Data Recovery Wizard Professional
Reviewed July 2009
| What’s It Do?
Compatible with Windows Dynamic Disk and Linux System, Data Recovery Wizard Professional helps computer users out of data loss problems. It can do format recovery; recover deleted files emptied from the Recycle Bin; recover data lost due to partition loss or damage, software crash, virus infection, and other unknown reasons. It works with hardware RAID and hard drive, USB drive, SD card, memory card, etc. Does it do what it promises? Reviewer 1: Yes, but not up to the level I had hoped for. Deleted files were detected quickly, but the majority of my image files were not restored to their full, pristine condition. It fared better with text-based files. My favorite feature of this program is that it has a “disk image” option, which can copy corrupted data to clean, fast media; this allows running recovery faster and safer. Reviewer 2: I had mixed results in my testing, but it did recover deleted files from a flash drive and an xD card from my Olympus camera. I did not have all the various “disaster” scenarios available to test on (or was unwilling to create them) such as damaged partitions, Linux files inside a Windows system etc.; but, it worked on the ones I tried it with, with some exceptions. Reviewer 3: Yes. It claims only to “help recover data loss”; although, I would prefer to see a bit more emphasis on its rate of recovery rather than leaving the impression that it can and will recover all lost data not previously over-written. Reviewer 4: Yes. I ran the program through a variety of tests and on different types of storage media to see how well it could recover lost data, and it performed as advertised in all cases. Was it easy to install? Reviewer 1: Installation was fast and easy. The license permits use on one computer at a time and permits the software to be permanently transferred to another user. Reviewer 2: Yes, it was a typical Windows install. The program provides check box options to add a desktop icon, view the “readme” file and to launch the application at the end of the installation process. There were no options to install a “Quick Start“ or “Start Menu folder” such as many programs offer. Reviewer 3: Yes, the installation was quite simple and straightforward using the well-known Install Shield Wizard. As the program is almost Spartan in its simplicity there is little in the way of user preferences or configuration and the program asks whether an icon should be placed on the desktop, something I find commendable. The actual file that is downloaded is a .zip file of 5.87 MB, which is a bit misleading as when unzipped the installation is in fact a much more sizeable 11.58MB file. Using the small .zip file does, however, provide for a much faster download, 12 seconds on my DSL connection. One somewhat unusual but not inconvenient process requires registering the product before downloading rather than after downloading and installing as is much more common. The EULA (End User License Agreement), while not printable which I would prefer, is nonetheless short and straightforward with very little legalese. One is allowed to use the program on only a single computer, which I find a bit stringent in this day and age when most households have a desktop and laptop; however, the license is transferable. Another unusual feature was finding support information in the EULA which I think is a very commendable idea; that is, the user decide if the product support is acceptable before accepting the installation. I would ask the typically paranoid disclaimers as to liability (none) not be placed in all caps. I DON’T NEED YOU TO SHOUT AT ME. There is also an Information Window as a part of the installation process, which is an excellent idea. As a side note, the program uninstalls easily and cleanly leaving only very few fragments in the Registry and no stray files, the mark of a well-written program. Reviewer 4: Yes, it is a standard windows installation that allowed me to place the program and its shortcuts where I wanted. During the installation, this warning appears: If data recovery wizard is installed to a drive where files are to be recovered, data may be permanently written over and rendered non-recoverable. Please make sure the data you need to recover is on a different drive." Good points. Reviewer 1: “Complete Recovery” and “Partition Recovery” modes give the option to create an image of the data on the drive or partition in question. This offers the possibility of preserving a snapshot of data, which can be worked on while leaving the original data untouched. It also offers a benefit in terms of speed when the original disk is operating slowly, since the copied media on a healthy drive can be accessed much quicker after the initial copying is complete. Deleted files were recognized quickly – in just a few seconds from my 16GB Compact Flash Card. The contents of the recoverable files can be viewed within the program. This aids in evaluating which files to recover. Reviewer 2: Data Recovery Wizard claims to be able to “recover” lost/damaged/deleted files, broken partitions and recover files from formatted drives, even after a re-install of the OS. While I did not test all its claimed functions and abilities, the ones I did try worked fairly well. I purposely deleted a batch of .jpeg images from a folder on a USB flash drive and was able to recover them easily. Using Data Recovery Wizard, I was able to recover them and place them back on the drive again. The application created a sub-folder named FAT and then a second sub-folder under that with the original folder name where it placed the recovered files. I was able to drag the files back to their original folder and