This is a review of Auslogics File Recovery, a Windows data recovery tool.
I’ve been offering IT support and training for several decades, and also write software reviews and how-tos for business users. I’ve taken an in-depth look at Auslogics File Recovery to let you know how likely it is to recover your lost data.
I found Auslogics File Recovery to be effective with simple recovery jobs and reasonably affordable. However, its scans are slow, and in comparative tests, it failed at some of the more difficult recovery tasks.
In this Auslogics File Recovery review, I’ll explore the types of data the application can restore, how long this is likely to take, and weigh up your chance of success. I’ll also list other features that are offered and whether it’s suitable for beginners or advanced users.
Let’s get started.
Contents
Auslogics File Recovery Overview
Auslogics File Recovery is an undelete tool. It recovers files you lost accidentally or due to malware or a system crash. Use of the software is via subscription, which costs $24.46/year for use on up to three PCs. The company regularly offers discounts.
A free trial will show you if your files can be recovered before paying for the application. It also lets you recover up to 10 files after each scan, and there is also a limit on the size of the files that can be recovered for free.
Recovery Features
How is data recovery possible? When a file is deleted, it is not removed from the directory listing, nor is its data removed from your drive. It is simply marked as being deleted. Recovery is not guaranteed, and in time, both the directory entry and data are likely to be overwritten.
Methods of data recovery offered:
- A quick scan of the directory structure for deleted files
- A deep scan of a partition for lost files and file fragments no longer listed in the directory structure
Supported storage media: Hard drives, floppy drives, USB storage drives, and memory cards.
Disclaimer: It is difficult to recover data from solid-state drives (SSDs). The TRIM technology that increases their efficiency also makes it impossible to recover your files once the trash has been emptied.
Supported file systems: Common Windows formats such as NTFS, Fat16/32, and exFat. Mac and Linux-formatted drives are not supported.
Supported file types: Most popular picture, music, video, document, and software formats.
Additional Features
Auslogics File Recovery offers a number of additional features:
- Pause and resume
- Sorting and searching for specific files, and you can define the search criteria before scanning
- Previewing located files
- Disk imaging
- File overwriting (free space wiper and file shredder)
However, it lacks a few features offered by some other recovery applications:
- Saving scans for recovery at a later time
- Bootable recovery drive
- Recovery Vault to store deleted files for guaranteed recovery
- Defragmentation (this is available as a separate product)
- Deleting duplicates and other cleanup features (these are available as separate products)
- SMART monitoring for early warning of failing hard drives
- Mail-in recovery service
User Experience
The setup and installation were straightforward. An easy recovery wizard takes you through the process of data recovery step-by-step and does not require any technical knowledge.
Performance
Scanning for lost files can be time-consuming. How fast is Auslogics File Recovery? To find out, I scanned a 4 GB USB Stick for lost files. A quick scan only took a few seconds. A deep scan took 13 minutes and located far more lost files.
This is slower than most of the other data recovery software I tested. Many scans took just four or five minutes. Some were slower—the slowest I tested took 14 and 47 minutes respectively.
Scanning for large hard drives takes much longer—many hours, and possibly days.
Effectiveness
Data recovery can never be guaranteed. How successful is Auslogics File Recovery? In my informal test, the deep scan located 445 lost files, including PDFs, images, and system files. The software certainly seems to work.
ThinkMobiles tested the software and found it had a restore efficiency of 96%. [1] This is higher than many of the other programs they tested, and they also found its scan time relatively slow.
Data Recovery Digest also tested the application and awarded it 4.1 stars. [2] However, they found it lacks features some users need and completely failed several tests. It achieved excellent results in deleted partition recovery.
Customer Support
The Auslogics Support Center [3] offers a FAQ, top questions, answers to sales questions, a download link, and license retrieval utility. The support team can be contacted via a web form.
FAQS
Is Auslogics File Recovery safe?
Yes, scanning for lost data will not overwrite your existing files. When downloading and using the product, I was encouraged to download some of the company’s other products.
Is Auslogics File Recovery free?
Not really. The free trial version will show you which lost files can be located and allow you to recover up to 10 of them each time you perform a scan. To remove this limit you need to purchase a license.
Alternatives
If Auslogics File Recovery isn’t right for you, here are some alternatives I recommend.
Recuva is another Windows-only recovery application, from the company that developed the popular CCleaner utility. The free version will meet many users’ needs.
EaseUS Data Recovery offers an easy-to-use wizard that will scan your drive quickly for lost files. It’s available for both Windows and Mac.
Stellar Data Recovery is an easy-to-use application with a wide variety of features. It is a reliable and effective application, but its scans can be time-consuming. It’s available on both Windows and Mac.
Final Verdict
Auslogics File Recovery may rescue your lost files, but there are better alternatives. While it performs well with basic recovery tasks, it’s slow and fails in some difficult recovery scenarios. However, it is significantly less expensive than many similar tools, and the free trial will show you if your lost data can be located.
Users who are interested in recovering up to 10 lost files for free would be better using Recuva Free. This highly effective free tool places no limits on the number of files that can be recovered.
I also recommend EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and Stellar Data Recovery when those applications fail to locate your lost data, or if you need to recover data from a Mac. They cost more but are also more effective, and like Auslogics File Recovery, the free trial versions will show you if your files can be found. EaseUS’s product offers faster scans, and Stellar is more thorough.
References
