Diskdrill basic is equipped with other great features to provide you the best data recovery experience. 1-Click recovery option, deep scan, quick scan, undelete protected data are some of the major features of this data recovery tool for Mac. Free data recovery software, aka free file recovery or undelete software, can help recover deleted files. Data Recovery Wizard supports Mac and Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Windows Server 2012, 2008, and 2003. The free PhotoRec file recovery tool does the job but it isn't nearly as easy to use as other programs in this list. 7-Data Card Recovery is the type of sd card recovery software for Android which restores data only from mobile device’s external storage; the most widely used memory card types are SD Card, SDHC, Compact Flash, xD Picture Card, MicroSD and Memory Stick. Best Free Data Recovery software for Mac computers So, here is the complete list of the best data recovery tools for Mac. All these tools are free and the links are also given in their description from where you can download these software or check their features. Compared to Windows, few data recovery programs exist for Macs and even fewer are free. However, PhotoRec Data Recovery (and companion program TestDisk) is a free tool that performs effective data recovery on a Mac.

Data recovery can be useful in all kinds of situations, whether your SSD just happened to die5 Warning Signs Your SSD Is About to Break Down and Fail5 Warning Signs Your SSD Is About to Break Down and FailWorried your SSD will malfunction and break down and take all of your data with it? Look for these warning signs.Read More or you went on vacation and came back with a corrupted SD card6 Tips to Never Lose Your Photos While Traveling6 Tips to Never Lose Your Photos While TravelingYou should heed the following tips before embarking on your next trip, especially if the resulting photos are one your main reasons for taking the trip in the first place!Read More. Instead of giving up and tossing out the device, you can try recovering your files on your own using an app.

It may not always work, but when it does, it’ll turn out to be a huge relief. If you’re on a Mac, these are the main apps you should turn to when you need to recover files that have been lost or deleted.

If you’re interested, you can also learn more about how data recovery worksWhat Is Data Recovery And How Does It Work?What Is Data Recovery And How Does It Work?If you've ever experienced a major loss of data, you've probably wondered about data recovery -- how does it work?Read More.

1. Time Machine (free)

Starting with OS X 10.5 (Leopard), all Mac computers have come equipped with a utility app called Time Machine. The basic idea is that Time Machine keeps incremental backups of your files in case you need to restore them at a later time. It’s not the be-all and end-all though, and there’s lots you can do to properly back up your MacThe Ultimate Triple Backup Solution For Your Mac [Mac OSX]The Ultimate Triple Backup Solution For Your Mac [Mac OSX]As the developer here at MakeUseOf and as someone who earns their entire income from working online, it's fair to say my computer and data are quite important. They’re set up perfectly for productivity with...Read More.

In this case, Time Machine can’t actually be used as a data recovery tool unless it was already enabled and active prior to your files being lost. That’s why you should set up Time Machine now before it’s too latePartition & Use Your Time Machine Hard Drive To Store Files TooPartition & Use Your Time Machine Hard Drive To Store Files TooIf your Mac's hard drive is small and your Time Machine hard drive is big, it might be worth using the drive for both backup and storage purposes.Read More.

There are three methods of recovery:

• Revert all files to a previous Time Machine backup.
• Reinstall OS X and migrate all of your files from a previous Time Machine backup to the fresh installation.
• Browse a Time Machine backup in Finder and manually search for the file(s) you need.

For step-by-step details on how to do this, check out our guide to restoring data from Time MachineHow to Restore Data From Time Machine BackupsHow to Restore Data From Time Machine BackupsIt's really easy to set up Time Machine, the backup software that comes with every Mac — but how do you get your files back when things go wrong?Read More. If this ends up being too primitive or basic for you, then you may want to try these backup solutions that aren’t Time Machine5 Local Mac Backup Solutions That Aren't Time Machine5 Local Mac Backup Solutions That Aren't Time MachineThere are lots of Mac backup options out there, and many of them have features that Apple's default backup app just can't compete with.Read More.

2. TestDisk & PhotoRec (free)

If you didn’t have the foresight to set up Time Machine, there is one other free option that you can try: TestDisk and PhotoRec, which are two open-source recovery tools from the same developer.

TeskDisk is designed to help with partition recovery and drives that can’t be booted for some reason, usually due to software-related faults. PhotoRec is for actual file recovery, including images, videos, documents, and more.

Both tools can be hit or miss, but it won’t cost you a cent to find out if they’ll work for you. If you manage find the files you need, great! If not, you’ll have to move onto one of the paid options below. It never hurts to try TestDisk & PhotoRec first, and you can start with our walkthrough of using PhotoRecRecover Accidentally Deleted Files From Any OS With PhotoRec [Windows, Mac, & Linux]Recover Accidentally Deleted Files From Any OS With PhotoRec [Windows, Mac, & Linux]In June I switched over from a combination of Windows and Linux to pretty much using OS X solely, and being largely familiar with Windows software (and painfully aware of the lack of many Linux...Read More.

We consider this to be one of the most important programs to keep handy, especially for photographers on a budget7 Free Apps & Programs for Photographers on a Budget7 Free Apps & Programs for Photographers on a BudgetPhotography can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Why spend money every month for professional quality software when you don't need it?Read More.

3. EaseUS Data Recovery (free, $89)

EaseUS Data Recovery comes in three single-user versions: Free, Full, and Full + Bootable Media. The Bootable Media version lets you recover data even when the operating system is unable to boot up for whatever reason.

What can it do? All versions can recover deleted, formatted, or otherwise inaccessible data. All file types are supported and all drive types are supported, including hard drives, USB drives, and SD cards.

What are the free limitations? You can only recover up to 2 GB of files. Afterwards, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the full versions.

