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Our Windows version | Windows 11 |
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How long we tested | 4 weeks |
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Number of tested tools | 10 |
While there are a few genuinely free data recovery programs out there and some with a decent trial version, they’re often either overly complex, ineffective, or have recovery limits. So if you’re willing to invest, you should find a program that fits your price range. Also, consider whether you’d prefer a program with subscriptions or a one-time payment.
Not everybody is tech-savvy and knows their way around a command prompt or advanced menus. Choose a data recovery program that has a user interface and flow that fits your technical expertise. That way, you’ll be able to recover your files with minimal hassle. Some apps are even designed to accommodate both novice and expert users.
There’s no telling when data loss can strike and you may end up having to recover files from any kind of storage medium, such as SD cards, SSDs, hard drives, RAID setups, and more. It’s important that your chosen data recovery software is fully compatible with the ones you use.
Download and install the app to your Windows or Mac computer
Start the app and choose the disk that contained the deleted files
Select the Recover button in order to start scanning the disk for recoverable files
Select the files to be recovered from the preview and then click Recover to perform the restoration
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.
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.
Invest in a surge protector. A major power surge can do heavy damage to your computer. A strong enough one could fry the components in your computer, taking all of your important files along with it. So if you live in an area with unpredictable electric currents, spending some money on a surge protector can be a lifesaver.
When M4V files are deleted from a computer, they are not permanently erased just yet. So long as they’re not overwritten by new data, these files remain out of sight on the storage media and can be recovered through quality data recovery programs. Backup tools like File History, System Restore, and Timeline can also be used to recover lost data.
On Windows PCs,M4V files that weren’t permanently deleted using the Shift + Delete command can be found and restored from the Recycle Bin tool. For Macs, all deleted X files are sent to the Trash first, so you can get them back from there. Otherwise, you can use Windows File History if you enabled it before the deletion or the Mac Timeline feature.
Data recovery software often saves recovered files in a specified directory which you can then access through Windows File Explorer. Disk Drill, for example, is one of the best data recovery programs around and includes a button at the end of the retrieval process that will open the folder where your recovered M4V files are located.