Restore the Past with Ease! – A Kernel Data Recovery for Windows Review

Countless times, whether it be at work or here on the forum, I have seen users with a desperate desire to recover their old deleted data. Whether it be by accident or not, some of our data can be priceless and with many people lacking a secondary backup, recovery software can truly save the day.

The Windows recycle bin is where many files are temporarily stored until the user chooses to delete them for good. Most peoples’ understanding is that emptying the recycle bin means that their files are completely deleted without recovery. Fortunately, should they wish to recover those files, this is simply not the case.

Files on your computer are created out of binary code, 1s and 0s, indicating their file structure. When a file is deleted, Windows places a single zero at the beginning of the file. What this does is indicate that that space on your hard drive is available for new data to be written to it; however, the file still remains intact. Imagine a building plot with a ‘for sale’ sign. No one can build on it except the owner. Once a ‘sold’ notice goes up, the new owner can move in and build on it, but until they do, the plot remains the same as it was before any building was started.

Over the years, I have found that recovery software comes in both free and paid versions, but that paid recovery software has proven to be more effective. When contacted by an unheard of software company, I was asked to review their latest Data Recovery software for Windows. With “Data Recovery” in the company name, I had set my expectations high for what lay ahead.

Welcome to my review of the NTFS DATA Recovery Software by Kernel Data Recovery. Throughout this review, I will be covering the following topics: the user interface, functionality, and my overall thoughts. I would like to thank Kernel Data Recovery for providing me with this software.

The User Interface

Beginning with large, easy to read buttons, the home screen greets you with a minimalistic layout. When put to the test, never once did I feel overwhelmed or out of my depth; this software can easily be controlled even by someone with little computer experience.

The three main recovery modes are a Quick Scan, an Extensive Scan and a File Trace. Quick scans are designed for recently deleted files or to recover corrupted files from a virus, whereas extensive scanning has the ability to discover files from a formatted partition or for files that are months old, and the file trace is used when the other two options fail in discovering the file, as file trace narrows the search, and consequently takes the longest time for perfect results.

Regardless of the option selected, the next screen displays attached hard drives that can be selected for the scan. This screen will also display some basic information about the drive, such as storage and number of sectors. If you choose to run a file trace, then a popup window will appear asking for the type of trace: documents, emails, pictures, etc.

The final screen displays a wonderful layout of the recovered files and corresponding locations. If a file was discovered from the recycle bin, then the software shows it from that location. To help your search results, the software includes a search function to discover any recovered items. Furthermore, clicking on a file allows you to see a preview of what you will be restoring; this is excellent when recovering a photo or document.

Finally, although I enjoyed the minimalistic layout, the design of the software felt like it was last updated in the days of Windows XP. My theory of this is shown even on the product page, as screenshots are taken of the software running in Windows XP.

Functionality

Kernel Data Recovery offers the software free to download for a trial period after which, payment may be necessary. Once the download and installation had finished, I ran a quick scan to see what may be discovered.

To my surprise, many recently deleted files filled the screen, many of them located in the recycle bin. By ticking the box of what files I wished to recover, I was then asked where I would like those files placed, such as the Desktop. One bug I found was that when previewing a zipped folder, I received a “file corrupt” message in the preview box.

Quick scanning took approximately five to ten minutes, while the extensive and file scans can be significantly longer. For most users, a quick scan should discover what you seek and be able to recover most files.

Something to note, is that this software may be able to recover many deleted files, but it cannot restore them to perfect condition. If a file had been written over multiple times, then it may not be recoverable. This software’s function is to restore the files structure, not repair it.

The software runs on both FAT and NTFS partitions as well as RAID configurations. Another bonus is the error free feature that takes care of errors such as “formatting error” and it allows for a smooth operation.

In the end, the functionality of this recovery software was a nice experience. Files are recovered easily and quickly without effort. With the software working on every OS since Windows 95, there’s always a chance of recovering your lost past. Moreover, with the company adding support for Windows 8 and most likely Windows 10, it will continue to be useful over and over again.

My Overall Thoughts

For only $49.99 ($99.99 for Enterprise), the Kernel Data Recovery software for Windows is well priced for a program that can discover the long forgotten past. Furthermore, at the time of publishing this review, users will also receive a $30 add-on of Kernel Recovery for ZIP. Although the design of the program could use a refresh, this is a highly recommended program for those who tend to delete files without a second thought. One licensing key allows you to recover data on unlimited hard drives for as long as you may need it to.

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