4. Data Rescue 4 (free, $99)

Data Rescue 4 is consistently recommended as one of the best data recovery tools for Mac users, at least in terms of its success rate in finding files. And yes, different tools may find different files!

What can it do? Recover all file types from any kind of hard drive, whether crashed, corrupted, formatted, or non-mounting. Other features include: cloning hard drives, creating secondary boot drives, and using that boot drive to recover from non-booting Macs.

What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license.

Free Mac Data Recovery Tool

5. Stellar Phoenix Recovery (free, $99)

Though it’s priced at the same level, Stellar Phoenix Recovery is slightly inferior to Data Rescue 4. Not to say that Stellar Phoenix is bad in any way — they can both detect most lost files. Stellar Phoenix just happens to miss a few more here and there.

What can it do? Recover all file types from any hard drive in a Mac computer, even if the file system is encrypted. It can also pull data from Time Machine backups. But best of all, it can undelete files with original file names in tact (many tools including PhotoRec can’t do this).

What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license.

6. Disk Drill (free, $89)

Here’s another oft-recommended app, and it’s good but not quite good enough to be the top dog. It’s great at recovering images and documents but struggles somewhat with music and videos. Otherwise, it’s fantastic.

What can it do? Recover all file types from internal and external drives, including USB drives and SD cards. It can also recover files from iPod devices. Data Protection might be its best feature, which guarantees recoverability of all future files from the time the feature is enabled.

What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license. Data Protection is available to free users, though!

7. Data Recovery Guru (free, $89)

Photorec Recovery Software

Data Recovery Guru claims to be the easiest-to-use recovery tool on Mac, and I’m inclined to agree with that. It’s extremely straightforward, but the downside is that it has a terrible success rate for music and video files. Everything else is fine.

What can it do? Recover all kinds of files from any device that can appear as a drive on Mac, including digital cameras, mobile phones, USB drives, etc. There aren’t any other special features. It’s a one-job tool.

What are the free limitations? The free demo can scan a drive to see which files are recoverable, but you cannot actually restore those files until you purchase a license.

What Do You Need to Recover?

In summary, we recommend turning on Time Machine and using that to keep backups of your most important files. If something goes wrong, PhotoRec is a good first tool to use because it’s 100% free. If that doesn’t work, consider one of the paid solutions.

Of the premium options, Data Rescue 4 has the best reliability and highest success rate. Bolster it with Disk Drill’s Data Protection feature and you should be well-protected for whatever future mishaps come your way. Feel free to use another app at your discretion.

Have you ever used a data recovery tool before? Which one worked best? What kinds of files do you tend to need recovering for? Share your thoughts with us below!

Explore more about: Data Backup, Data Recovery, Hard Drive, Memory Card, Time Machine.

1. uFlysoft supports almost all file formats for NTFS & FAT32 file systems. Therefore you can recover files not only on your Mac but also on USB Flash drives, external hard drives and other portable devices.

2. You missed a really good app called Cisdem DataRecovery, it is what I have been using to deal with all kinds of Mac file loss and it literally has many useful features.

When a computer stopped working, it doesn’t mean all the data are gone nor does it mean all the hardware are useless. Computer dies for many different reasons, and one of the most common causes of death is because of the hard drive failure. Recently I have a Mac stopped working. After diagnosis, it appears the logic board has died. That’s both bad and good news. The bad news is that your core computer are pretty much useless, and the good news is that your data should still be intact (given that’s not an SSD soldered to the motherboard). Today I am going to show you how to recover a Mac formatted partition from Windows.

How To Recover Data from HFS/HFS+ partitions on Windows

Because Mac’s file system is different than Windows, you can’t just plug in the hard drive and read what’s inside with Windows Explorer. Fortunately, we have a tool called TestDisk that works across platform and supports to read almost any disk formats. It’s a bit tricky to use, though, as it’s a command line utility.

First of all, you need to extract the external hard drive and connect into a USB docker or HDD enclosure or USB to SATA cable so it can be connected to your Windows machine via USB.

Then download and extract TestDisk.

Launch Windows Command Prompt and navigate to the extracted directory. Run testdisk_win.exe

This will launch a separate Window and from there you can interact the selected hard drive with this command line utility. Choose “Create” to proceed.

At this stage, you will get prompt to choose which disk you want to recover from. If you have successfully connected the hard drive, you should be able to see your hard drive listed above. For me, it’s the “Disk /dev/sdd – 1500 GB / 1397 GiB”. Press enter to proceed to the next stage.

Choose “Intel” if you don’t know what your partition table is.

Free Data Recovery Tool Download

Next, analyze what’s inside the current partition or search for any lost partitions.

Select “Quick Search” to continue.

It should list all the partitions on your hard drive. Unfortunately, TestDisk wasn’t able to read what’s inside any of the partitions it has discovered. Therefore, an in-depth search is required. There are two options available, either attempting to fix the partition table which means you will perform some write options onto the corrupt disk, or use the companion app that comes with TestDisk, called “PhotoRec.”

We are going to proceed with the second option to use PhotoRec to attempt to recover some of the files on the disk. It comes with TestDisk, located in the same directory as TestDisk. For Windows, it should be named as “photorec_win.exe”. It finds not only photos but any files that can recover as well.

Launch the app and we are prompt for the same Window again, here choose the selected disk.

Data Recovery Tool For Mac

Next, you will get options as to where you want to save the recovered files. And proceed.

Here you will find all the files it was able to discover and recover. All recovered files are saved under “recup_dir.x” directories.

and if you navigate further you can find recovered files inside each directory.

That’s it. That’s how you can recover data from your Mac hard drive in a Windows machine. Give it a try the next time when your hard drive crashes. TestDisk is a low-level utility that can bypass all the OS level restrictions and read what’s directly saved on the disk physical cylinder.

Related Posts