DiskDigger for Windows

DiskDigger 2.3.59.4493 is a file recovery program for Windows from Defiant Technologies, LLC. You download DiskDigger after deleting photos, documents or videos by mistake, or after formatting a USB stick or memory card, and want to get the files back.

How DiskDigger works

When a file is deleted, Windows usually removes only the entry that points to it, while the data itself stays on the disk until something new overwrites it. DiskDigger searches for those leftovers. It has two modes. "Dig deep" reads the file system and finds records of deleted files, often with their original names and folders, on FAT, NTFS and exFAT drives. "Dig deeper" ignores the file system and scans the disk sector by sector, looking for the signatures of known file types such as JPEG, PNG, DOCX, PDF, MP3 and many others. The second mode is slower but can find files even after a quick format or on a corrupted drive. Found files appear in a list with previews, so you can check photos and documents before saving them. You pick the ones you need and save them to another disk. The program works with internal hard drives, SSDs, USB flash drives and camera memory cards.

Key features

• Two scan modes: file system and deep sector scan.
• Preview of images, documents and other files before recovery.
• Filters by file type, size and date.
• Support for hard drives, USB sticks and memory cards.
• Can run without installation.

System requirements

According to the developer's FAQ, DiskDigger runs on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64-bit) and Windows XP. It needs the Microsoft .NET Framework, which newer Windows versions already include; the FAQ also has guides for Linux and Mac OS X. The download is about 32.42 MB according to catalogue data.

How to recover files

1. Get DiskDigger from the official download page.
2. Stop writing to the drive where the files were lost.
3. Run DiskDigger, choose the drive and a scan mode.
4. Preview the results, select the files and save them to a different drive.

Safety and chances of success

Never save recovered files to the same drive you are scanning: that can overwrite what you are trying to rescue. On SSDs with TRIM, deleted data is often cleared quickly, so results may be poor. Download only from diskdigger.org.

Price

DiskDigger is listed as freeware; check the licence terms on the official site for commercial use.

Pros and cons

• Pro: simple, clear interface.
• Pro: previews before recovery.
• Pro: deep scan finds files after formatting.
• Con: deep scan does not restore file names.
• Con: weak results on SSDs with TRIM.
• Con: no repair of damaged files.

Alternatives

To check the health of a drive before or after recovery, CrystalDiskInfo and Victoria HDD/SSD on our site are useful. DiskDigger also has an Android version for phones.