DiskDigger 0.8.1

DiskDigger is a great, free file-recovery software application.

PC World (US online)

  • Review
  • Specs
  • Images
  • User Reviews
  • Buy Online

DiskDigger goes well beyond the usual undelete utility that's offered gratis as a leader product, although it does that. It will also dig beneath the file system to recover data on a sector-by-sector basis from hard drives, thumb drives, and so on. (Think of sectors as little boxes containing data that are arranged in tracks/circles on your hard drive.)

Pros

  • Free, easy to use

Cons

  • If the type of file you're looking to recover using a sector scan isn't in DiskDigger's list the program won't find it

Bottom Line

DiskDigger is a free, easy-to-use recovery program that in many cases works as well as EasyRecovery Professional, Active@ File Recovery, etc. If you need to recover data, your mouse should run, not walk, to the download link. It's hard to believe that it's free.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    Free (AUD)

DiskDigger couldn't be easier to use. Select a drive, select the types of files to be recovered (jpeg, mp3, documents, etc) then click next. We actually had a brand new partition-trashed hard drive on hand to test DiskDigger with. To be honest, we weren't expecting a free program to recognise the hard drive, let alone recover data from it. It found files — and recovered them.

Our only complaint with DiskDigger is that if the type of file you're looking to recover using a sector scan (it will undelete any file type) isn't in the DiskDigger's list, it won't find it. Common types that are missing are Outlook personal folders and text files. There should be a "*.*" option or the ability to define file types. Still, many common file types are there and that should cover the majority of home users.

New for DiskDigger 0.8.1 is the ability to search ISO disk images for missing or existing files. You may now also limit a search to a logical drive (some disks are partitioned into multiple logical drives: C:, D:, E:, etc) instead scanning the entire physical drive.

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the PC World newsletter.

Be the first to comment.

Post new comment

Users posting comments agree to the PC World comments policy.

Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.

Most Popular

What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
Samsung’s 2013 Smart TVs: everything you need to know
Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?
How do I connect my TV to the Internet?
Windows 7 Home Premium vs. Windows 7 Professional

Best Deals on PCWorld

Software and ServicesView all »
SecurityView all »
Servers & StorageView all »
Desktop PCsView all »
NotebooksView all »