!
13.09.2023
Larry
Larry
I had a complicated problem: a Linux LVM on an M.2 drive used to store virtual machine VDI files. I accidentally deleted a critical VDI file. Fortunately, I had a Window 10 VM with the VDI file on my regular Linux file system. I put the M.2 drive on a USB-to-M.2 dongle, ran Partition Recovery in the VM. It easily fond the missing file and copied it through a shared folder to Linux. So far the recovered file is fine. Could not be more pleased. I don\\\'t give 5* reviews very often. This one is well earned.
13.09.2023
James Adam
James Adam
Such a great article, mentioning some really good tricks. But if none of these work and you want to avoid this hassle as well, i guess its better to buy refurbished external hard drives. At least this is what I do.
28.10.2021
MJ Lachowski
MJ Lachowski
Wow! I recovered all my lost files!
8.07.2020
Manoel Coelho
Manoel Coelho
Software Excepcional. Recuperei totalmente um disco de 2TB formatado acidentalmente, todos os arquivos e estrutura de pastas foram mantidos. Excelente, vale cada centavo.
29.04.2020
JOHN
JOHN
THANKYOU
3.04.2020

We recommend that you familiarize yourselves with the opportunities offered in other Hetman Software utilities. You can significantly save on the purchase or buy a program with the features that best suit your needs.

  • Data Recovery Pack™ 4.7

  • Download and install all data recovery products with a single executable file.
  • Languages:
    English, Nederlands, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Español, العربية, 中国, 日本語, Polskie, Русский, Українська
  • Release date:
  • Uneraser™ 6.9

  • A cheap program to recover accidentally deleted files from any device.
  • Languages:
    English, Nederlands, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Español, العربية, 中国, 日本語, Polskie, Русский, Українська
  • Release date:
  • File Repair™ 1.1

  • The program to fix errors in damaged files. List of supported files in the program description.
  • Languages:
    English, Русский
  • Release date:
Hello! This is AI-based Hetman Software virtual assistant, and it will answer any of your questions right away.
Start Chat