delete the two sub-folders DRW had created. Reviewer 3: This program is a suite of three tools that allow attempted recovery of lost data including Word documents, Excel files, videos, photographs, and more. Whether one has accidentally emptied the Recycle Bin, unintentionally reformatted a flash memory card, or lost data due to application failure, viruses, etc., Data Recovery Wizard Pro will attempt to recover the data. There are many such programs on the market, many freeware, but some of the best features of this program are: • An extremely simple interface and thus very user friendly. There are simple modes of recovery to choose from: File Recovery, Complete Recovery, and Partition Recovery. Each mode is explained on mouse-over in a box that appears beneath each button. Click on the mode that best meets one’s needs and the rest is automatic. • Extremely light on resources. Data Recovery Wizard Pro has two processes running when in use, drw.exe and drwd.exe, but both processes stop immediately when the program is closed. • My experience with support was excellent. They were prompt and effective in answering my queries. While the help within the program is under whelming, there is a FAQ section, step-by-step instructions, and a tutorial online. • The application allows users to create disk images for drives containing important data for protection against virus attacks or hardware failure. • Ability to recover files in Linux EXT2 and EXT3 file system in addition to the standard FAT and NTFS systems. • Can be placed on a USB stick for portability. • The file preview (thumbnail viewer) for each file makes finding the correct file easier. • The search tool for finding a specific file is fast and extremely convenient. Reviewer 4: To test Data Recovery Wizard, I used an internal drive that needed to be reformatted (Drive J:\), and some space on an external drive that is connected to the computer by a USB port. (Drive H:\). Drive J:\ is 28 GB in size, and contained 27,923 files. Some were programs and others were data, occupying 24.39 GB on the drive. Before beginning the test, I copied all the files to another USB drive, so that I would be able to make comparisons between the files I wanted to recover and the originals. After formatting Drive J:\: and thus destroying all the data, I started up the Data Recovery Wizard. The opening screen is very simple and clearly offers three different formatting modes: Deleted File Recovery, Complete Recovery and Partition Recovery. As I moved my mouse over each of the icons, a short paragraph appeared describing when to use each particular type of recovery. In the Professional version, choosing "Partition" will allow recovering a complete physical drive with all of its partitions, including different Operating Systems if, for example, Windows is on one Partition and Linux is on the other. Since I was going to recover a drive that had been formatted, I chose "Complete" Recovery, and "Next". This began the first stage of the recovery process, in which the program goes through the drive, generating a list of all the files that it can find. This step took about one hour. At this point, I was presented with a screen listing all the files that had been found. This section provides a number of options that essentially allow one to go through the list, sort, search, view, and select or deselect files to be recovered. The default is complete recovery, but with complete control over what is desired in the final result. Since I wanted to recover Drive J:\, I selected that drive as the one on which I wanted the files to be rewritten. I was immediately presented with a warning that the recovery process would overwrite the data on that drive, which could mean that it would become unrecoverable, so I backed up and selected Drive H:\. Even though I was in the middle of the Data Recovery Wizard, I was still able to call up Explorer and define an empty folder on the H:\ drive, which would receive the recovered files. In the Data Recovery Wizard screen, I selected the "Recover" Button, and the process of writing the recovered date to the H:\ drive began. This process took 8 hours during which Data Recovery Wizard placed a "Lost Files" folder on that drive with all recovered files. I compared these with the originals and could find no errors Tests on other types of media, such as flash and USB drives, produced similar results, although the amount of time varied with the number of files or the size of the drive to be recovered. In one case, the drive had been "securely erased". Data Recovery Wizard was able to produce a list of files, and seemed to be recovering them. However, the secure deletion program had overwritten them with random data, so, as expected, they were filled with gibberish. A support request on a weekend was answered in less than 12 hours, directing me to a free service to which I could send copies of corrupted files in an attempt to recover the data. This is certainly excellent and impressive support. Weak points. Reviewer 1: While the graphical interface is simple, I did not find this program intuitive to use. Upon startup, I was faced with three large buttons: “Deleted File Recovery”, “Complete Recovery”, And “Partition Recovery”. There are also smaller icons in the upper right corner for “upgrade” and “help”. While I generally admire a simple interface, there is abundant blank space on this screen which could be used to give directions for using the program safely such as: “Do not alter the drive from which you are trying to recover data from in any way. Saving files or deleting files on this drive can result in irreversible data loss. Save any recovered files to a different drive.” Or, since the manual states