Is there any FREE software I can download to recover all data (not just scan the sectors) for my USB drive?

Question

I don't want to have to pay because I really believe there's free software out there I can use and I am a broke student. I have wav files, doc files and jpg files on there that I had just finished working on. I tried some sites and the closest I got was a software that scanned for free but required payment for recovery. I am not permitted to work in this country so please... I don't want anyone telling me "pay like we all have to". I'ld rather not hear your response. Thanks

Answer 1

Sounds like a job for Knoppix. Knoppix is awesome. It is a Linux LiveCD which was created by a German Software Consultant for use as a diagnostic and recovery tool on Windows as well as Linux OSes. You can boot it from a CD or from a pen drive, and it is absolutely great at recovering files from drives which have tanked. You can get it bound with a book called "Hacking Knoppix" which is about $40 if you can afford it and I'll send you to a brick and mortar bookstore rather than provide a link, if you are a student you can ask around your campus Computer Science Department to see if anyone can give you a copy or even recover your files, or you can download it and burn it to disk yourself. I've also linked to a Wikipedia document called Knowing Knoppix, and a specific page from it about USB drives. I'd say give it a look. (it does not install Linux into the computer you are using it on, and is not quite as difficult to use as a fully installed Linux System).

Answer 2

To recover all types of deleted files you can download Wondershare Data Recovery -> http://j.mp/1qaIWCz

Any time that a file is deleted on a hard drive, it is not erased. Instead, the information that points to the location of the file on the hard drive is erased. This pointer, along with other pointers for every folder and file on the hard drive, is saved in a section near the beginning of the hard drive and is used by the operating system to compile the directory tree structure. By erasing the pointer file, the actual file becomes invisible to the operating system. Eventually, the hard drive will write new data over the area where the old file is located. The data recovery utilities search for data on the hard drive that does not have corresponding pointer information and present you with a list of these files. Your chances of fully recovering a file diminish the longer you wait after you deleted the file since the probability that the file has been overwritten increases.