You may lose USB drive data due to various unintentional reasons. Finding a professional and reliable USB data recovery tool is the key point of data recovery. This article on MiniTool evaluates the most commonly used USB file restoration tools on the market and selects the best ones for your reference.
In Which Situations You Need a USB Flash Drive Recovery Tool
As one of the most commonly used data storage devices, USB flash drives provide great convenience for data storage, data backup, and data transmission. However, the data in the USB drive may be lost or inaccessible due to various reasons. In these situations, you need to use a USB data recovery tool to rescue your files. Common scenarios where USB data recovery tools are required are as follows:
- Files deleted from USB drive: Your files may be deleted or lost due to human errors, virus attacks, violent disk removal, etc. Files deleted from the USB flash drive will not be put into the Recycle Bin.
- USB drive inaccessible: Sometimes, the USB drive may become inaccessible with some error messages such as location is not available, etc. The process of repairing the USB may result in data loss, so you should restore the data first before repairing the disk.
- USB drive formatted: Accidental formatting of a USB drive is a common scenario of data loss. To recover data from a formatted disk, a data recovery tool is necessary.
- USB drive partition loss: Disk partitions may be deleted due to incorrect use of disk management tools, virus infection, etc., resulting in data loss.
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Key Considerations When Selecting a USB Data Recovery Tool
There are many USB drive data recovery tools on the market, and when choosing the most suitable one, you may need to consider the following factors:
- Supported data types and formats: USB data recovery tools may have different applicability to different types of files. For example, some data recovery tools only support photo recovery and video recovery but do not support the recovery of Word documents, Excel files, etc. It is recommended that you choose a data recovery tool that supports recovery of as many file types as possible.
- Operating system compatibility: Many data recovery tools only run on specific operating systems or older operating system versions. For example, you cannot use USB data recovery tools that only support Mac systems on Windows systems.
- Scanning speed: Usually, it takes a certain amount of time for data recovery tools to scan lost files, but some tools may scan for many hours, which may not be acceptable to most users.
- User-friendliness: For a better data recovery experience, you should choose a recovery tool that provides a clear and intuitive interface.
- Technical support: You may encounter problems with new data recovery software. Whether the software provides timely technical support is also one of the criteria that needs to be considered.
- Price: Most data recovery products on the market are not completely free. Therefore, you should consider whether it offers free data recovery credits and whether the upgraded edition exceeds your budget.
Top 5 USB Data Recovery Software Windows/Mac
Listed below are the most recommended USB file restoration tools, and you can choose the preferred one based on your situation.
1. MiniTool Power Data Recovery
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is the best USB data recovery tool for Windows that supports recovering assortments of files.
Key features:
- It supports recovering multiple types of data, such as documents, photos, videos, audio files, etc.
- It supports multiple file systems. In addition to conventional file systems such as NTFS, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, etc., it also supports the RAW file system.
- It offers you comprehensive data loss/inaccessible solutions under different situations, such as USB drive not opening, USB drive unrecognized, USB drive mistakenly formatted, and so on.
- It helps recover files from not only USB drives, but also internal hard drives, external hard disks, SSDs, SD cards, pen drives, and more.
- It provides you with multiple editions, including MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free, MiniTool Power Data Recovery Monthly Subscription, MiniTool Power Data Recovery Annual Subscription, etc.
- The free edition of this MiniTool USB recovery tool supports free file scanning, file preview, and 1 GB of free file recovery.
- It is fully compatible with all Windows versions, including Windows 11/10/8/7.
- This tool has concise interfaces, making it easy and intuitive to complete the data recovery task.
- After disk scanning, this secure data recovery service enables you to filter listed items by file type, file size, file modification date, and file category. Moreover, you are allowed to search for a certain file by using its file name.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Pros:
- Comprehensive support for a variety of file types, data storage devices, and file systems.
- Free file preview and 1 GB data recovery.
- Clear and simple operation interface.
- 24/7 technical support.
Cons:
1 GB free data recovery limit.
2. Stellar Data Recovery for Mac
Stellar Data Recovery for Mac is specially designed for Mac users, providing best-in-class data recovery capabilities to quickly and safely recover data from various Mac devices and storage drives.
Key features:
- It allows you to recover files in different file types. File types supported to recover include Word documents, PowerPoint files, Excel files, images, videos, audio, emails, etc.
- It helps recover data from SSD, HDD, SD card, USB flash drive, Fusion Drive, etc.
- It supports free deep scans of formatted/damaged/lost partitions to recover lost data.
- It provides you with two scan modes: Quick Scan and Deep Scan. Quick Scan scans your drive faster while Deep Scan suits for corrupted/formatted drive recovery.
- It allows you to preview the found files for confirmation.
- This data recovery software not only supports data recovery but can also repair unplayable, blurry, frozen, grainy, and out-of-sync videos, and repair photos that cannot be opened, pixelated, distorted, or split.
Data Recovery for MacClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Pros:
- A wide range of supported file types, file storage devices, file systems, and data loss situations.
- Clear and direct guidance on data recovery steps.
- Additional features such as video repair and photo repair.
