The Best Mac Data Recovery Software
How to Restore Deleted Files on Macintosh OS X Computers
Jul 27, 2009
When data loss occurs on a Mac OS X computer, the user has two viable options for recovering the lost files.
The first option is to hire a data recovery service specializing in Mac file retrieval. These services tend to be expensive and are often excessive in situations where only a single file has been accidentally deleted.
The other choice is to purchase a professional Mac data recovery program. Data Rescue II, Stellar Phoenix Macintosh Data Recovery and Boomerang Data Recovery are all examples of Mac-specific file recovery software.
Tips For Successfully Using Mac Data Recovery Software
Regardless of which Mac file recovery software is used, it is imperative to never install the data recovery software on the same hard drive as the deleted or damaged files. Installing the data recovery program on that drive will greatly decrease the chances of a successful file recovery. Instead, install the program on a second drive or create a bootable CD or DVD.
Once the files are recovered, be sure to save those rescued files to a different hard drive than the one the files were recovered from. If there is no second hard drive in the computer, save the recovered files to an external hard drive or a USB flash drive.
After the recovery process is complete, it is best not to use the hard drive on which the recovery occurred as a main system hard drive.
Keeping these pointers in mind, the next step is to download a Mac data recovery program and begin the recovery process.
Mac File Recovery Software Choices
Most of the professional Mac-specific file recovery programs allow users to download a free trial version of the software which scans the user’s hard drive for the deleted files. If the scanner finds those missing files, the user has the option of purchasing a license for the recovery software.
Mac data recovery software companies charge around $100 USD for a single-user license but this price varies depending on the company. For example, Boomerang Data Recovery charges by size of the files being recovered and thus has the lowest entry cost for recovering data at $39.95 USD for 100MB of file recovery.
Data Rescue II by Prosoft Engineering is one of the most popular data recovery software solutions for Mac users. This software has a great reputation for being both easy to use and incredibly effective. So much so that many professional data recovery services use Data Rescue II to retrieve deleted or lost files on Mac hard drives.
File-Specific Mac Data Recovery Software
Specialized file recovery programs are designed to find specific types of deleted files such as MPEG audio/video or Microsoft Word documents. These dedicated programs are arguably more proficient than standard recovery programs because they employ unique recovery algorithms when retrieving lost data. AppleXsoft Photo Recovery and Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery are two examples of this file-specific recovery software.
And as an added bonus, many of these specialized Mac data recovery programs also excel at retrieving any and all other types of deleted Mac files.
The Best Software for Mac File Recovery?
Choosing the best program for retrieving lost Mac data requires the user to do some research to determine which program is best suited for the user's individual needs. At the time of this writing, the programs mentioned above are all great options for Mac file recovery. However, new software is always being developed and there may be a better program available.
In the meantime, it is imperative to limit the use of the hard drive on which the deleted files reside and remember to backup files to decrease the chances of Mac data loss in the future.
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