Best Free Recovery Tool For Mac

When you purchase a new computer you will notice that it only has one partition. It is therefore important to partition your disk for different reasons. Partitioning is segmenting of local hard drive to different sections. Imagine when you accidentally delete or format the partition on your Mac (macOS High Sierra included) and you misplace all your data. Partitioning allows you to store data into different segments thus decreasing cases of data loss. You can also partition your disk to support different operating systems. In this article we will show different partition recovery software for Mac that you can use when never you loss data on your partitions.

Part 1. The Best Partition Recovery Software You Need

There are several free photo recovery programs. Many are available from the makers of the best data recovery software on the market, which can recover other types of files besides photos. This is because image files, like JPG and PNG, are common and among the easiest files to recover. Must Read: Best Free MP3 Tag Editor For Mac In 2018. Ease US Data Recovery: Another best software to recover CDs on Mac is Ease US data recovery. Its free version can recover up to 2GB data. Jan 20, 2018  Must Read: Best Free MP3 Tag Editor For Mac In 2018. Ease US Data Recovery: Another best software to recover CDs on Mac is Ease US. Enjoy the free and the best data recovery software for Windows, Mac, and Androids. The 10 Best Data Recovery Software for Windows, Android, and Mac PC. Are you mistakenly delete your important data and photos from computer and phone?

Many people are afraid of losing their important data during the partitioning process. If data loss occurs during partitioning, you can conduct partition recovery with iSkysoft Partition Recovery for Mac.

This application is able to go back to the previous state before the partition process is done and lets you recover the lost partition and the data on the original partition easily with its wizard. It can recover any data, pictures, videos, audios, and any other files from the lost, deleted, resized or corrupted partition. The recovery process is very easy and fast. You do not have to wait for a long time to get your data back.

Step-by-step Guide on How to Recover Partition on Mac

  1. Best Data Recovery Software For PC, Mac 1. Recuva is created by the software developers Piriform, who are also responsible for the popular CCleaner PC cleaning tool. Just like other products, you should also expect attractive interface with high quality.
  2. After tested these five free SD card recovery software, we got the most reliable and effective free SD card recovery for you. Recoverit free SD card recovery software is not the best scanning and recovering during the test, but it has the highest success rates of any software we tested.
  3. In simple words, it is a powerful Mac data recovery software that is available totally free of cost. It is not only available for Mac users but also for Windows platform. This software will help you restore deleted files from your device. It can easily access raw, non-mounting or corrupted files. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can retrieve data from variety of places including internal and external hard drives, memory cards, USB device and much more.

With iSkysoft Data Recovery for Mac (macOS 10.13 High Sierra supported), partition data recovery is not a problem anymore. Just download and install it in your Mac and follow the steps below to get back your lost files in a hassles free manner.

Step 1. Choose File Types

Run iSkysoft Data Recovery for Mac and choose wanted file types from the main window. Click 'Next' button on the bottom of the window.

Step 2. Scan the Target Partition

After partition search is complete, choose the partition that contains your lost files, and click 'Start' on the buttom of the window to start scanning the partition.

Step 3. Retrieve the Lost Data

Highlight the files shown in the search results to see whether it is the file you want to recover. You can preview the file at first and then choose the file you want to retrieve and click the 'Recover' button. Designate a folder to save the recovered file and click 'OK' to begin lost data recovery. Please don't save the retrieved files in the original disk in case the lost data are overwritten permanently.

Note: If you are a user of macOS High Sierra, you must know that this new system do not allow the users to access to the built-in system drive from any apps. So you should disable SIP on Mac firstly before you start recovery.

Part 2. Top 6 Other Partition Recovery Software for Mac

#1. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is one of the best partition recovery software. This software is capable of allowing recovery of a range of different file types including image, music, video, and documents, emails, archives and dmg files among others. You can recover files from Mac notebooks and desktops, USB, hard drives, iPod, memory card and also digital camera/ camcorder. You only need to go through three simple steps and you are done. These steps include selecting file type, performing a scan and search and lastly preview and recovery of files.

