ZAR

X Build 328

Software information

License:

Shareware (Free to try)


Updated:

01 Apr 2016


Publisher:

ZAR data recovery

Website:

http://z-a-recovery.com

Software Screenshots

Size: 4.8 GB


Downloads: 22416


Platform: Windows (All Versions)

Review by Frederick Barton (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 14 Feb 2012

Although it sounds like a comic book villain, ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery) is a recovery program which does a very thorough job finding your lost data. If it can't find it, then it's lost forever.

Downloading the roughly 4 Mb package shouldn't be a problem for any type of Internet connection. The installation process is fast, but you'll need to read what the wizard has to say. During the installation and when running the program for the first time, it will instruct you on what's the best way of using ZAR. Basically, it tells you to avoid installing on disks you want to recover data from and to temporarily stop your antivirus software while recovering.

There's no fancy interface you'll find with ZAR. Its main focus is to find lost data, not to look good. The basic search options are found on the main window. Here, you can find three large buttons, each with its own search type. First is the image recovery. This will recover lost digital images or videos, usually on USB drives. The second button features a data recovery function for Windows and Linux. This is the standard recovery process that will scan any Windows or Linux partitions for lost data. An interesting feature is the third button, which is used for a RAID recovery.

Before starting the recovery process, you can choose one of three methods to do this. You can recover "current" files, deleted files, or both. You can also find an advanced configuration button and one that opens saved files on the main window and that's about all the interface you'll get. Once everything is in order, click on the large recovery buttons, select a drive and hit "next". The program will start scanning your drive. The process will take a while but this is because its search is really thorough. It will check, double check and triple check for deleted data. During the scan you will have some options available. Handle bad sectors by setting a timeout period, a number of retry attempts, or avoid them altogether. You can also set a maximum disk cache size. This is done via two sliders. One for reading and one for writing. When the scanning is complete, a list of found items will show up and you can check here what is to be saved. Click "next", name a folder path and click the large "start copying selected files" button.

Pros

The program is straight forward. You just need to tell it what drive to scan and it will do a great job searching for lost data.

Cons

The interface is a bit too simple, but there's really no need for a better looking one. Another drawback is that some features are not available in the trial version. On the bright side, the image recovery will always be available with no limited period. When starting a recovery process, Zero Assumption Recovery will make triple sure it doesn't miss anything. There's no middle ground with this program. Lost data is either recovered or lost forever.

ZAR
X Build 328

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ZAR Awards


ZAR Editor’s Review Rating

ZAR has been reviewed by Frederick Barton on 14 Feb 2012. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated ZAR 5 out of 5 stars, naming it Essential

5

out of 5