Product Review – SFWare File Recovery
The following post is our review of SFWare File Recovery. We have reviewed the entire process, this includes download, installation and the recovery of files. In our example below we are looking at deleted file recovery.
Key Points
If you don’t have time to read the entire review here is some key points about this software :-
- Free to download, no website registration required.
- You do need to purchase the software in order to recover data.
- You can preview files before they are restored.
- Easy to use/understand interface.
- Download software here (Link to official SFWare File Recovery website)
Product Review – SFWare File Recovery
To start with the download is very quick and easy and for me the big plus is the fact that I didn’t have to fill in a registration form just to download the software, which is something that puts me off some software.
SFWare are a well established company who have a range of software products relating to data recovery, please visit their website to view the full range of software as this review will only focus on the File Recovery software.
You can install this software and search for deleted or lost files, but in order to recover the files you will need to buy a licence.
The software will run on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2003 and 2008. There is also a MAC version that supports MacOs High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan Yosemite,Version 10.9 (Mavericks), Version 10.8 (Mountain Lion),Version 10.7 (Lion), Version 10.6 (Snow Leopard)and Version 10.5 (Leopard). Please see the website for updated versions that are supported.
It will run on almost any hardware and the minimum spec is 1GB RAM, 50MB free space for installation and 32-bit or 64-bit system types.
The software is designed to restore files from FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5, ExFat partitions/drives. It will recover data from all storage devices such as hard disk drives (SATA, SSD, and IDE etc.), SSD, pen drives, SD cards, memory sticks, USB drives, etc.
As with any data recovery software the longer back you need to restore from the less chance there is of restoring the data.
We tested this using the PC version but as stated in our review there is a MAC version also.
There is a guide below to show how we recovered a file. During our testing we recovered a number of files, some were deleted a few weeks ago, others about 6 months ago, and we were able to recover the files.
If you get stuck during the process there is loads of user guides on their website that you can follow – click here
As with all our reviews we test the software the best we can, we report on any positive and negative points we find. The only minor negative point is that you do need to buy the software in order to recover the data.
After reviewing this product in detail we have given it a 4.5 star review.
Download Process
You can download the software from :-
https://www.sfware.com/deleted-file-recovery/
Before you download this software ensure that you are downloading it from the official SFWare website (use the above link)
Once you visit the website and click to download this software the process is quick and easy to do. No website registration is required, which is a big plus for me as I hate to register on websites just to download one bit of software.
A very good point about this download page is that it gives you 3 key points about the software. We will cover these key points in the installation section.
Installation
Click the downloaded exe file and it will start the install process, you are first promoted with a standard installation screen to which you click next. Note that before this screen appears, you maybe asked to verify if you wish to run this software, this is normal on some computers. If so say “Yes” as you will see from the message the software is verified.
As with most software you need to be an administrator of the PC in order to install this software.
The location where the software is downloaded and installed should be different from where you need to restore data.
The next screen is the standard licence agreement that you get with all software packages, review this then click “I Accept” to continue the installation.
The next screen confirms where the software will be installed, you can modify this or leave at the default path. Click “Next” and it will start to copy the required files etc.
Once this is complete then you are prompted with the final install screen where you click “Finish” to complete the setup.
Using the software
Once you have installed the software, you can now run the software and attempt to recover your lost data.
Open the software and you are presented with a basic interface that asks you if you want to recover a deleted file or a lost file. It explains what the options mean when you hover over each one.
In my first example I wish to look for a deleted file so I will select “Deleted File Recovery”
In the next screen I am prompted with various options, where I can search for my deleted files. Here you need to know the drive the files were on.
In my example I selected the “D” drive, as I knew my recycle bin was there and I was looking for some deleted files. It does a quick scan of the drive then loads the results.
At this point if you right click the file you want you can click “Preview” and with certain file types it will open the file for you, in the example below I was able to preview a video clip that I know was deleted months ago and it played in full, this indicates that this file would restore ok. We could also preview images as well – see example images below.
Preview of video file 
Preview of image file
I then selected the files and then click “Next”, you will then get asked if you want to save the current recovery session select “Yes” or “No”
On the next screen you get asked where you want to save the files to, in my example I created a folder on the desktop. Then select “Next”.
Now at this point if you have not purchased the software you will be prompted to either buy now or enter a registration code. It will then recover the selected files to the location you selected above.
Download Software
When downloading any software always ensure that you download from the vendors official website – Link to download this software from SFWare is below :-
https://www.sfware.com/deleted-file-recovery/
Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.