Here’s our take on the Stellar Data Recovery Professional software for Windows, giving you that second chance of retrieving lost files and content – all in one sweep.
The very moment we termed the machines as “personal computers”, we decided to turn the conjunction of hardware and software as our safe-keepers. For decades, computers have not just been the pivotal factor in driving different commercial industries forward, but also helped us humans evolve the way we communicate, share multimedia content, work on our homework, manage finances, and so much more.
You don’t have to be a clumsy clown to end up mismanaging some of the important files on your computer. Whether you ended up deleting an important file from work, or can’t seem to get a hold of those cherished pictures from your last family ski trip, the helplessness of losing your data can be infuriating. Understandably enough, this problem has existed right from the start and has only exacerbated over the years as the number of PC users has skyrocketed.
Once you have the file downloaded, just install it the way you would any other application on your computer, and the Stellar recovery tool should be up and running in minutes. If you wish to start off by purchasing the software, press the Cart icon you see on the status bar or press the Activation icon right next to it. Additionally, if you have the License Code with you already, press the icon and enter it into the field to activate the software and get started.
The simplified menu allows you to handpick Office files (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.), even media files in specific formats (photos, audio, and video). Once you’ve checked the boxes for the files that you wish to scan the system for and recover, press the “Next” button. On the new screen, you’re offered the ability to Select Location of where you wish to look for the deleted or lost files.
Here you can pick through the usual locations such as the Desktop or My Documents, or dig in deeper with Connected Drives on the computer and Other Locations (Lost Partition and Disk Image). When selecting the drive locations to search at, you will also notice the Deep Scan toggle appear, and it is recommended that you turn it on. Although enabling this option could increase the duration of the search, it will allow the program to offer better search results.
After hitting the search button, the scanning process will commence and finish based on the file formats that you have selected on the earlier screen, along with the locations where you wish the recovery software to perform a deep dive. On the right side of the screen, you will be able to view the entire directory from which the files have been recovered. By selecting individual files, you can press the Recover button to retrieve the files found by Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
There’s a feature called Smart Status included here which processes the general statistics of the drive to find out the overall health and storage capacity of it. A useful feature included with the Monitor Drive section of the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool is the Clone Disk option, which allows you to actively create a replica of your existing drive, in case you want to physically safeguard all of the content on it, or migrate to another machine.
Enter – Stellar Data Recovery Professional
In this time of need, you could look towards the Recycle Bin and jump into the virtual dumpster to look for those lost files. But what if you ended up hitting the empty button instead? Unfortunately, Windows itself does not come with any reliable measures for users to recover lost files, which is why the inception of a data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional has been a ray of hope for many. Get Stellar Data Recovery Professional Albeit data recovery programs are available for dime a dozen, and although some of these free alternatives may seem tempting, the truth is that you’ll either end up with subpar service, to begin with, or risk your computer and all of your personal files to software that is unreliable. The reason we were compelled to look into Stellar Data Recovery Professional over the other names in the market, is the simple fact that the company has been striving to deliver data recovery solutions since 1993, and they have thousands of happy customers to show for it.Getting Things Started
Heading over to the official website, you get the direct option to download Stellar Data Recovery Professional and begin right away. You can either choose to make the purchase before beginning, or simply get the software on a free trial, take it out for a spin, and then decide if it is worth your hard-earned money. Either way, getting your hands on the installation file is simple, and so is the process of setting up the software on your computer.
Once you have the file downloaded, just install it the way you would any other application on your computer, and the Stellar recovery tool should be up and running in minutes. If you wish to start off by purchasing the software, press the Cart icon you see on the status bar or press the Activation icon right next to it. Additionally, if you have the License Code with you already, press the icon and enter it into the field to activate the software and get started.
Highlighted Features
Right off the bat, you will notice that the recovery software is split into two core features – Recovery Data and Monitor Drive. Although the Recovery Data section is where all the magic happens, the inclusion of the Monitor Drive feature is a neat addition, and worth looking into.Recovery Data
Once you enter the Recovery Data menu, the user interface of the software simplifies to help you get started with the data recovery process right away. From the main screen itself, you can choose to recover Everything, which enables you to get back of all of the files and folders that you have lost from the system. Additionally, you can get your hands on some specific files that you are looking to retrieve by selecting Documents, Folders & Emails section, or the Multimedia Files section.
The simplified menu allows you to handpick Office files (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.), even media files in specific formats (photos, audio, and video). Once you’ve checked the boxes for the files that you wish to scan the system for and recover, press the “Next” button. On the new screen, you’re offered the ability to Select Location of where you wish to look for the deleted or lost files.
Here you can pick through the usual locations such as the Desktop or My Documents, or dig in deeper with Connected Drives on the computer and Other Locations (Lost Partition and Disk Image). When selecting the drive locations to search at, you will also notice the Deep Scan toggle appear, and it is recommended that you turn it on. Although enabling this option could increase the duration of the search, it will allow the program to offer better search results.
After hitting the search button, the scanning process will commence and finish based on the file formats that you have selected on the earlier screen, along with the locations where you wish the recovery software to perform a deep dive. On the right side of the screen, you will be able to view the entire directory from which the files have been recovered. By selecting individual files, you can press the Recover button to retrieve the files found by Stellar Data Recovery Professional.
Monitor Drive
At a glance, the Monitor Drive seems like a decent attempt at creating a storage monitoring tool, which still has ways to go. On the right tab of the menu screen, you can choose to select the storage drive from the drop-down menu, in case you have multiple drives installed on your computer. You get information regarding the available disk drives, disk partitions made on the respective storage drives, and even a way to pinpoint bad sectors present if any.
There’s a feature called Smart Status included here which processes the general statistics of the drive to find out the overall health and storage capacity of it. A useful feature included with the Monitor Drive section of the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool is the Clone Disk option, which allows you to actively create a replica of your existing drive, in case you want to physically safeguard all of the content on it, or migrate to another machine.
Pros:
- Everything starts off with a neat and clean user interface with zero clutter.
- The setup process is straightforward, with no complicated selection options involved.
- Support for Deep Scan protocol that allows FAT, ExFAT, and NTFS file system recovery.
- Allows recovering emails, office document files and folders, and even CD/DVD files on the system.
- Scanning speeds are optimal with faster turnaround when using as SSD storage instead of the standard HDD drive.
- A customizable scanning platform allows you to handpick the type of files you wish to recover, saving minutes to hours on each scan.
Cons:
- Controls for the Monitor Drive section of the software were less defined, with no instructions on how to proceed.
- Priced at $49.99 for the Standard unit and all the way up to $299 for the Toolkit, it is among the premium recovery services offered online.