Pros:
● This tool has two mode of data recovery which are scan and scan deep options. These will ensure that all the files lost are retrieved.
● EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac allows data preview before recovery and hence prevents you from recovering unnecessary files.
● This program has a good user-interface. This particularly saves time to the user. You will also locate files at ease as they are stored in three catalogs namely: Path, Type and Time

Cons:
● EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is a little bit expensive.

Best Free Recovery Tool For Mac

#2. Test Disk

Test Disk is a very useful Mac data recovery software. With this tool, you can retrieve lost hard disk partitions quickly and safely. Even a non-bootable disk can be made bootable once again by using this program. In case your Mac has suffered from a crash due to either virus, human errors like accidental deletion and others, then this is the software to give you a quick fix.

Pros:
● This tool is capable of recovering NTFS boot sector from its respective backup.
● With this program, you can recover several types of files including FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2 files.
● This program can copy files from deleted files and partitions.

Cons:
● The command prompt interface may not appeal many users.

3# Data Recovery 3 for Mac

This is also one of the most powerful partition recovery software for Mac capable of working on all versions of Mac operating systems. This program has some more advanced features which include restoration of deleted, lost or formatted data. You can also retrieve data lost on your portable devices. These portable devices include the likes of pen drive, memory cards, and digital camera.

Pros:
● This tool is capable of retrieving data from any storage device and disk formats.
● Data Recovery 3 for Mac enables you to preview your files before retrieving.
● This tool is quite compatible with many Mac operating systems.

Cons:
● It is not very fast to scan the drive.

4# Mini Tool Mac Data Recovery

Mini Tool Mac Data Recovery is one of the best Mac Recovery tools. With this tool, you can recover all types of files. It is capable of recovering various file types including photos, music, video and documents among others. https://ninmgmt.netlify.app/snip-tool-for-mac-download.html. Mini Tool Mac Data Recovery has a data preview feature where you can check your files before performing a recovery. This is important as it prevents recovery of irrelevant files which shall occupy space in your save location for no reason.

Pros:
● With this tool, you can recover a range of different file types such as photos, music, video, and documents among others from either Mac or from other devices.
● Mini Tool Mac Data Recovery has a good user interface and hence easy to navigate through.

Cons:
● This program does not support all versions of Mac OS.

5# Disk Drill

Disk Drill excellent software for hard drive data recovery. It is capable of recovering data lost due to hard disk crash. This program supports a range of file recovery such as videos, music, document, and photos among others. A part from being a data recovery tool, it can act as a data protection tool. It does so by protecting accidental deletion and by also backing up failing disks. Disk Drill has a SMART disk, which helps in monitoring the status of the disk.

Pros:
● Disk Drill allows file preview before recovery.
● With this tool, you can recover any type of file from any storage device.
● With the help of SMART disk feature, you will be able to monitor your hard disk status.

Cons:
● Disk Drill can not recover all types of files.

6# File Salvage

File Salvage a professional partition recovery software for Mac. It is widely used by professionals and is compatible with any version of Mac. Unlike the other software, File Salvage does not slow down the system.

Pros:
● This tool does not slow down the system.
● File Salvage is compatible with any Mac version.
● This software consumes fewer resources.

Cons:
● File Salvage is majorly for professionals. Ordinary users may experience some problems.

Related Articles & Tips

So, you just found that you had deleted or lost some files? Maybe on your computer hard drive or an external storage device.

And you also learned that there are data recovery software might be able to recover the files.

There’s more than meets the eye, though. Some of the data recovery programs are good, some are not. Some claim to be free — but when you try to use them, you find out you have to purchase a license to fully recover or save your files.

Seriously, I hate the trick! Yes, I call it a “trick”.

How do you tell good, solid data recovery software from wallet-sucking fraudulent programs?

Here’s your answer: I’ve personally downloaded, tested 50+ data recovery programs on my Windows 10 based PC and macOS based MacBook Pro, sorted out the truly free data recovery tools and put them all in one place.

The apps listed below are 100% free, or open source, or freeware, which means there’s no catch and you can use them to scan, recover and save your files without any restrictions. No need to purchase a license!

Before you read the list though, check out these practical data recovery tips to increase your chances of recovering the data. Saving additional data to the disk drive in question could overwrite your deleted data, making it difficult to restore your lost information.

