MiniTool Power Data Recovery Review

What Is MiniTool Power Data Recovery?

MiniTool Data Recovery is a utility software that helps computer owners recover deleted, formatted, or lost data. You can recover data from: 

• hard disk drives  
• USB flash drives 
• CDs 
• DVDs
• other primary or secondary storage mediums. 

MiniTool Software, the company behind the Power Data Recovery tool, was founded in 2009 and is based in Canada. It released the first version in 2003 and the second in 2006. Since 2006, it has dropped consecutive updates of its data recovery tool. The latest release in 2021 included a new scanning interface with new icons. 

We carried out extensive tests to give you one of the best MiniTool Power Data Recovery reviews you can find.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Features

MiniTool Power Data Recovery has many features to help PC owners recover lost files. They include: 

Scan Internal and External Storage Mediums

MiniTool Data Recovery can scan extensively your internal hard disk or other external storage mediums connected to your PC. This includes external hard drives, USB drives, CDs, DVDs, and many other forms of secondary storage. The process typically covers hidden or encrypted storage partitions. 

You can scan a wide range of file systems, including every version of FAT and the newer HFS systems. You choose the files you want to restore to your computer or any external storage medium. Keep in mind that free users can recover a maximum of 1GB of files, however, paid users have no such limit. 

MiniTool Power Data Recovery also lets you save scans for future use. Though, this feature is only available for paid users.

However, it could take a long time, depending on the size of files on the storage medium. The scanning process also uses significant computing resources and could slow down your PC. 

Scan Specific File Locations 

Sometimes, you just want to recover lost files from specific folders, and MiniTool lets you do that. 

You can scan only specific locations such as Recycle Bin, Downloads, or any other custom folder. This feature speeds up scanning and recovery time, as browsing the whole PC for one lost file will be time-consuming.

Preview Files Before Recovery

MiniTool Data Recovery includes an add-on letting you preview files before recovering them. After scanning, you can display pictures, videos, and similar files without actually recovering them. This feature helps you precisely determine which files you want without depending on guesswork.

Note that file previewing isn't a feature included by default in the app. You have to download it as a separate add-on before use. 

Recover Deleted or Lost Files

After scanning and previewing lost or deleted files, MiniTool Data Recovery lets you recover them back to the storage medium. You can restore the files to any destination folder of your choice. 

No individual or enterprise is immune to data corruption, degradation, or loss. There are many reasons, including:

Accidental Deletion

You may intend to delete a specific file but delete a similar but not exact file. You may mistakenly hit the wrong button, and so on. MiniTool Data Recovery can help with that, even after emptying your Recycle Bin.

Hard Drive Damage

Physical damage to your hard drive can cause extensive file loss. It typically spurs from the hard drive experiencing a physical shock, e.g., hitting a hard surface. 

If something like that happened to you, don’t give up. MiniTool Data Recovery can help get back lost files, even from damaged hard drive partitions.

Virus Attacks

Some computer viruses specialize in deleting files. An example is the CIH (or Chernobyl) virus, which overwrites and removes critical information from infected hard drives. MiniTool can help you recover data if you fall victim to a virus attack.

Operating System Crash

Errors in your computer's operating system can cause it to crash, and files could get lost in the process. MiniTool Data Recovery can scan specific locations and recover data when your operating system crashes. 

Formatting

Formatting a USB drive, CD, DVD, or any other storage medium causes files to get wiped out. MiniTool can help you recover such files. 

Create Bootable Media

MiniTool lets you create bootable media for your computer. This includes a USB, CD, DVD, or other removable media from which a device can load and run an operating system or utility program.

MiniTool Mac Data Recovery

MiniTool offers a separate data recovery tool for Mac users; Stellar Data Recovery. 

It was built in partnership with Stellar, another software company. The software is compatible with all Mac devicesi. It can also recover data from external storage mediums like hard disk drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SSD), USB drives, and SD cards. 

Notable features include:

Recover Permanently Deleted Files

You can extract files, images, email, applications, and more emptied from Trash. The tool scans your Mac storage drive for deleted data that you can restore. It supports virtually unlimited types of file formats, including custom ones you can add.

MiniTool Mac Data Recovery lets you choose between: 

• Quick Scan, the faster one
• Deep Scan, the slower but more extensive one 

You can save the result and reload it at any time to continue the data recovery process. 

Create Bootable Drive

You can create bootable media for macOS computers, just as with a Windows PC. 

Use it to boot up a Mac, erase, format, and install macOS on any compatible hardware.

Drive Monitor

This bonus feature included in MiniTool Mac Data Recovery monitors your Mac drives for errors and alerts you. You can also back up the files on your drives and restore them later. 

Repair Corrupt Photos and Videos

Stellar Data Recovery includes a video and photo repair bonus tool. You can fix videos that aren't playing, blurry, grainy, or out of sync. Likewise, you can repair images that aren't opening, distorted, pixelated, or split. 

