

This is an essential feature when you're working with a physically failing drive, and a similar feature is in all the other apps in this survey. The one built-in feature in the Professional version (which is what I tested) that isn't in the free one is the ability to create an image file from the disk with files that you want to recover, and then recover files from the image. Still, if you're choosing a file-rescue program for tech-challenged relatives or colleagues, and you don't want to spend a wad of cash, Recuva may be enough to get the job done. On the other hand, if it doesn't find the file you want, then its low price and convenience aren't worth much at all. It's very good no-cost/low-cost file recovery software, and, for the price, you may not care that it recovers fewer files than our two Editors' Choice apps in this category, Kroll Ontrack EasyRecovery and Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery. It offers both a free version and a low-cost $19.95 Professional version of its software. Looking for inexpensive data recovery software? Recuva may be right up your alley. Can't recover as many files as high-priced rivals.

