Disk Drill Basic is a freeware version of Disk Drill, data recovery application for macOS, developed by CleverFiles. Disk Drill Basic was introduced in 2010 and was primarily designed to recover deleted or lost files from hard disk drives, USB flash drives and SSD drives with the help of Recovery Vault technology.
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Positives
- Apr 17, 2020 Disk Drill is a set of tools for recovering data from, managing and analyzing mass storage devices. The application has been quite popular among Mac OS users for quite a while and the developer has ported the application to Windows.
- As a invaluable Mac data recovery software, Disk Drill helps to rescue your data no matter what happened and no matter who’s responsible for data loss: accidental deletion, Disk Utility error, data corruption, etc., with several powerful scanning methods. Protect Data and Never Lose Again.
- Deep and effective scan
- Support for a very long list of file types
- Excellent filtering options
- Future data loss protection
- iOS scan and recovery, even via Wi-Fi
- Affordable pricing
Negatives
- Can't recover files from SSD
- Clean-up utility is confusing
If you have ever experienced the moment when your Time Machine drive failed, then you already know what it means to lose the work of a lifetime or important files. No one wants that, and it’s an issue that CleverFiles’ Disk Drill Pro addresses. Thanks to its support for a continuously growing variety of file types and signatures, the data recovery software is very effective on hard drives and can even narrow down the scan results using its neat filters. The company behind the Atlanta, U.S.-based 508 Software takes a clever approach to customers looking for data recovery software: Disk Drill can be downloaded for macOS and Windows for free to check whether the files you are searching for are recoverable. It’s only if this is the case that you are then invited to upgrade to a lifetime license for $89.
Features
Disk Drill’s user interface is simple and easy to understand, with all major features only one click away. The main window displays all the disks that the software recognizes, with immediate options to recover data or continue within the software. A handful of additional tools are bundled in with the software, too, such as a disk health checker, duplicate finder, and data backup – making Disk Drill a complete package.
macOS System Integrity Protection
But when it comes to just data recovery, Disk Drill for Mac isn’t short on options either, with a host of functions open to users dependent on availability:
- Undelete Protected Data.
- Rebuild HFS+ Catalog File.
- Universal Partition Search Scan for Lost HFS+ Partition.
- Quick Scan.
- Deep Scan.
Most interesting of all is the software’s ability to protect against future data loss with its additional data protection feature. Activating this will allow users to restore files sent to the Trash or a specified folder for up to a year after their deletion. This is dependent on various settings at the time, but a massive boon for those worried about losing important files.
Scanning
Running the recovery scan requires users to disable System Integrity Protection (SIP) on machines running macOS Sierra or later. Although this sounds like a no-no for security-conscious users, it's important to know that Disk Drill does not affect any of the files in the system and that if SIP is enabled, then Disk Drill is unable to scan the disk. This is because with this protection active macOS enables the file system to not only protect files but also to protect the integrity of the drive itself.
Scanning an External Drive
Weak Results
Save Scan Results
We deleted the test files that included the most common file types (such as JPG, XLS, AVI, DOC, PDF) days before we ran the tests on both the internal SSD of the MacBook Pro and an HFS+ formatted 500GB external drive. Despite being able to identify more than 300 different file types, Disk Drill wasn't able to recover any data from our SSD drive. A test with a handful of recently deleted items returned results mostly showing ‘plist’ files.
This was quite the opposite when testing the HDD, however. While the results were quite limited with the quick scan option, we were able to recover most of our data by running the lengthy deep scan. For some reason, though, Disk Drill wasn't able to identify the MP3 files that we had deleted for this test, nor the AVI file. The scan took more than 10 hours, so we chose to pause and then resume the scan as time allowed without any issues. We also saved the session for later reuse, which turned out to be useful since it saved us 17 hours of our time.
Data Recovery
However, with the data protection feature enabled, everything changed. This neat feature of Disk Drill always delivers successful data recovery results, although the major problem with it is that consumers usually turn to data recovery software after they have experienced data loss and want their files back, not before. In other words, while it is very handy and highly useful with 100% recovery results – again, depending on your data protection settings and the time between the data loss and running the recovery scan – it only works if the user already has Disk Drill installed and guaranteed recovery enabled.
Disk Drill Guaranteed Recovery
Big Thumbnail Preview
All data recovery has its limitations because its success depends on multiple variables, particularly functions like secure erase on hard drives and TRIM on solid-state drives (SSDs). As such the software developer admits that SSD data recovery is due in the future as the current abilities of Disk Drill (and its peers) aren't enough, which is something that our tests confirmed.
Utilities
Browsing through results would be a hassle without Disk Drill's advanced filtering options. Alongside the file type, the software lets you select data by size and the approximate time frame of when it was deleted. If this still doesn't uncover what you’re looking for, the search field is of great help. Combine that with the big thumbnail preview and you have a great user experience.
Besides data recovery, Disk Drill for Mac includes utilities such as a duplicate finder, which does a pretty good job – delivering decent results in our testing – and the clean-up feature. We tested it using the startup disk of test MacBook Pro, but the results weren't as easy to understand as they would be with Mac optimization software.
iOS Data Recovery Details
Disk Drill Trash Protection
Clean Up Findings
Download Disk Drill Pro Free
An interesting and noteworthy addition is the iOS and Android device recovery. Disk Drill recognizes mobile devices connected via Wi-Fi and lets you scan them for lost data. It is limited in its capabilities, however, and so for speed and security purposes it's better to connect the device via cable.
