Stellar Data Recovery is software that specializes in retrieving files that have been accidentally lost or deleted. The software can extract deleted or lost data from multiple file systems, including laptops, mobile phones, and external storage drives. Let’s look at this comprehensive data recovery solution and why it’s a good software to have on hand.
What Is Stellar Data Recovery?
Stellar Data Recovery: Plans and Pricing
The Stellar Data Recovery has a comprehensive set of features divided into six different packages. The plans are ladderized, meaning they are arranged in order of value, and each plan contains features that are not available in the previous plan. Let’s take a closer look at the contents of each plan:
Free (Single PC)
The free plan comes with data recovery for any storage media, including encrypted data and data from formatted drives. However, the amount of lost or deleted data that you can recover is limited to a mere 1 GB. The free plan is only intended for trial purposes and will require you to sign up for a paid plan upon reaching the 1GB limit.
Standard (Single PC)
The Standard plan has the same scope as the free plan, with the ability to recover files from any storage media. The difference between this tier and the free tier is that file recovery is unlimited.
This plan costs approximately USD 50 for a one-year license and approximately USD 100 for an unlimited license. The plan only covers a single PC/device.
Professional (Single PC)
The Professional plan comes with everything under the Standard plan, plus recovery capabilities for lost partitions, unbootable systems, and optical media ( (CD, DVD, HDDVD, Blu-ray Disc). It also comes with the capability to create disk images for your files, hard drive monitoring, and HDD drive cloning.
It costs approximately USD 80 for a one-year license and approximately USD 150 for an unlimited license. The plan only covers a single PC/device at a time.
Premium (Single PC)
The Premium Plan includes everything in the Professional plan, plus the ability to repair corrupt or distorted videos/photos, as well as the ability to extract thumbnails from images.
This plan costs approximately USD 100 for a one-year license and approximately USD 200 for a lifetime license. The plan only covers a single PC/device at a time.
Technician (3 PCs)
The Technician plan includes everything under the Premium plan, plus: file recovery for data storage virtualization technology, specifically RAID 0,5 and 6. Aside from having the ability to scan virtual storage like RAID, it can also be used to create RAID.
The Technician plan costs approximately USD 200 for the one-year license and approximately USD 400 for the lifetime license. This plan covers up to three separate PCs/devices at a time.
Toolkit (3 PCs)
The Toolkit plan is the most expensive and most elaborate plan available. It comes with everything in Stellar Technician Data Recovery plus: recovery from virtual drives as well as Linux and Mac drives (HFS, HFS+, ext2, ext3, ext4).
The Toolkit plan costs approximately USD 300 for the one-year license and USD 600 for the lifetime license. This plan covers up to three separate PCs/devices at a time.
Stellar Data Recovery: Features
Stellar Data Recovery has an impressively robust set of features, but these features are spread out across the different plans, and not all features are available for each plan. In other words, you would have to check each plan for the features that you want. Let’s take a closer look at each.
1. Three-Step Recovery
Stellar Data Recovery has a basic three-step system for recovering lost or deleted files within any drive of any device. It only requires you to select the drive, initiates the scanning sequence, and then save the files onto another drive.
2. SMART Monitoring
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) is a tool commonly found in hard drives. It scans the system regularly for potential errors that can lead to a crash. When it does detect the possibility of such a failure, it can send a warning to the user to take action before the data goes missing.
3. Preview Before Saving
Stellar Data Recovery also allows you to preview the files it has detected from a specific drive. This is so you can choose which files to recover and which to leave out for deletion later on. This is a simple but useful mechanism, especially if you are only looking to save a particular file type.
4. Recover Any File Type
One feature that makes Stellar Data Recovery stand out is the fact that they support almost any type of file for recovery. The list includes documents, emails, pictures, videos, audio files, Microsoft worksheets (Excel, Powerpoint), and so on. It can also recover other types of data from phones, such as text messages, contacts, and personal messages from the likes of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
All in all, the software supports over 300 file types across multiple media types and operating systems. Simply put, whatever type of file you lose, the chances are that you will be able to recover it.
5. Recover Multiple Devices
Stellar Data Recovery is not limited to scanning desktop computers and laptops; it can also scan other types of devices that directly or indirectly connect to your computer, including mobile phones, tablets, hard drives, SSDs, and 4K drives. It can also scan laptops and devices that have crashed and recover data from partially damaged CDs and DVDs.
