Auslogics File Recovery is a Windows program for finding and restoring files that were deleted, lost after a quick format, or left behind on a lost partition. It works with internal hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards and the storage in digital cameras. A free edition searches drives in full but recovers only part of what it finds; the paid Pro license removes those recovery limits. The same tool is also included in the Auslogics BoostSpeed package.
Why deleted files can be restored
When Windows deletes a file, it does not erase the data. It marks the space the file used as free. The contents stay on the disk until new data overwrites them. Auslogics File Recovery reads that free space and the file system records to locate what is still there. This is also why results vary: a file that has been partly overwritten may come back incomplete, or with contents that differ from the original. The chances are best when you attempt recovery soon after deletion and the lost files were not on the system drive.
The program reads NTFS, FAT16, FAT32 and exFAT, the file systems used on Windows disks, flash drives and camera cards. CDs and DVDs are not supported.
Setting up a search with the wizard
A search starts in the Recovery Wizard. You pick one or more drives to scan, then decide how narrow the search should be. The choices are:
- specific file types, such as pictures or documents;
- the last-modified time, or a custom date range;
- a file name, when you know what you are looking for;
- “Search all files,” which skips the criteria and lists everything the scan can find.
A tightly defined search returns a shorter list, while the full search is useful when you are not sure what was lost or what it was called.
Filtering and previewing results
After the scan, Auslogics File Recovery shows the deleted files it located. You can filter the list by date, size, file type or name. You can combine these filters to reduce a large result set from a full scan to the items that matter.
You can preview photos, videos, documents and PDFs inside the results. Opening a preview shows whether a file is the one you want and whether its contents survived, before anything is restored. You then select only the files you need and recover them.
Lost partitions and formatted drives
If a partition was deleted or reallocated, the Scan for Lost Partitions command in the Tools menu looks for the disk information that described it. Once the program finds that partition, you can search and restore its files in the same way as on any other drive.
Formatting is handled differently depending on how it was done. After a quick format, the old data is still on the disk and earlier files can usually be recovered. A full format overwrites the drive, and nothing can be recovered from it afterwards.
Disk images
The Create Disk Image tool makes an exact copy of a drive, including the deleted data it still holds. You must save the image to a different disk from the one you are copying.
Secure deletion tools
Auslogics File Recovery also works in the opposite direction, for data that should never be recovered. The File Shredder deletes selected confidential files and folders so that recovery software cannot bring them back. Wipe Free Space goes over the empty areas of a drive, where earlier deleted files may still sit. It makes those files unrecoverable without affecting the files currently stored there.
Free edition and Pro license
Both editions run the complete search, so the free version shows what can be found on a drive. Its recovery is partial, however. The Pro license restores files of any size and any number per scan. It also adds searches limited to images, video and audio, or documents only. Pro also includes extended priority support and more questions through the built-in Ask a Question option. One license covers up to three computers.