Disk Drill for Mac also includes a neat feature called “Disk Health”, a S.M.A.R.T. monitoring service that visualizes the health of the targeted drive.
Pricing
Disk Drill for macOS comes in three flavors, Basic, Pro, and Enterprise, all serving different types of users. The free version, Basic, is essentially software that only serves the purpose of checking whether is possible to save the data of a failing startup disk or external drive. If a scan shows positive results in this regard, then users become ‘eligible’ to upgrade to the Pro version, which costs $89 per lifetime license for a single user on up to three Macs. Add $29 more and you'll instead get a lifetime upgrade.
Those using Disk Drill at a professional level by offering data recovery services can opt for the Enterprise version at $399. This provides an unlimited number of users, activated Macs, free lifetime upgrades, and a forensic data export.
- Personal
- Data protection: recovery vault, guaranteed recovery
- Backup failing disks into DMG
- Preview all recovery methods
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- 1 user, up to 3 Macs
- Data recovery for home users
- Quick & deep scan
- Rebuild HFS+
- Lost partition search
- All media types and file systems
- Lifetime upgrades +$29
- Unlimited users, unlimited Macs
- Full-featured commercial data recovery package
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However, it’s possible to save money on Disk Drill by moving over from a competing service, allowing you to get a license for half price. There's no need to worry about payment methods, either, since the company accepts all major credit and debit cards as well as PayPal, PayNearMe, wire transfer, checks, and purchase order.
Customer Support
When it comes to recovering lost data, it's good to have answers quickly. Disk Drill's extensive help section seeks to address that need by providing various options. Users can search through the knowledge base using the search field or, if they need assistance in getting started, can browse the same section by categories such as basics, data protection, data recovery, and more. The live chat connects users with a real person who can assist them both with their purchase and technical questions.
Disk Drill Contact Form
If chat is not your preferred way of getting an answer, then the tutorials will help in the troubleshooting process. 508 Software even has its own YouTube channel where it briefly explains the software's features. But most surprising is how promptly the company answers emails sent to support, with our email being answered within a few hours. The web form, however, didn't really work.
Bottom Line
Disk Drill for Mac is one of the best options that customers have for data recovery. The free version first checks whether the data is even recoverable, and it’s only when needing to recover that data that the Pro version for $89 is necessary. Don't expect it to work on an SSD, though – that's currently still impossible unless you enable the neat data protection feature, which is to protect against future data loss not recover data already lost. Depending on your settings, you may have up to one year to recover deleted data, though the amount of storage is also a factor since the software needs to store a copy of the files you send to the Trash or a specified folder.
However, the advanced filtering options contribute to the long life of millions of neurons, helping to eliminate any guesswork and help users whittle down thousands of results to just a few. If you are looking for a decently priced data recovery software that has the added benefit of future protection, then Disk Drill is a service worth considering.
What is Disk Drill
Disk Drill is data recovery software for Windows and Mac OS X. Like any other recovery app, Disk Drill is good for a wide spectrum of data storage devices; it recovers files from removable media, phone and tablet SD cards as well as HDD (SSD).
Main features of the Disk Drill recovery
- Selective file recovery: in the preferences tick the file formats and extensions you want to recover. File types which can be restored by the app: Archives, Audio, Documents, Pictures and Video.
- Scanning session can be paused any moment; it is saved and can be continued after the app has been shut down and started again.
- Your data is protected from getting rewritten: in Disk Drill every drive can be protected from files rewriting by pressing the Protect button (Recovery Vault feature).
- Backup for drives: backup into recoverable images via Extras.
- Deep Scan: this option enhances lost files recovery chances (available only in Pro and Enterprise versions of Disk Drill).
- User-friendly preview: search results window contains a search field. The search results can be filtered by file type, size and date modified.
File types that can be found and recovered
- JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, PSD photos and images
- AVI, MP4 and other video formats
- audio in AIF, MP3 and WAV formats
- images from photo cameras: RAW, CR2, NEF and DNG
- lost MS Word and Excel files: DOCX, PPTX and XLSX
The Pro version of the Disk Drill is able to track and recover up to 400 file formats.
Where to download Disk Drill to try your hand at it
The Disk Drill application is published on the developer’s website. Depending on your OS, there are two versions for download: Disk Drill for Windows or Mac OS X.
There is no trial version of Disk Drill Pro but you can test the Free version if you are happy about 100MB of recoverable data limit.
Difference between Disk Drill Free, Pro and Enterprise versions
The standard version, Disk Drill Basic, recovers the volume of data up to 100MB on Windows or Mac OS.
Software Disk Drill Basic Machine
Disk Drill Pro can be installed for one user on three computers. The license removes restrictions on recoverable data volume. Besides, the Pro version can:
- Select between Quick scan and Deep scan depending on what you need in terms of the scan speed, search depth and recovering probability
- Restore lost partitions
- Search and recover by signature 200+ formats
- Support all file systems: NTFS, FAT(32), EXT3-4, HFS, etc.
Disk Drill Enterprise is a corporate edition. It can be installed on the unlimited number of computers; technical support is provided.
Disk Drill Mac Review
Disk Drill can be set to a portable mode which is, however, applicable only in the Disk Drill for Mac OS X.
The app cost ranges from $89 to $399. To educational and non-profit organizations Disk Drill offers 20 to 50% discount.