6. Bootable Media
Stellar Data Recovery has the unique ability to reboot a Windows OS that failed to boot for any reason, including file corruption, disk errors, and more. All you need to do is install the system onto a USB drive and use it to reboot the system.
7. Disk Imaging
Disk imaging is a process of making a complete copy of the drive, and the copy can be used later on to restore the drive to the exact state that it was in before you took the image. Stellar Recovery allows you to capture a disk image and save it to your computer or hard drive, and you can also determine the scope of the data to be saved.
8. Optical Media Recovery
While CDs and DVDs are now a thing of the past, that doesn’t mean you can’t recover their contents. Stellar Recovery can be used to read and copy the contents of your old CDs, DVDs, HD DVDs, Blu-ray discs, etc. It copies the contents directly into your laptop and follows the formatting of the file/folder.
Stellar Data Recovery: Client Setup
Stellar Data Recovery follows the typical download and installation process, which only takes a couple of minutes to complete. It will require you to download the system installer from the Stellar Recovery official webpage, followed by installation.
Once the file becomes available on your desktop, you can already select which type of file (photo, video, etc.) you would like to retrieve. This type of search is most useful when you are searching for a specific file name or file type.
Alternatively, you can select a drive or location for the software to scan and select the files you would like to retrieve. There are also numerous ways you can refine your search.
Stellar Data Recovery: Mobile Apps
Stellar Data Recovery is also available for mobile phones and tablets. There’s an app available for you to download on the Google PlayStore. However, the more effective option would be to run the app on your Windows machine while connected to your mobile.
Aside from the types of data mentioned above, the Android version of the software can recover additional types of data, including contacts, text messages, WhatsApp chat history, call history, and deleted and/or formatted data from internal memory. It can also recover all types of data from an iPhone or an iPad, including files saved under special programs like iTunes and iCloud.
Stellar Data Recovery: Security and Privacy
Stellar Data Recovery is ISO 27001 certified. ISO certification means that they fully comply with the requirements and procedures required of organizations that handle user data. The company is also subject to regular third-party audits to ensure that they adhere to security and privacy standards. And if you want to check how reliable they are, there are thousands of reviews about their products and services on the internet.
Stellar Data Recovery: Support
Stellar Data Recovery offers several options for customer support. That is, users get in touch with the company directly via various means or read the information on the official website.
Customers can contact the company through phone, live chat, and online ticket support for direct support. Help is available to all customers, regardless of country, 24 hours a day during workdays. Note that customer service representatives can only give instructions in English.
Stellar Data Recovery also offers self-help options on its official website. These include an FAQ section that provides answers to commonly asked questions and pages containing comprehensive information about the company’s products and services.
How Does Data Recovery Work?
The Importance of Backing Up Your Files
Many unforeseen events can lead to data loss, which can lead to potentially disastrous consequences. This is exactly why you need to regularly back up your files onto a separate hard drive or into a cloud. The backup process ensures that you have a copy of your files, in case something goes wrong with your computer, phone, or tablet.
The problem with backups is that they can be very time-consuming. Most people don’t regularly back up their files in anticipation of a crash. There’s also the consideration that only a few files are worth saving in the long term. In cases where you only need to save a few files, then data recovery is the only way to get your files back. But if you are extra vigilant, it wouldn’t hurt to have both a backup tool and data recovery tool at your disposal.
Final Thoughts on the Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar Data Recovery is one of the most reliable and reputable data recovery solutions in the market today. The many plans they offer bring more freedom in selecting the features that you want. The features they offer are also highly practical and comprehensive, to the point where they can be used in professional settings. Nevertheless, they kept the user interface and recovery options simple enough to ensure that non-technical people will be able to recover their files with complete ease.
On the other hand, some of their packages seem a little too complicated for people who are only interested in recovering a few files. The lifetime licenses also seem a little expensive for casual use. But then again, the prices for these are just on par with similar products, and you get a lot of value in return. However, if you would prefer a simpler solution, you may want to check out this list of the best data recovery software.
Nonetheless, Stellar Data Recovery is a great option for individuals and professionals who want a comprehensive and feature-rich long-term solution for data recovery.
