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PC Inspector File Recovery

PC Inspector File Recovery is a data recovery program with support for FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. It recovers files with the original time and date stamp, even when a header entry is no lon ...

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Average of 37 user ratings:

Apr 27, 2008
For version:
4.0

For free it's excellent

Interface: 4
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I used this not too long ago, about 15 min ago on a drive that was a storage drive only, but had, ME, XPpro and Ubuntu on it prior. Then, I reinstalled an OS to it, deleted it, now put back to storage. I didn't think PCIFR would find anything yet, IT DID. Very surprised, very shocked, very happy. Tried many others, blah. Use this one, it's the best free file recover I have used.

Review by: comicfan (5)
Read all 5 reviews by comicfan

Dec 10, 2007
For version:
4.0

Work by halves

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

Yes, It`s really easy to use and can find all my deleted files, some of which I even forgot when I deleted them. But when try to re-save them onto another disk, there is nothing in the photo files and only recognized code in the office files. Did I miss some work?

Review by: Leongeo
First post

Jul 17, 2007
For version:
4.0

Works with vista (sd card)

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Shortly after a family reunion, I intended to move my photos onto my laptop. When I realized files were being deleted, I stopped it (but not before over 40 photos were deleted). I decided to try this program even though it is NOT listed as compatible with Vista. The interface was a little confusing at first, but it worked great. All photos were recovered. Great little program!

Review by: BigJohn
First post

Jun 08, 2007
For version:
4.0

Unbelievable results

Interface: 2
Features: 5
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

Such a good utility for recovering up of my accidentally deleted files. the interface though should be better. nevertheless this is not the angle of being a rather good and optimized tool. good work guys, much much better than lots of others.

Review by: ignatios
First post

Nov 18, 2006
For version:
4.0

80gig / 8 partitions saved!

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I run a overclocked box with 5 drives/6 fans (160GB, 3x80GB, and a 10GB). 2 drives: NTFS -single partition each; 3 drives: FAT32 - 2 to 8 partitions each. PC has 3 OS's (98SE, 2000, XP) for computer programming purposes (C/C++, VB6, VB.NET 2005, C#.NET 2005, Assembly Language, Win32 API, SQL, MSDE, MySQL5, SQLite3, postgresql, etc) and multitrack audio recording/mixing/mastering. An 80GB FAT32 drive, with 8 partitions, developed a bit of a corruption problem. Program worked great for saving data with multiple issues: cross-linked clusters, cyclic redundancy issues, and lost both FAT32 tables on 1 of these partitions). Seems to do actually do what it says it will do (I tend to be an extremely skeptical programmer). Could've written my own in C/C++ and Assembly, but with several programming projects I didn't have time for a drawn out headache. Interface isn't greatest, but it does what it says it will do. ALL data recovered - kewl program.

Review by: highlander
First post

Nov 17, 2006
For version:
4.0

Recovered from flash memory

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Recovered accidentally deleted photo from SD card. some other files it recovered looked corrupt, this was because they had already been partially overwritten. very useful software.

Review by: fotosel (8)
Read all 8 reviews by fotosel

Oct 20, 2006
For version:
4.0

Saved the day!

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

We had a family tragedy (a pet cat was put to sleep) and my distraught kids had one last visit to see their buddy. My wife and I were frantically taking photos and deleting old pictures and the camera's battery died causing the SD card to error out. PC Inspector opened it up and restored probably 90% of the files. The pit of my stomach is no longer in my throat! My kids have at least a few more lasting memories of their beloved cat! Thanks!

Review by: sheltered
First post

Jul 28, 2006
For version:
4.0

A very good utility

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

Although the interface is not as intuitive as some and it seems to be slower than many, the results appear to be much better than many of the commercial products on the market. With it I was able to recover several files from a bad floppy disk. While working on the problem, I tested five commercial programs costing $25-$50. Only one of the commercial programs worked at all on this floppy and it recovered just one additional file.

Review by: HankManz
First post

Jun 21, 2006
For version:
4.0

Recovered some files...

Interface: 2
Features: 2
Ease of use: 2
Value: 3
Overall:

PC Inspector is a pretty good utility that could be just what you need. My friend's hard drive crashed and she hadn't backed it up like she should have. I tried this utility first and was able to recover about 250 pictures (out of around 3000). Still it gave me hope that the files weren't lost. The interface is not very user friendly and I wish it had a search feature for particular file types. It locked up on me once and gave me an error once (out of using it 3 times). It takes a long time to run. Recovered files are bigger than the original file size, which takes up a lot of space. Still, it's free and the hard work in developing it shows. Try it, you probably don't have anything else to loose if you're looking at recovery tools.

