Free Programs

Restoration

In our tests, this simple but effective file-recovery application worked well. Restoration doesn't have a traditional installation process; you simply click the EXE file, and the program pops up. The main window's austere design isn't likely to drive anyone wild, but since the application really only does one thing, it's a snap to understand and use. You simply specify the source drive for recovery and click the Search Deleted Files button. Restoration did a good job of resurrecting files, folders, and clusters in all of our tests, and we were impressed with both its scan and recovery speeds. On the downside, Restoration offers few extra features, though you can choose to permanently delete any items the program recovers. Still, since it delivers on its promise and is totally free, we think most home users could benefit from downloading this utility.