Featured Freeware: Pandora Recovery

The name Pandora originates in Greek mythology, and it means "all-giving." It's an appropriate name for Pandora Recovery, which can give you back files you've deleted--even those gone for months.

Now for NTFS and FAT-formatted volumes, Pandora functions by scanning the hard drive and building an index of existing files and deleted file markers. This, in turn, allows the dead files to be brought back to life--as long as the file format is currently supported by the computer. Users can browse for deleted files, search for specific ones, preview certain file types like images, and get an estimate on the chance of recovery and the amount of time the procedure will take.

The program offers a guidance wizard to make sure that you're able to find deleted files. Pandora cautions you to recover deleted files to a separate drive from the one which they're being recovered from--sound advice, and the program makes it easy to recover to an external hard disk or portable drive. The interface isn't anything special, but combines Windows XP Explorer-style navigation with its own toolbar for an effective if uninspired layout.

There's also a portable version of the program that costs $40.