I really need a good Vista-compatible file recovery program. I formatted my entire drive earlier and forgot to save some really important directories, and I'm having a tough time finding a good file recovery program to get them back. I used to use Stellar Phoenix when I had XP and had no problem recovering files months after they've been deleted. This program doesn't work with Vista though (at least not the version I have) and now I need something new. I already know of all the programs out there so I'm not just looking for options. I need recommendations from people who have had success recovering files after a format, in Vista. The one that keeps coming up in searches is 'Recover My Files', but the trial version I have keeps freezing during the scan and it will only let me partially recover files anyway. Another is Migo Digital Rescue, but I can't find a working trial for that. Before I end up spending all kinds of money, I need to know for sure that it's going to work.

Help me out guys.

Hey Roy,

R-Studio has saved my bacon many times. Obviously, if the file is not fully intact (because it's been partially overwritten), your not going to get a full recovery but it will still attempt to recover as much of it as it can. It is not just good at recovering data from drives that have been formatted, but it will also attempt recovery even if the partition has been completely destroyed or corrupted.

I have used and will always recommend GetDataBack. There are two versions, one for FAT drives and one for NTFS drives (NTFS is the one you'd probably need). There is a free trial that will scan for your files but not allow you to recover them, it's basically showing you it found them and you can view them one by one to make sure they're intact. If you like the results you buy the program and download your files back. The program is $80.00 but well worth it and it never expires, I've used my subscription various times now...it's a GREAT program

Data Recovery Software - Hard Drive Recovery - RAID Data Recovery

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I'll give them a try and let you know.

Marked as Answered for now rory, let us know how it goes.

I tried them out and R-Studio was the only program that was able to see the files. Unfortunately when I recovered them they were all corrupted. I just had to recreate the files I lost and I'll just have to remember to make backups of important files more often.