  • Stop using the computer or device (or SD card, flash drive, etc.) where your lost files located.
  • Try not to install a data recovery program on the same drive you want to recover files from.
  • Once you are ready to export the recovered files, save them on a different volume.

Update Note (July 2018):

Hey, it’s been a while since I check this roundup post again. Sadly, a few programs in this list are no longer free. Some got acquired, some don’t work anymore due to lack of updates. For the accuracy of this post, I have to remove some programs from this list. Previously there were 20 truly free data recovery programs got featured, now much fewer.

This is unfortunate, but understandable if you stand from the developer’s point of view. These days it’s really hard for software developers to keep updating a piece of free software (especially Mac apps) to make it still work with the latest operating system.

Also, some free data recovery software are pushing users to buy their Pro versions. A good example is Recuva. I just tested the last version of Recuva on a Windows-10 based PC, and I instantly felt the maker is promoting Recuva Professional more aggressively than before though the free version should be enough to handle your data recovery needs. By the way, in case you don’t know. The maker of Recuva and CCleaner, Piriform, got acquired by Avast in 2017. Now you get the point 🙂 But Recuva is still free to use if you can spot out the catch (and I’ll point it out below).

Anyway, thanks for your attention and I appreciate your feedback on this article. Quite a few readers emailed me personally, thank you for taking the time. And if you get to know a new free data recovery tool, leave a comment or send me an email.

P.S. Okay, I get your feedback that sometimes free data recovery software just don’t work that well. If you are willing to try a paid data recovery program, I recommend Stellar Data Recovery – they have both Windows and macOS versions and support recovering data from mobile devices like iPhones and Android phones as well. Free trails are available but won’t allow you to save your files (if found after the scan). Your success rate may vary.

Also read our in-depth reviews:

1. Recuva (Windows)

If you want to get back the files you accidentally deleted from Windows Recycle Bin or USB stick, then Recuva is absolutely the first program you should try. A couple of years ago, I used it to recover most of the photos and videos for a friend in San Francisco who accidentally formatted her camera SD card. Recuva is 100% free for personal use.

You can get Recuva from its official website here. Just scroll down on the page and click the green “Free Download” button, when using the program do not be bothered by the upgrade pitch 🙂

Here’s a video tutorial you may find useful:

What I like:

  • Quick to download and install. The portable version runs from flash drive.
  • Easy to use. Perfect for everyone as it comes with both simple and advanced options.
  • Deep Scan function could find more files though take a bit longer.
  • Able to preview highlighted images before recovery.

What I Dislike:

  • Many junk files are scanned and listed there. Some of those show as unrecoverable, making it a bit hard to find the files you actually want.

2. PhotoRec (Windows/Mac/Linux)

Created by Christophe Grenier, PhotoRec is a free, open source file recovery program that works amazingly well on almost every operating system. PhotoRec isn’t just a photo recovery tool (don’t be fooled by its name). You can use this powerful software to recover nearly 500 different file formats from hard disks or removable media. Here’s a tutorial on how to use PhotoRec step by step.

What I Like:

  • Works on multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, and Linux).
  • Updated by its developer regularly.
  • Powerful recovery capability that includes a large variety of file formats.
  • It’s open source (source code is released).

What I Dislike:

  • Not very user-friendly, as it uses a command line tool interface.
  • You may want to get some help from a techie friend to get this working properly.

3. Puran File Recovery (Windows)

Free Data Recovery For Mac

Another powerful, yet free data recovery utility. Puran File Recovery works great to rescue data from practically any storage medium. The software supports ten different languages. All Puran utilities are totally free for private and non-commercial use. You can see a video tutorial from YouTube here.

What I Like:

  • Deep Scan and Full Scan options for more powerful searching.
  • Able to preview files once highlighted.
  • You can categorize found items by file types. e.g. pictures, videos, documents, etc.
  • File quality reserves after recovery.

What I Dislike:

  • Not that intuitive for new users, especially when compared to some of the other options on this list.

4. Glary Undelete (Windows)

A great undelete tool similar to Recuva, Glary Undelete “unerases” items from FAT and NTFS disks. It’s simple to use: just choose a drive to scan, click “Search”, and wait for a while, depending on the volume of the disk selected. You’ll see a bunch of files found. Once you do, just navigate to the folders on the left, use the preview function to locate your targeted items, and you’re good to go! Check out more from this video tutorial (from Vimeo).