Review by: kenjanball (3)
Read all 3 reviews by kenjanball

Apr 30, 2006
For version:
4.0

Great software!

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

After an accidental disk format, this wonderful program saved a lot of pictures and data. I want to thank to the developers their work with this useful and FREE tool.

Review by: archenemy
First post

Feb 26, 2006
For version:
4.0

Recovers deleted photos from cam memory chip

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Yep, tested and did recovery all 37 erased photos. And Freeware. Marsh

Review by: marsh_0x (3)
Read all 3 reviews by marsh_0x

Feb 01, 2006
For version:
4.0

Geek squad approved!

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

Under the category of 'For what it's worth', I'm giving it my Geek Squad seal of approval. I had a notebook return from one of our service centers for hinge replacement, but for some reason it had been restored to factory settings. Obviously, the customer was very upset, so I offered to do what I could to retrieve her data. After seeing all of the reviews in favor of this program, I gave it a shot. In about 90 minutes, I had recovered 36GB of data, which I migrated to one of our network PC's from within the program, better than half of which was usable, including nearly all of the family photos that were lost! It's not the most user friendly program I've seen, but I was able to get thru it pretty well. Since the restore that was done was probably just a 'soft or quick' restore, without seriously formating the HD, I'm sure that helped, but I've got to give serious kudos to the creators of this software... Great Job!!

Review by: Lostcause64
First post

Dec 26, 2005
For version:
4.0

A true bliss

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Saved my day after accidentally deleting some invaluable files on a XP PC. Downloaded it, installed it and undeleted a few hundred files flawlessly within ten minutes. The interface is not typically MS-like, but if you just take time to read the instructions as you go along, it's impossible not to succeed. My highest recommendations!

Review by: LeoHald
First post

Dec 03, 2005
For version:
4.0

Recovered cf card data from nikon coolpix

Interface: 4
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

This isn't the software they specify for digital camera media, but I used it anyway, then I used their media recovery sofware 'smart recovery' I liked this one better because it keeps the original picture numbers, so you can confirm that you got all the pics you're looking for. Very excellent, about 90%+ of the Stones concert recovered.

Review by: Louie921
First post

Nov 18, 2005
For version:
4.0

Very useful, great value

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

I had trouble with a memory stick which was no longer being recognized by Windows or Mac OS after a crash involving a pdf file on the memory stick. Retrieved all the files I required with very little hassle and no corruption (I think). A little difficult to use, but it does its job very well and its free! Ideal for the small mishaps with data.

Review by: colm_fitz
First post

Nov 10, 2005
For version:
4.0

Based on another program but good.

Interface: 2
Features: 3
Ease of use: 4
Value: 3
Overall:

This program was based on another program that was still in betas when it died (person stoped working on it) so i think for a program that should be beta is is pretty good.

Review by: peanutbutter (2)
Read all 2 reviews by peanutbutter

Oct 11, 2005
For version:
4.0

Pc inspector works!

Interface: 1
Features: 5
Ease of use: 2
Value: 5
Overall:

This is great freeware. I have just used it on a 10GB hard drive and recovered about 90% (5.2GB) of the data on the drive. Big deal, it takes a bit of time, but you are recovering lost data for free. If you bother to learn about the interface (which is not the best) and the features, most users should be fine. PC Inspector will do as good a job as anything else out there. It's FREEWARE, enjoy.

Review by: guy9663 (8)
Read all 8 reviews by guy9663

Oct 04, 2005
For version:
4.0

Very good one

Interface: 3
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

For me It is standard program installed on new PC. In a few occasions I had problems running this program, but if it works (it is most frequent case) it works great! Reviews in PC magazines shows only one "disadvantage" to other (inclusive commercial!!!) products - it is slow. BUT!!! It founds almost everything. Personally, I'll wait with pleasure, if there is real chance to get my data back. There is GREAT chance! One remark: Some users reports, that recovered files were bad. It is possible, if records about allocated file space were damaged. I that case ANY soft must something assume, I. E. that sectors are in sequence. It is true for files, that are not fragmented. So, until is Your disk GOOD, defragment it regularly.

Review by: lotron (2)
Read all 2 reviews by lotron

Sep 13, 2005
For version:
4.0

First time...

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

.....lost some data on a floppy disk, file appeared deleted - PC Inspector got it all back - very impressive, very pleased and thank you.....

