Data Rescue for Mac

Used Data Rescue for Mac?

Data Rescue Analysis

AI Assisted Content · June 11, 2026

Not written by CNET Staff.

Data Rescue is a powerful utility designed for Mac users facing hard drive failures or data loss. It offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the recovery process into three main stages: drive selection, analysis, and recovery. This tool is capable of retrieving various file types from both functioning and partially functioning drives. Users can recover their data to a wide range of storage devices, including internal and external hard drives, removable media, and networked drives. Additionally, Data Rescue provides an option to create an emergency bootable DVD for situations when a drive is inaccessible.

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One notable feature of Data Rescue is its ability to preview files prior to recovery, allowing users to confirm their selection and avoid unnecessary recovery processes. While the software claims a high recovery success rate, results can vary, and it may not restore all data completely in every scenario. Nevertheless, Data Rescue stands out as a valuable tool for users needing to recover important files from corrupted or malfunctioning drives.

Data Rescue for Mac

Used Data Rescue for Mac?

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: August 20, 2020

Latest update: June 11, 2026

Version: 6.0.9

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Mac

Operating System: Mac OS X

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 113,299

Downloads Last Week: 0

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Last Updated

User Reviews

3.7/5

94 User Votes

Don't waste your time????..Went online to purchase this
bluz1st.November 10, 2015
Pros
Demo looks great...........straight forward...........easy to use.........had my hopes up....it retrieved a TON of files....UNTIL........could not open anything it retrieved.
Cons
Don't waste your time????..Went online to purchase this software???? Called these guys - spoke to sales - told them I wanted to use their software to retrieve a time machine backup file that had been deleted from a drive because of a reformat. Asked him if his software could do this and he said "sure it can"??..you just have to be running 10.7.5 or higher?..he suggested I use the demo and test it out. Downloaded the demo??ran the "deep scan feature"???.no time machine back up files???in fact the files it did find, when you try to open them, they would fail to open and the softwares that created them would return an error message that the files were damaged?..called sales again?now they tell me?.."no it cannot retrieve time machine backups"??.when I ask them about why the demo will not open the files it does see, like common pdf files??.."I can't help you since you are using the demo version"???four hours wasted and problem still looming???..VERY FRUSTRATING experience.
Summary
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY
Real_Home_UserAugust 7, 2015
Pros
It recovers files, sort of.
Cons
File names are lost. Files are spit into pieces. Recovering files lost on a Mac is a sick joke. Don't fall for the false claims of recovery managers! Instead of wasting your money on this, spend your time doing backups so you never need something like this. Because if you ever do need this, you're screwed.
Summary
OS X is not DOS or Windows. File names and directory structures are not maintained in a recoverable fashion. Mac file recovery programs (like this) are a sick joke. Don't waste your time or money on any of them. Do regular backups. Use more than one backup drive in case it fails. This is the ONLY reliable way to salvage lost data on a Mac. If you didn't back up your files and you need a file recovery program on a Mac, I'm sorry to tell you that you are royally screwed! So sorry, but that's the cold hard truth.
uselesssss
HD4kApril 13, 2014
Pros
None......
Cons
Didnt work for me. Very Expensiv. Pretends to be freeware but you cant recover files under 10 mb like it claims.
Summary
Paid for premium version and recovered all my files but they had been overwritten and damaged.
A true savior
epc.alpexJanuary 17, 2013
Pros
&#8226; The scan allows to see which files could be recovered before buying the license. In my case, 100%. &#8226; The files were recovered with all their flags and attributes. &#8226; The organization of files were 95% the same as before crashing. &#8226; The price is very smooth compared to the professional solution (on which I had no guarantee).
Cons
&#8226; Some files (around 5%) were misplaced. &#8226; My files were mainly videos, and in most cases, the reading indexes are destroyed and impossible to rebuild : The files can still be read normally, but I can no longer navigate in the files.
Summary
My external 3,5" disk could not mount after an electric surge. The computer repairer could not make it and proposed a white room recuperation, that would have costed a fortune. The apple center advisor suggested me to try Data Rescue 3, if I could hear the disk turn, which was the case.
Highly recommend
kent1November 6, 2012
Pros
Fast, simple to use and intuitive interface Very effective. Good value for money, priceless when it recovers your lost data
Cons
Can't think of any
Summary
A friend of mine recently accidentally re-formatted his External Hard Drive which contained all his iTunes Music library and media. As a long time user of Drive Genius, last night, I purchased Data Rescue 3, ran it all night and recovered all 115GB of his music, and I have now imported the music back into iTunes. I have never ventured into data recovery before, but I have to say that your program is not only effective, but also very intuitive to use. I didn't have time to read the full manual. Just used the deleted Items scan. It took about 7 hours to scan and about 4 hrs to recover. I love the way the recovered files are shown in Folders, in this case Music, with each type nested inside, i.e. MP3, AIFF, etc It even restored the song and album name, and the artwork artwork! Needless to say we are both very impressed with Data Rescue!
Mac no longer recognises my drive
vivi_anneOctober 14, 2012
Pros
could potentially help with deleted files
Cons
risk of permanent damage to hard drive
Summary
I had a few corrupted files on my external hard drive and decided to use Data Rescue. No files were save and now my computer doesn't even recognise the hard drive. I lost everything. All my data, the hard drive ($200) and what I paid for data rescue ($100). Be very careful when using this, and make sure you back up your data before attempting to use this software.
Don't Waste Your Money
whofukncaresSeptember 25, 2012
Pros
None. There aren't any.
Cons
I have a demo of Virtuallab Data Recovery and a bought version of Data Rescue 3. They cost the same. 1. Data Rescue 3 doesn't keep the structure of the file system of the files you save. So if you have a picture folder named "Kitty Kitty Cats," you can kiss your organization goodbye. Virtuallab DOES keep all that data intact. 2. Data Rescue 3's "deep scan" took an hour to do 40 gigs. It only came back with half of the data. Virtuallab's demo did the same scan in the same amount of time and returned 100% of the data. What is Prosoft Data Rescue 3 charging for again? My issue is I have an old IDE drive that is NOT broken at all. It's just being held hostage via an old dynamic file system ... Windows_LDM that cannot be mounted on a Mac, at all. Not even in terminal command. If Prosoft can't recover much of that drive for the same price as its competition can - then imagine what it can't do for a truly shot to he11 drive. I totally wasted money on this meh'ware.
Summary
Not Freeware!
fisher797August 30, 2012
Pros
None. Didn't activate the software because it doesn't meet my needs
Cons
Data limits are out-of-date. Maybe when this was a new product 10 MB of data was a lot - but not today!
Summary
Bad program, stay away
alongooanabAugust 29, 2012
Pros
At least it scans for files and tries to recover them..
Cons
I couldn't recover my deleted docs
Summary
It is a waste of money and left me feeling like I just wasted my money on a useless program.
I can't use it anymore!
simonbakerrAugust 24, 2012
Pros
worked once
Cons
Very high price
Summary
I bought this for a computer and when I formatted, the software no longer worked and I can't use it anymore.

Developer’s Description

By Prosoft Engineering

Recover data from crashed, non-mounting, reformatted hard drives and deleted or lost files.

Data Rescue is a data recovery software for Mac. Find, recover, and preview accidentally deleted files, lost data, and reformatted drives with ease. Go beyond hard drive recovery software. Data Rescue recovers files from a multitude of devices including SD cards, USB drives, CF cards, solid state drives.