What I Like:

  • Quick to download and install. Clean, logical software interface.
  • Perfect for undeleting items from the Recycle Bin or an external storage device.
  • Preview capability helps find files you want to retrieve.

What I Dislike:

  • Many junk files are found and listed, which can feel a bit overwhelming.
  • Less capable of recovering data lost to formatting or a hard disk crash.

5. SoftPerfect File Recovery (Windows)

This is another nice tool to bring your accidentally deleted files back to life. SoftPerfect File Recovery(scroll down on the page to download the program, skip the EaseUS recommendation) was primarily developed to help you rescue data that was accidentally deleted from hard disks, USB flash drives, SD and CF cards, etc. It supports popular file systems such as FAT12/16/32, NTFS, and NTFS5 with compression and encryption. The program runs under Windows XP through Windows 10.

What I Like:

  • Portable, no installation required.
  • 33 interface languages are available.
  • Very easy to use – no unnecessary settings and screens.
  • Able to restore files with “path”.

What I Dislike:

  • No file preview. Scanned files are listed one-by-one without being categorized in folders.

6. Exif Untrasher (macOS)

Exif Untrasher is another totally free program that runs on Mac (macOS 10.6 or above). It’s primarily designed to recover JPEG photos that have been deleted from a digital camera. It also works if you want to get back lost JPEGs from an external drive, USB stick, SD card, etc., as long as it’s a removable disk you can mount on your Mac.

What I Like:

  • Easy to download and install.
  • Quick and accurate in findingrecovering erased pictures from my camera SD card.
  • Quality of recovered photos is very good.

What I Dislike:

  • Works only with JPEG files.
  • Can’t recover photos removed from an internal Mac hard drive (you’ll notice the “Macintosh HD” option is greyed when you attempt to select the volume).

7. Tokiwa Data Recovery (Windows)

If you want to recover your lost files quickly, Tokiwa Data Recovery is a nice option. It’s a standalone application, which means little time is required for the installation process. In my case, Tokiwa found 42,709 files in less than a minute — very efficient! Tokiwa claims it can retrieve and wipe documents, archives, pictures, videos, and more from common storage media.

What I Like:

  • It’s portable — no installation required.
  • Fast scanning process.
  • Deep scan function available after simple scan is over.
  • Capable of wiping files permanently.

What I Dislike:

  • I couldn’t find any settings or documentation — though it’s simple to use.
  • Can’t preview images or files.
  • Wipe function doesn’t allow erased items to be saved in the system drive.

8. PC INSPECTOR File Recovery (Windows)

Another super-powerful freeware, PC Inspector File Recovery helps recover deleted, formatted files from disks or partitions, even if the boot sector has been erased or damaged. The program won’t help if you have mechanical problems with your disk drive, however, and it can’t be installed on the same drive you’d like to recover files from. A video tutorial is available on YouTube here.

What I Like:

  • Powerful, able to detect logical drives that other freeware can’t.
  • Easier to organize recovered files, as it automatically puts them into correct file structures.
  • Supports many languages, as seen in the above screenshot.
  • Claims it’s freeware for good.

What I Dislike:

  • Icons and instructions look a bit obsolete.
  • Freezes sometimes during the recovery process.

9. Wise Data Recovery (Windows)

Another excellent freeware from the WiseClean family. Wise Data Recovery helps you recover files and folders from various devices. The software is intuitive: select the drive you want to scan, wait, then can browse the item tree to recover your precious files.

What I Like:

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  • Simple to set up and use.
  • Speedy scanning process.
  • Multiple languages available.

What I Dislike:

  • No deep scan capability.
  • Large percentage of files are unrecoverable.

10. UndeleteMyFiles Pro (Windows)

Don’t be fooled by the software name. While it sounds like a pro edition that requires a purchase to use, UndeleteMyFiles Pro is absolutely free, and comes with tools for data recovery and file wipe as well. Just select the drive, scan it, and you should be able to view a list of missing files. SeriousBit, the developers, says UndeleteMyFiles Pro works well for recovering deleted files from hard disks, USB, SD/CF cards, and other storage media.