Cons:
- Free data recovery is not supported.
- Windows operating system is not supported.
3. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is an all-in-one file recovery tool that is effective in recovering your files on USB drives. It supports storage devices from all well-known manufacturers, including Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, Kingston, SanDisk, and so on.
Key features:
- The powerful scanning algorithm it employs helps in recovering deleted/lost files of all file types from all data storage media on Windows desktop computers and laptops.
- It is adept at dealing with various data loss situations, such as Shift + Delete deletion, hard drive formatting, hard disk corruption, USB disk file system corruption, etc.
- In addition to basic data recovery, it also adds the function of repairing damaged videos, pictures, and documents.
Pros:
- Fast data scanning speed.
- 2 GB free data recovery quota.
- Features more than data recovery, including video repair, photo repair, and document repair.
Cons:
- The free version does not support previewing the entire file content.
- The button to return to the product homepage on the scanning interface is not obvious.
- The paid version is more expensive.
4. Disk Drill
Disk Drill is a professional data recovery software for Windows 11/10/8/7. In addition to USB flash drives, a large number of other data storage devices are supported by this software.
Key features:
- Recovering files from USB drives in different brands and restoring data from the computer’s internal hard disks, external drives, CF cards, memory cards, digital cameras, solid state drives (SSDs), virtual hard drives, RAID arrays, disk images, etc.
- Recovering videos, audio, images, documents, archives, etc.
- Restoring files under various scenarios, such as a USB drive being infected by a virus, a USB drive being accidentally formatted, a hard drive partition being lost, etc.
Pros:
- Fast scan speed.
- Clear and intuitive scan results by file type.
- Free file preview before data recovery.
- Data recovery success rate shown.
Cons:
- Slow Disk Drill application installation.
- 500 MB data recovery limit.
5. Wondershare Recoverit
Wondershare Recoverit is an advanced data recovery tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista that helps you achieve comprehensive file recovery. This file restoration tool has a clear interface and provides you with a safe and smooth file recovery experience.
Key features:
- Supporting a wide range of data storage media to recover data from and multiple file types to recover.
- Providing good support for NTFS, FAT, HFS+, APFS, EXT4, BTRFS, XFS, and BFS file systems and supporting NAS data recovery.
- Offering you quick video repair during the data recovery process and making the video playable.
Pros:
- Various types of file systems are supported.
- No format limit on video and photo recovery.
- Quick file scanning speed.
Cons:
- Only 100 MB of free data recovery is supported.
- Expensive advanced editions for unlimited data recovery.
Listed above are professional and green USB data recovery software free/paid that are popular among users. Each program comes with its own set of pros and cons, allowing you to compare and select the one that suits your requirements.
Useful Tips for USB File Recovery/Data Protection
Despite the availability of numerous sophisticated and professional data recovery tools, none can guarantee complete success in data retrieval. Hence, it’s crucial to learn and employ strategies that enhance the likelihood of successful data recovery and ensure data safety while using disks.
Listed below are some helpful tips you can pay attention to:
- Stop using the storage device immediately. If you realize that your files are lost from a USB storage device, stop using the drive immediately. Continuing to use this drive may cause deleted data to be overwritten, reducing the chance of successful recovery.
- Use professional and reliable data recovery software. Professional and green data recovery software, such as MiniTool Power Data Recovery can recover deleted files without causing any adverse effects on the source files and storage devices.
- Do not install software and save files to the original drive. Do not install the data recovery software on the USB drive where the data loss occurred and do not store the recovered files on the same drive as this may also result in data overwriting.
- Ask for help from professional data recovery services. If you are unable to recover data by yourself through data recovery tools, please consider seeking professional data recovery services promptly.
- Safely remove USB flash drives. You should avoid plugging and unplugging the USB flash drive at will, as this may cause the USB flash drive to become inaccessible or trigger data damage. See how to eject a USB from Windows.
- Choose a reliable USB flash drive. Well-known brands of USB flash drives usually have strict quality control and have higher reliability and durability. So, the probability of disk damage is relatively low.
- Encrypted USB flash drive. For important personal information, it is recommended to enable BitLocker encryption or USB flash drive hardware encryption, which can effectively prevent data leakage.
- Establish a data backup habit. Backing up your data regularly is the best way to prevent data loss. If you have a backup, you can easily restore files from the backup. For a USB drive, you can transfer its files to a cloud service or an external hard drive. Also, you can use a professional data backup tool such as MiniTool ShadowMaker (30-day free trial) to make a file backup.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
To Sum Up
In a word, if you are looking for a USB data recovery software free, try the tools listed above. Most of them provide a free edition to help you perform USB data recovery. Besides, to improve the success rate of data recovery and protect USB disk data, you are recommended to follow the tips above.
Should you need any assistance from the MiniTool support team, please do not hesitate to let us know via [email protected].
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Shirley graduated from English major and is currently an editor of MiniTool Team. She likes browsing and writing IT-related articles, and is committed to becoming a professional IT problem solver. The topic of her articles are generally about data recovery, data backup, and computer disk management, as well as other IT issues. In spare time, she likes watching movies, hiking and fishing.