Review by: GrantP
First post

Sep 04, 2005
For version:
4.0

Recovered, but incomplete

Interface: 1
Features: 3
Ease of use: 1
Value: 3
Overall:

It recovered my 2.26GB folder (shift-deleted) fine, but turned out some files inside are corrupted and cannot be played (RMVB). Oh well, I can live with it, but surprised that it recovered incompletely. But for a freeware, I think it's amazing and I believe it can recover lots of stuff

Review by: jerryhung (3)
Read all 3 reviews by jerryhung

Aug 29, 2005
For version:
4.0

Used for xp recycle bin recovery

Interface: 2
Features: 2
Ease of use: 1
Value: 2
Overall:

The interface was passable. The tech writing for the instructions was pretty limp (not written by fluent English speakers?); they didn't even tell you what the colors of the folders meant (between the yellow and green). It would freeze every time after a recovery attempt and I'd have to use task manager to shut it down. However, it did retrieve some mp3 files for me (not all of them, unfortunately, and it would only give me an error message for those I couldn't retrieve that just said there was a "violation"). So, I wouldn't pay for this application, but if you want to experiment and don't want to cough up the cash, this is your kinda software!!

Review by: jackfig
First post

Jun 29, 2005
For version:
4.0

High my credit

Interface: 4
Features: 5
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

2 days ago i have boss that very dissapointed because his data on his external hard disk, 150GB Seagate external hard disk, has lost. It happend when he shutdown the disk without umount first from his e-Mac, so when he plug to PC or Mac again it said "Unformatted", but the data he sured still on it. 2 days i looked on internet is there a conclusion or not, not found it, then I went to webattack, like I always do, and found this software, i gave him, and he glad... thanks a lot this software really useful specially not big, not harm or bother other applications, and the most is FREE :)

Review by: HodiaZacharia
First post

May 12, 2005
For version:
4.0

Worked great for me on xp os

Interface: 5
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I have Windows XP Professional and it worked fine for me. After my hard drive crash, I asked experts I know, and was told that recovering data would cost 4 figures at a professional lab. I found PC Inspector File Recovery using Google, and ran the program which recovered 99.9% of my files, including digital photos, and address lists which I hadn't backed up for several months. Very bad to forget backing up, but I did. I was so relieved to have everything back to normal that I sent the company in Germany $50 via Paypal. I don't usually do stuff like that, but I really was grateful for what their program did for me.

Review by: DWeb99
First post

Apr 13, 2005
For version:
4.0

Simple task/perfect execution

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I tried many other utilities for this simple task: recovering erased files on a floppy disk. None worked including Norton. PC Inspector did the job, simply and efficiently.

Review by: Thomps2
First post

Apr 08, 2005
For version:
4.0

Failed under xp

Interface: 2
Features: 1
Ease of use: 1
Value: 1
Overall:

I trialled a "pay-for" programme on a 120Gb XP drive that has been accidentally formatted. It could find the files, and the trial version could recover anything under 64Kb and did so. PC Inspector created an access violation at 99% completion, after running all night, then showed only gibberish filenames. There is no apparent way to contact the authors, so I cannot recommend this software.

Review by: OldNick
First post

Mar 25, 2005
For version:
4.0

Recovered from d: but not from c: drive

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

I was not able to recover any data from my C: drive using PC Inspector File Recovery versions 2, 3, or 4. In each version I was able to recover files from my D: drive. In version 4 it showed no files at all when inspecting the C: drive. In versions 2 and 3, it produced the following error when inspecting the C: drive: "Access violation at address 00402818 in module 'Filerecovery.exe'. Read of address 0801F18C." This is strange since my computer is in perfect working condition. I have a Sony Vaio Notebook PCG-GRT100P running Windows XP Pro, 768MB RAM, 2.8 GHz P4, and a 60MB drive (partitioned into C: and D:). I like software that works, and this worked well on the D: drive. I'm puzzled about the C: drive, however, despite hours of attempts.

Review by: PowerUser
First post

Mar 08, 2005
For version:
3.0

Excellent program !!!!

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

Physical drive 160 GB extern USB; Logical partition of 60 Gb was lost. Windows showed the disk as unformatted and couldn't show anything on it ; I installed File Recovery choose Scan Physical drive for logical drives; program found 3 parts on the lost drive in question, one of which showed me all the original directories (including recycle bin and hidden files) plus correct file names in just a few minutes, file manager style ... whereafter I could point to those directories / very easy program to use! So many thanks to the programmers for sharing this magnificent program with us as freeware.

