RecoverMyFiles 2.16 is a solid file recovery utility with local roots. Read our Australian review.There are very few users out there that would think of file recovery as an innately interesting software category -- at least until something goes wrong, be it an accidental file deletion or virus formatting an entire drive. Upon such a calamity being visited upon you, file recovery starts to become a very, very compelling kind of option indeed. Crocware's RecoverMyFiles 2.0 offers file recovery utilities for Windows users under FAT 12, FAT 16, FAT 32 and NTFS file systems, and for those feeling patriotic, it's an Australian software company, albeit one that sells its product in US dollars.
Upon first installing the program, it advises that it shouldn't be installed on the same partition as any data you're trying to recover. While this is a sensible precaution -- the data you recover could be either overwritten or trying to share the same logical space as the program itself -- it could mean messing around creating a restore partition to use with the program. Thankfully Crocware offers a secondary option, as the software can be run directly from CD or floppy with the same functionality as a hard-drive installed version.
While you can jump into the package's full interface, for the less technically-inclined a wizard will guide you through the necessary steps for file recovery. Recovery is attempted based on the file types that RecoverMyFiles recognises, although it will lump anything it doesn't recognise into its own category at the end of searching.
We wanted to give RecoverMyFiles a solid workout, so we installed it on a test machine that sees an awful lot of file activity, and told it to attempt to recover every file type it could find. This RecoverMyFiles took to with gusto, but we couldn't describe the results as speedy; grinding its way through a 70GB hard drive on our test machine took over thirty hours to complete. Most users will probably know what file they're missing and be able to specify a location, which speeds the process up considerably. The facility to scan an entire drive for recently deleted articles of all types does also have applications in the corporate sector, especially where material may have been deliberately destroyed.
Having groaned and grunted its way through our admittedly very busy drive, it found around 30,000 deleted files. Each file is rated on the chances of recovery -- from "Very Good" to "Poor". RecoverMyFiles currently recognises 47 different document types, and for many it offers a preview in a pane at the bottom of the application window so you can verify that it has the correct file. In our test system we found the application did tend to classify some files a little oddly, deciding that some deleted system files were probably MP3s, for example. As the full recovered file name is shown, it's not a major problem in any case. The program will only save files to a different partition than the one being recovered from, so it's worth having a recovery strategy -- and perhaps some blank rewriteable media -- at hand.
Crocware's taken an unusual approach to the trial version of RecoverMyFiles 2.0, as it can perform a full system scan, but won't save files until it's been purchased. At first glance this might seem like a totally useless situation, but it's actually some clever marketing. Very few users are likely to be so pessimistic as to purchase the software until something's gone wrong and/or missing, and being able to assess whether a file is in fact recoverable before plunking down the requisite US$69 for the software is quite a handy step.
There are no guarantees in file recovery, as the time elapsed since deletion and activity rate of the drive play a major part in deciding the fate of lost files. RecoverMyFiles 2.0 has a very solid approach and delivered well in our tests. It's not software that customers are likely to buy off the rack, but in a post-file-disaster setting it's got a lot of appeal and flexibility. About our only gripe with the package is that a Sydney-based company doesn't in fact sell in Australian dollars, although that's a minor gripe for something that's likely to be purchased via credit card.
Crocware RecoverMyFiles 2.16
Company: Crocware
Price: US$69 via download.
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