Disk Drill is a data recovery utility for
Windows and
macOS developed by Cleverfiles.[1] It was introduced in 2010,[2] and is primarily designed to recover deleted or lost files from
hard disk drives,
USB flash drives and
SSD drives with the help of Recovery Vault[3] technology. While Disk Drill was originally exclusive to the Mac, a
Windows version was released in 2015.[4]
Recovery vault
The core of Disk Drill is a Recovery Vault technology which allows to recover data from a medium that was secured by Recovery Vault beforehand.[5][6] Recovery Vault runs as a background service and remembers all metadata and properties of the deleted data. Thus making it possible to restore deleted files with their original file names and location.
Supported file systems
The Mac version of Disk Drill provides recovery from HFS/HFS+ and FAT disks/partitions (only the paid Pro version can actually recover files, the Free version will only allow Previewing files).
In August 2016, Disk Drill 3 announces support of
macOS Sierra.[7]
Data backup
Disk Drill can be also used as a
backup utility for creating copies of the disk or partition in
DMG images[8] format.
Version for Windows
In February 2015, CleverFiles launched a
Windows version[9] of its
data recovery software for
macOS. While in beta, Disk Drill for Windows is licensed as a freeware and allows to recover the deleted files from storage devices that can be accessed from Windows PC. Disk Drill for Windows also includes the Recovery Vault technology and works on any Windows XP system or newer (Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10). The software is compatible with FAT and NTFS, as well as HFS+ and EXT2/3/4 file systems.
In September 2016, CleverFiles announced the availability of Disk Drill 2 for Windows,[10] the new version of the expert-level
data recovery app.
Release history
Version
Platform
Release date
Notes and significant changes
1.0.47 Beta
Macintosh
September 2010
First Beta.
1.0.52 Beta
Macintosh
September 2010
The first public release
1.0.62
Macintosh
November 2010
In-app navigation.
New uninstaller.
Better support of the disks used for Time Machine backups
1.1
Macintosh
February 2011
Totally new Deep Scan algorithm
Recovery and scanning sessions management
S.M.A.R.T. disk diagnostics added
Portable Mode introduced
Interactive scanning and recovery dialogs
1.4
Macintosh
August 2011
Guaranteed Recovery algorithm introduced
1.7
Macintosh
February 2012
Thunderbolt support
Full support of new Growl's features
1.8
Macintosh
May 2012
New file signatures were added to Deep Scan's database
The speed of Quick Scan was significantly improved
Integration with OS X Mountain Lion Notification Center