Review by: Makron
First post

Feb 02, 2005
For version:
3.0

Not on nt

Interface: 2
Features: 3
Ease of use: 2
Value: 5
Overall:

Doesn't claim to but I tried anyway and will verify that it does not work on NT. Just throws up errors.

Review by: someISguy (2)
Read all 2 reviews by someISguy

Jan 04, 2005
For version:
3.0

Wow

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 3
Value: 5
Overall:

A free utility that I got running easily in WINXP, and immediately was able to recover files on a blasted partition that I thought was gone forever. This item ain't perfect, but WOW, it is one of the best yet. I highly recommend trying it before you shell out 80 bucks for a more commercial model. Be aware, it won't help if the drive is dead hardware, but does a great job on drives with bad partitions, and general FAT problems. thanks a bunch.

Review by: streetwild
First post

Nov 01, 2004
For version:
3.0

Pc inspector for usb sticks

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

PC Inspector is the only program that recovered data from a damaged SANDISK Cruzer mini 128Mb USB stick that other software, including the expensive brand name utilities, could not read. I have wasted several licencing fees on useless software that promised much from the demo versions but delivered little when purchased. To recover the maximum number of files I used multiple passes to recover different files each time and received results. This software is excellent and even runs on a PII 333 notebook with 128Mb RAM under XP. It recovers all file types and the majority of recovered files could be opened in their applications with minimum difficulty. We managed to recover the majority of files from a corrupt USB stick for a client. This software will be added to out essentials toolkit and the developers are to be commended for the product they have produced.

Review by: BMHConsulting
First post

Oct 09, 2004
For version:
3.0

I've never got too far ...

Interface: 4
Features: 1
Ease of use: 1
Value: 1
Overall:

I could not evaluate this product. I have PIII 733Mhz processor, Win98, A+zip+CD-ROM+2xHD - I installed the program with no problem, but it locked up on me every time I tried to run it. So I am in a search for another software.

Review by: tomaashe (11)
Read all 11 reviews by tomaashe

Sep 12, 2004
For version:
3.0

Wicked free program,i had carupted h/d and wa ...

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

Wicked free program,i had corrupted h/d and was able to recover over 72% that i thought would have been lost..great free program

Review by: daviencle (3)
Read all 3 reviews by daviencle

Aug 17, 2004
For version:
3.0

Recovery from formatted nikon 5700

Interface: 5
Features: 4
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

I recovered all photos on a memory card that was accidentally reformatted in a Nikon 5700. The program was easy to used and worked great on Windows XP. However, I did have to put the memory card in an external drive - the program did not recognize the Nikon 5700 when it was connected to the computer, even though Windows XP does recognize it. Still, recovery was excellent! I was extremely satisfied.

Review by: DavidFinger
First post

Aug 11, 2004
For version:
3.0

It made it look so easy!

Interface: 3
Features: 4
Ease of use: 4
Value: 5
Overall:

I'd tried several evaluation versions of commercial software to retrieve my 30 MB of email from my corrupted USB flash disk drive, with very patchy and mixed results. I'd decided that $70 or more for the versions that did work was rather too much for the small amount of data, so I tried freeware. PC Inspector File Recovery was faster than many of the commercial products in its analysis and it permitted a complete recovery of all my data (well, so it seems - there may be corruption but I won't blame the program). I'm well impressed and would recommend anyone to try it - you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Conclusion: Very Good.

Review by: Sandvika (2)
Read all 2 reviews by Sandvika

Aug 06, 2004
For version:
3.0

Doesn't work

Interface: 3
Features: 2
Ease of use: 2
Value: 1
Overall:

I have tried this on numerous occasions and I cannot get it to work on an XP machine. Therefore I rate it as useless.

Review by: Boristhemoggy (3)
Read all 3 reviews by Boristhemoggy

Jul 24, 2004
For version:
3.0

Ok software

Interface: 3
Features: 3
Ease of use: 4
Value: 4
Overall:

I did have some problems with files labeled "good" which did not open after recovery.

Review by: Mason_P (2)
Read all 2 reviews by Mason_P

Jul 04, 2004
For version:
3.0

Pc inspector

Interface: 5
Features: 5
Ease of use: 5
Value: 5
Overall:

The best free tool I found for recovering data that disappeared on a 40GB drive. This included numerous modeling/simulation programs and diverse file types. Does not limit your recovery options in the way that several other freewares did. This is a tool you should keep available on a spare hard drive.

Review by: JohnBrill
First post