Hey
There is always that moment you are using your Mac that you wished you hadnt pressed delete. It happens all the time and most of the time you can recover the file or folder. Once in a while, you find that you really have deleted the file and your cant get it back the usual routes. This is where a new (and free for the time being) app comes in. Its called Disk Drill and it is designed to protect and recover files and folders have you have in advertently deleted without due cause.
Disk Drill is split up into two parts. Protection and Recovery. I am going to focus this app review on the recovery section. The protection side is all about making sure the recovery part of the app can work quicker and is more reliable. The recovery section is where the app is designed to work.
The recovery section of the app works as you would expect. Its a simple flow process you select your disk, set a scan going for your file, recover your file and finally sit relieved as your important word document is back on your desktop. The process is easy enough and working through the program is aided by simple tool tips and pop ups. The clear and easy to use graphics allow you to work quickly through the app without a fuss.
The scanning process does take a while. However I think the use of the proctection part of the app will alllow this process to work a lot quicker. It seems to find most files and folders as long as they are fresh and havnt been too badly overwritten. From my basic tests it seemed to find most deleted files and folders which was pretty good. A full deep scan on my Mac disk (compared to the quick scan on a FAT disk) took around an hour. Which was a long time to wait, however it did do a good job and I would assume in a real circumstance would find the file you are looking for.
The recovery part worked fine with a couple of test files. I would assume your success rate would depend on how long a go you deleted the file and how much disk access was used in the mean time. A file deleted long ago would probably not be able to be recoved as the data may be overwritten. The included recovery indicator helps in identifying success.
I have yet to fully try this on a real application however from my tests the app does seem useful. Overall the app is well written and works really well. The responsivness and the indicators to the applications progress is useful, especially when the application has to do a deep scan. There is nothing worst than a none moving bar, thankfully this app tells you what is happening.
Overall I would recommend you check this app out. Its free for the time being since it is in Beta. Try it out and see how useful it is to you.
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