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Our Windows version | Windows 11 |
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How long we tested | 3 weeks |
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Number of tested tools | 18 |
There’s no point in investing time, effort, and maybe even money into a data recovery program with mediocre chances of success. Make sure to do your research and choose one with a proven track record, making it all the more likely for you to get your lost files back.
There’s a good chance that when you attempt to recover files from a particular storage medium, there will be a whole lot of recoverable files to sift through on the results page. That’s why it helps if the program is equipped with a preview feature that allows you to get a glimpse of a file before recovering it.
Data loss can occur on any operating system but not all data recovery programs support multiple platforms. Make sure the app you choose is fully compatible with the OS you run or, at least, has a version for that platform particularly. Certain programs even allow the recovery of storage media formatted for a different operating system entirely.
Install the program on any macOS or Windows computer
Fire up the software and prepare for scanning by selecting the disk that contained the lost files
Choose Recover to begin scanning the selected disk for recoverable files
Select the files to be recovered from the preview and then click Recover to perform the restoration
Avoid suspicious emails and files. Suspicious emails are rife with phishing emails and other forms of malicious files. Accessing the contents of these emails could severely compromise the security of your computer. This could lead to hackers accessing your machine, putting your important files in jeopardy. So if you see a suspicious email, simply delete it.
Do routine maintenance on your computer/laptop. Neglecting your computer or laptop can lead to dust build-up, ventilation issues, and other hardware pitfalls. In turn, this could cause your device to abruptly fail, resulting in data loss. So make sure to always perform regular maintenance on your machine to ensure that it stays in tip-top shape.
Do not mess with unfamiliar files. Operating systems include lots of important files that may not seem familiar to you. These files could be vital to running the platform and tweaking or deleting them could lead to the OS becoming unstable and may cause you to incur data loss. That’s why it’s best to leave unfamiliar system files alone.
If you find that SAV files are randomly being deleted from your computer, it’s a good indication that your hard drive is failing. In these cases, it’s a good idea to make a backup image of the drive to avoid further data loss. Another reason is that your computer has been infected by a virus or some form of malware.
Deleted SAV files that cannot be found in the Windows Recycle Bin or Mac Trash can still be recovered using an effective data recovery program. Just make sure you stop using the drive they were in right away to avoid overwriting the deleted file. Alternatively, if you had File History enabled or created a System Restore point beforehand, you can use those methods.
For SAV files that were accidentally deleted using the Delete key or right-click > Delete command, they should be available for restoration from the Windows Recycle Bin tool. Other forms of data loss may be recovered using the File History feature, provided it was enabled beforehand. Otherwise, you’ll need a quality data recovery program.