that “We suggest that you read over this manual before you install and use the Data Recovery Wizard”, this might be a good place to display this message. While the programmers seem to have designed this program around the premise that the user will have read and thoroughly understood the manual before using their program, that is simply not the way most users will start using it. I would suggest that they redesign it so that the user is given more on-screen prompts and guidance as they go through the recovery steps. A compressed, prioritized, quick-start version of the manual meant for use for someone who has just lost data and needs to recover it now would be another nice addition. The manual, while generally understandable, has scattered odd phrases and awkward syntaxes, which indicate that it is a translation from a non-English version. “State” is one of the buttons, which is present when the files and directories are displayed in the recovery modes. Press it and it reveals a list of icons and colors, which may be associated with files displayed. It indicated that encrypted files should be displayed in green, but my encrypted file was black like every other file. Deleted files did display with the proper icon. When choosing where to save recovered files, it would be nice to have a “new” option to create a new folder dedicated to those files. According to the manual, there is a way to do this but it was neither obvious nor intuitive when I tried to do it with the resources visible on the screen. I was unimpressed by the quality of the recovered files that had been simply deleted from my Compact Flash card. While the .JPG and .NEF images could be seen on thumbnails in Windows Explorer, they were generally gibberish or unreadable when displayed in IrfanView or Photoshop. Some images of each format were completely recovered in this mode, but the majority was compromised. Surprisingly, the .JPG files were more faithfully recovered after I did a quick format of the card (as a test) and then performed a “Complete Recovery”. Unfortunately, this process yielded .NEF files that were unreadable. Reviewer 2: During my testing, Data Recovery Wizard displayed a lot of files after scanning the test xD picture card but was not able to actually “recover” them so that they were usable. One of the test scenarios was an xD Picture card from my Olympus camera. This is a camera that I use every day in my work and I take hundreds of pictures with it. These pictures are “right click dragged and moved” off the card to a folder for each job at the end of the day. Data Recovery Wizard scanned the card and apparently “saw” .jpeg files from up to 2 years ago as well as more current files that had been moved. I was only able to recover the most recent files from the previous day and actually open them for viewing. All the other files, although they appeared to be moved to the test folder on my desktop, could not be opened with any of the many photo viewers I possess. Reviewer 3: Not all software is created equal and sometimes the sum of its parts equals less than the whole. This seems to be the case with Data Recovery Wizard Pro. While it has much to recommend it, there are some glaring weaknesses: • It is SLOW! Approximately 14+hours to scan a HDD with 40GB, and then another period of almost 15 hours to copy the files. It is faster if you choose to cover RAW files only. • During my testing, the File Recovery Mode was only able to pull up one of the ten test files I intentionally deleted. However, using the Complete Recovery and Partition Recovery modes, all of the deleted files were found and recovered successfully. • There is no indication as to the chance of recovery of any individual file. Most recovery or “unerasure” programs give a chance of recovery indication represented by a percent. • During Deleted File Recovery clicking on the Cancel button would not stop the program. I had to kill it in Task Manager. • The warning not to install the program on the drive that contains lost data seems at first glance to limit this software only to those with more than one PC or who have an external hard drive if they are purchasing the program to try to recover current data lost. • The disc images Data Recovery Wizard Pro creates is proprietary and in a non-standard format so it can only be used with this program. • The program is slow to launch in part due to my inability to find a way to disable its “check for updates” function. • It cannot resize the window displaying located files to recover. The results are small and hard to read. • The trial version does not allow for actual data recovery. • The cost of both the $89.95 Pro version or the $69.95 standard version is not competitive with other such programs. Reviewer 4: It seems that the Easeus people are not native speakers of English. It would certainly be in their interest to have some editing work done on the English in the program. This would be useful, both in the Help file and on the Web site, but even more importantly in the information that appears within the Wizards. Although it may not have any effect on the functions of the program, it does not generate confidence when the opening screen defaults to a sentence such as: It is excellently competent for most data losses covering servers, desktops and laptops for most media. The report screen should also include the amount of time that the recovery took, as that information disappears as soon as the recovery is completed. It would also be helpful to have the total size of the recovered files on the drive. Developer's Web site. Reviewer 1: The Web site gives an in-depth guide to the abilities and limitations of file recovery in general as well as with Easeus Data