MiniTool Mobile Recovery

MiniTool also offers a similar data recovery tool for mobile phones. There are separate apps for iOS and Android, which are entirely free.

MiniTool Android Recovery

MiniTool’s data recovery tool for Android phones is one of the best in its class. It offers two recovery modules, Recover from Phone and Recover from SD-Card. 

Android users can retrieve critical data like: 

• messages
• contacts 
• call history
• photos
• videos

That’s as long as as new data don't overwrite them. 

Here’s an important thing you need to remember:

The app is available for Windows - you can’t download it directly on an Android phone. All you need to do is plug in your device to your computer, and you can recover files quickly and easily. 

MiniTool Mobile Recovery for iOS

MiniTool offers a similar data recovery tool for iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch owners. Users can recover lost contacts, messages, photos, videos, etc. In addition, they can extract iTunes backup files or iCloud backup files. 

You can download the app for Windows and macOS devices. 

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Ease of Use and Interface

I found it easy to download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery. 

The setup file is available on the official website. After downloading the file, run it, and installation begins. It took less than a minute.

According to other MiniTool Power Data Recovery user reviews the interface is pretty straightforward. I agree - it’s neat and uncluttered, with easily accessible features. 

Here’s how to use the app:

Launch the app after installing. You'll see a list of all the drives (internal or external) connected to your computer on the dashboard. Below, you'll also see a list of specific locations, including Desktop, Recycle Bin, or Select Folder.

You can click to scan either a whole drive or a specific location from the dashboard. Once you click, MiniTool Data Recovery starts scanning for lost files and displays them in a format resembling the Windows File Explorer. 

You can pause the process and look through the data that has been recovered. Also, you can preview files from this location. Just click on the button and it'll automatically download an add-on for that purpose.

Once the file or folder is recovered, you’ll see a checkbox next to it. Click it and then the Save button. You’ll be required to specify a destination folder for the files. Ensure to choose a folder not on the drive you’re recovering from to avoid problems.

Depending on the size, the process might take a while. Free users can recover a maximum of 1GB of data, but paid users have no limitation. 

MiniTool Data Recovery is a multi-lingual software. It supports:

• English 
• French 
• German 
• Italian 
• Japanese 
• Korean 
• Spanish 

MiniTool’s interface is easy to use, even for a layman. However, I observed certain drawbacks, including constant popups and reminders to entice free users to pay for the premium version. 

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Support

MiniTool offers technical support through email only. You can send an inquiry tosupport@minitool.com and wait for a response. MiniTool prioritizes inquiries from paid customers over free users. 

To get the fastest response time, you should:

• Add the full name of the product you're inquiring about (e.g. MiniTool Android Recovery) to your email subject. 
• Use the email address you used. Also, include your Order ID.
• Include a screenshot of the software issue. 

MiniTool also has a detailed FAQ page for its Power Data Recovery product. However, having email-only support is a disadvantage. Most of the competition offers email, live chat, and telephone support. 

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Pricing

Firstly, there’s a free version of MiniTool Data Recovery. However, it has limited functionalities, such as a 1GB file recovery limit. Hence, the paid version is suitable for making the best of the tool.

There are three paid tiers; Personal, Business, and Mac. 

The Personal tier is for computers running the Windows operating system. 

Business is for Windows OS users and Windows Servers within an enterprise. 

Mac is a separate (macOS) tool made by MiniTool in partnership with another software company named Stellar.

Each version is available through a monthly, yearly, or perpetual (lifetime) license. 

The prices are:

Mac (Yearly or Perpetual)

• Standard - $59.99 yearly or $129 perpetual.
• Professional - $89.99 annual or $149 perpetual.
• Premium - $99.99 yearly or $199 lifetime.
• Technician - $149 yearly.

The Standard, Professional, and Premium plans include one license for one Mac computer. The Technician plan comes with one license for three Mac computers. 

MiniTool offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for each purchase. There’s also a free trial period for each paid plan. 

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Review - Verdict

MiniTool Data Recovery is a reliable data recovery tool. It finds lost or deleted files and lets you restore them to your PC. It also has an easy-to-use interface. The tool can recover large files stretching into tens of gigabytes (GB), an advantage over the competition. 

However, MiniTool Data Recovery has its drawbacks. It is significantly more expensive than rival data recovery tools on the market. 

Another drawback is that the free version of MiniTool’s data recovery software has significantly limited features. You can’t recover files of more than 1GB. Also, free users can’t save their scan results for future use. 

MiniTool continually tries to entice free users to upgrade to a paid version using in-app advertisements. The advertisements are distracting and feel intrusive.

On the flip side, the company offers many other types of utility software alongside data recovery. Popular ones include MiniTool ShadowMaker for Windows backups and MiniTool Partition Recovery for hard disk drives.

So, why not give the software a spin? The free version might be limited, but you get a pretty decent idea of what to expect.