What I Like:

  • Quick, easy and intuitive to use.
  • File preview ability for certain types of files.

What I Dislike:

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  • File names are missing in scanned results.
  • No deep scan capability.

11. TestDisk (Windows/Mac/Linux)

TestDisk, PhotoRec’s sister program, is an extremely powerful partition recovery tool developed to help find deleted/lost partitions, make crashed disks bootable again, and a whole lot more. TestDisk is like an experienced doctor that cures most of the problems related to computer hard disks. A video tutorial about how to use TestDisk is here.

What I Like:

  • Free, open source, secure.
  • Can fix partition tables and recover deleted partitions.
  • Rescues data from problematic partitions caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses, or human error.

What I Dislike:

  • Non-GUI program — i.e. it’s not for computer newbies as it requires more tech knowledge to use successfully.

12. Undelete360 (Windows)

Like the name says,Undelete360undeletes files you accidentally removed from your computer, Recycle Bin, flash drive, digital camera, memory card, etc. You’ll see two tabs when the program is launched: “Recover Files” and “Wipe Files“. To get back your deleted items, stay on the “Recover Files” tab, highlight the disk drive, and start searching.

What I Like:

  • Multiple languages available.
  • The file tree is very helpful to find targeted items.
  • File path, as well as the condition of the files, are indicated.
  • Includes a wipe tool that securely deletes files that are beyond recovery.

What I Dislike:

  • My computer hung during the scanning process.
  • Quite time-consuming compared to most of the other apps listed here.

Best Free Memory Card Recovery Software For Mac

13. FreeUndelete (Windows)

As the name indicates,FreeUndeleteis freeware tool that undeletes files from any NTFS- and FAT-based volume. FreeUndelete runs on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. During my test, I found the program intuitive, and the process of data scanning is pretty fast. However, what frustrated me was that the found files and folders are not well-organized, making it hard to actually select and recover those you want to recover.

What I Like:

  • Quick to download, install, and scan.
  • Very intuitive – no complicated buttons or options.

What I Dislike:

  • The panel on the left is kind of odd — there is no drive D: or E: on my computer.
  • Found files are poorly organized. I couldn’t find the pictures I wanted to recover, whether they were recovered or not.

14. Lazesoft Recovery Suite Home (Windows)

If you are looking for an ultimately powerful windows rescue solution, then Lazesoft Recovery Suiteis the one. Besides recovering data from common disks, Lazesoft also comes with a set of utilities that rescues your Windows system when you forget your login password, or even won’t boot.

Recovery

Free Recovery Software Mac

Best Free Recovery Tool For Mac

Note: the software has several editions, but only the Home Edition is free.

What I Like:

  • Multiple modes (Undelete, Unformat, Deep Scan) available to choose.
  • Able to preview pictures before they are retrieved.
  • Many super-useful utilities are included, including password recovery, Windows rescue, disk clone, and more.

What I Dislike:

  • Download is a bit slow.

15. WinHex (Windows)

WinHexis targeted more toward forensics data recovery needs. After you download the archive, unzip it and click on “WinHex.exe” to run the program. It might be a little overwhelming the first time you open it. To scan and recover data, move to “Tools” -> “Disk Tools” -> “File Recovery by Type”. TechTarget also has a detailed tutorial here.

What I Like:

  • The only freeware I found for investigation and forensics usage.
  • Able to edit/clone disk and recover partitions as well.

Best Free Disc Recovery Software Mac

What I Dislike:

  • Needs certain expertise to handle the program.

Which Free Recovery Software Is The Best?

So, what do you think of this list? Have you tried some of them? Did it work to retrieve your lost files?

Best Data Recovery Software Mac

I’d like to know your stories. For me, I really like Recuva for Windows and Exit Untrasher for Mac because they helped me pull back some of my deleted items.

Also, if you found another free data recovery software that I missed, please leave the comment below and let me know. I’d be happy to test it out and may feature it here as well.

Don’t forget to backup your computer and hard drive! I just did so with my MacBook, see my recent post: how to backup Mac to an external drive.

Data Recovery Software Free Mac

Either way, thanks for reading, and I wish you best of luck getting back the lost data.