Recovery Wizard Pro. While there are frequent prompts to Buy/Download the program, most of the information is factual and useful. Reviewer 2: The Easeus site is packed with information but it is presented in a fairly clear fashion. Navigation links are clear and take one directly to the appropriate page for more in-depth information, including Flash tutorials for the various functions. Reviewer 3: The Web site is attractive, easily navigable, and offers a good explanation of the program and its capabilities as well as a brief FAQ all on the main window. As I am also aware that this is a Chinese company, I appreciate the reasonably good English translation. Reviewer 4: In addition to the parts of the site dedicated to advertising and selling the different products offered by Easeus, there is a lot of helpful information about using their products. As data loss can result from many causes, including physical damage to drives or other storage devices, Easeus gives ample warnings about when to use their software to recover lost data. There is a Users Forum in the Support section of the site, which members of the NNT Forum would find familiar and easy to navigate. Besides direct support for Easeus programs, there are additional sections that deal in general with Data Recovery, and different storage devices and formats. Other comments. Reviewer 1: There are numerous check box options to control the type of search mode and recovery mode employed. They are usually accompanied by a one sentence general description such as “Turning off these options could generate a larger number of files but file contents could become less accurate.” While I appreciate the simplicity of these messages, I find that having read them and the manual in its entirety, I am still left with no guidance about how to use these options effectively. Reviewer 2: Upon launch, Data Recovery Wizard displays a simple page with three choices: “Deleted File Recovery”, “Complete Recovery” & “Partition Recovery”. Clicking on one of the selections brings up a new page that lists for selection the drives that it sees. The bottom of the screen has a “Home”, “Back” and “Next” button. After selecting a partition or drive and clicking Next, Data Recovery Wizard scans the drive and builds a file tree for selection of the available files for recovery. Clicking Next shows the next page that shows the number of files selected and the total size along with a graphic “pie chart” depiction of the size of the files. This page allows one to “path” the recovered files to anywhere desired. Tutorials suggest placing them on the desktop for easy access and this worked well for me. The full process is depicted at http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/recover-lost-files.htm. This “Pro” version is a bit spendy at $89.95 but there is a little less expensive version at $69.95 that does not offer the “Dynamic Disk” or Linux capabilities if those are not needed. An “Unlimited” license for unlimited use within a company setting and free solutions are also available. Reviewer 3: With its simplicity and ease of use, coupled with its obviously powerful search function, this software program really disappoints in what matters: File Recovery and speed. The bells and whistles are nice but if it cannot find and recover more than one deleted file out of ten, and if it needs to take over half a day to scan 40GB of data, then this program is of little use to most people at any price let alone $89.95, especially when there are free programs such as the popular Recuva that, at the moment finds more files, is much faster, and offers the user a recoverability factor for each file. I am also very concerned as to why this program needed access through my firewall to “phone home,” as it were, using Port 80. Because of these items and more importantly the aforementioned weaknesses, I am unable to offer my recommendation. Reviewer 4: I have gone through the nerve-wracking experience of losing all data on my main data drive. I keep all programs and Operating System files on one physical drive, and all my data on a separate physical drive. Backups go to third drives of different sorts. So even though I do keep backups of the files that I am currently using, In the event I lose a complete drive with all my current and archived data, a program such as Data Recovery Wizard would be essential. For those who function completely with Windows in a "normal" situation, the version of Data Recovery Wizard at $69.95 would likely be suitable. For those using Linux as well as Windows, the Professional version would be required. The free demo version will illustrate the first steps of recovery, but to actually recover files, purchase of the full version would be required. Although it seems expensive, the price is quite in line with other recovery programs that I have used. Will you continue to use it? Reviewer 1: Now that it is installed on my system and registered, I will probably keep it just in case it might help in an emergency situation, but if I had to buy it and install it from scratch, I would not bother. The most positive feature of this software, unique compared to other recovery programs I have used in the past, is the “Disk Image” option to move data to a safe, fast, clean drive. This is balanced out by the poor quality of the files recovered and the lack of guidance in how to use this program’s features to their fullest advantage. Reviewer 2: This is a nice toolset to have available. I will keep it in the toolkit for when I might need it. Reviewer 3: No, there are better alternatives. Reviewer 4: Yes. |
OPERATING SYSTEMS USED IN THIS REVIEW
Windows XP Pro, XP Home
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