You never know how important a great data recovery program is until you accidentally delete a key document and are left in a major lurch. So many students have faced that anxiety-inducing moment where their computer crashes before saving a big paper, and there’s not a trace of the work to be found after rebooting it. 

There are many different free data recovery software options available for download right now, but only a select few really shine when it comes to recovering data and documents from a wide variety of deletion disasters. We’re here to highlight the very best of the best with our list of the 4 Best Free Data Recovery Software Options For 2020.

1) Recuva

Perhaps the most well-known brand in the data recovery software world, Recuva makes the data recovery process a snap by guiding you through it with a step-by-step wizard. Even the deepest scans for recoverable data are made simple and efficient with this well-designed wizard and the power of the program behind it.

One really cool addition to Recuva’s data recovery software is its secure deletion feature that allows you to earmark files for permanent deletion so that they won’t be recoverable by any future scans.

2) Disk Drill

Simplicity is the true charm of Disk Drill. There are no overwrought options and steps to walk through on the road to recovering your data. Just choose the drive you want to scan, scan it, and look through the list of files you can recover. There’s even an image preview option for JPEGs and other image files!

The thing that pushes Disk Drill over the top is its ability to scan removable media and memory cards with the same efficiency and efficacy it does for hard drives.

3) MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free

While the free version of MiniTool Power Data Recovery only allows for 1GB of data to be recovered, you’ll still be floored by how fast the scans are and the intuitive search function when presented with your data recovery results. 

You can even filter your scans so that they only target certain file types and the program will even sift through unseen partitions on your hard drive to find potential recovery options. MiniTool Power Data Recovery also offers scans for removable media.

4) EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free

The word “ease” is apropos for this amazingly user-friendly piece of data recovery software awesomeness. All you have to do is boot up the program and select the drive you want to scan for potentially lost data. You can even narrow the search down to a specific folder if you know that folder originally housed the missing document.

All the results are listed in organized fashion after your scan and you can pick and choose the files you want to recover from there. While the free version only allows you to recover up to 2GB of data, it’ll be well worth paying for the upgrade if you use it enough!

Closing Thoughts

Are you looking for peace of mind without spending a dime? Download one of the above data recovery software programs and never worry about losing a crucial assignment or document to the deletion ether again. These data recovery programs are a life hack among life hacks for everyone from students to professionals on the go.