Download Recuva for Windows PC v1.54 for Windows PC

Recuva from Piriform, the makers of CCleaner, is a freemium file recovery program for Windows that restores accidentally deleted files from hard drives...

Features

• The step-by-step wizard and plain-language recovery indicators in green, yellow and red make deleted-file recovery approachable for non-technical users, who can judge their chances before attempting to restore anything important.
• Quick scans return results in moments and a deep scan mode searches sector by sector for older deletions, giving you a fast first attempt and a thorough fallback in the same free program.
• Recuva works across internal hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, memory cards and MP3 players, so the same familiar tool covers a deleted camera card and a cleared documents folder without extra downloads.
• File preview and filtering by name, type and date help you find the exact document or photo among hundreds of scan results, instead of restoring everything and sorting through the mess afterwards.
• The secure overwrite feature permanently erases deleted files using industry-standard overwriting methods, which is useful in reverse: making sure sensitive documents you removed cannot be recovered by the next user.

Considerations

• Recovery success drops sharply on SSDs with TRIM enabled and on drives that kept being used after deletion, because overwritten data cannot realistically be reconstructed by any tool.
• Virtual hard drive recovery, automatic updates and premium support are reserved for the paid Professional edition, even though the free version handles most ordinary home recovery jobs well.
• Deep scans on large drives can take hours and return thousands of fragmented or partial files, so finding one usable document can require considerable patience and filtering.

Download Recuva from the official vendor link on this page.

Open the downloaded installer file and follow the on-screen installation steps.

Start Recuva from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.

Is Recuva really free?

Yes. The free edition recovers deleted files without limits on the number or size of files. Recuva Professional is a paid upgrade that adds virtual hard drive support, automatic updates and premium support, but it is not required for standard recovery.

Can Recuva recover files from an SSD?

Sometimes, but success is much lower than on a traditional hard drive because SSDs use TRIM to erase deleted data quickly in the background. Stop using the drive immediately and scan as soon as possible to maximise your chances.

Should I use quick scan or deep scan?

Start with a quick scan for recently deleted files, as it finishes in minutes and preserves filenames well. Use deep scan if the quick scan finds nothing, understanding that it takes far longer and may return files without their original names.

Where should I recover files to?

Always recover to a different drive from the one you are scanning, for example from a memory card onto your PC's hard drive. Recovering onto the same drive can overwrite the very data you are trying to rescue.

Is Recuva safe to use?

Yes, when downloaded from the official CCleaner and Piriform website. Scanning is read-only and does not harm the source drive, but you should install Recuva on a different drive from the one containing your deleted files.