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SeaTools is a program used to diagnose and test the performance of Seagate and Maxtor hard drives. You should use this utility if you've detected failures and problems in your HDD operation or you want to check your device current state.
What is suitable for the testing:
Review Free Download. Users can resort to recovery software in order to regain their files in a working state. Seagate File Recovery Suite will aid in recovering lost data, by deploying a set. Review of Seagate SeaTools for Windows. Author: Vlad Brown. Data recovery specialist, guest author, journalist. SeaTools is a program used to diagnose and test the performance of Seagate and Maxtor hard drives. You should use this utility if you've detected failures and problems in your HDD operation or you want to check. Jun 06, 2020 I suppose after reading this Seagate data recovery review, you must be damn sure that Seagate is the ultimate choice to recover your lost data. And since we have listed multiple Seagate coupon codes, you can choose any coupon code for the respective product. Seagate File Recovery Software Premium (Windows & Mac) WinningPC February 15, 2020 #Giveaway, #Mac OS, Data Recovery & File Repair Save Saved Removed 0. Open the software, click “Drive Recovery”, select your Seagate disk drive, and then click “Scan Now” to continue. Wait until the scan process to complete. Preview and recover your files. You can find more programs from this roundup review: Best Data Recovery Software for Windows 10. Best Alternative to Seagate File Recovery for Mac.
- SCSI, PATA and SATA internal hard drives;
- external hard drives connected via a USB or FireWire.
SeaTools versions: for Windows and DOS
There are two versions of SeaTools:
SeaTools for Windows:
- with a graphical interface
- and the program is available only for Windows
SeaTools for DOS:
- command line utility which runs under DOS
- and can also be used with any Windows version,
- it's pretty convenient to launch it from a boot disk in order to restore your HDD performance (we've already told you how to burn such disk)
Despite the fact that the DOS version of SeaTools has more capabilities, in this review we'll discuss the GUI version of the program for Windows 10.
Where you can download SeaTools from
For safety reasons it's better to download SeaTools from the official website in 'Downloads' section at the link SeaTools for Windows.
3 main features of SeaTools
The main purpose of SeaTools utility is to detect errors in your hard drive performance and find out whether it should be replaced on a warranty.
Tests are provided in order to check the current state. As a result of it, detailed information on its performance and the status of each test is displayed.
One of such tests is Acoustic Test which allows you to detect problems, if your hard drive makes suspicious sounds. For such purpose SeaTools accelerates and stops an HDD so that you can hear how it works and check if it makes “unhealthy” noise.
Another feature is the repair of bad sectors on SATA hard drives and external USB flash drives. If bad sectors are found after testing, not only SeaTools will display errors, but it will also offer you to fix them (replace the damaged blocks with backup ones). Thus, this bad sector will no longer be used by your operating system.
We should also highlight the reading of SMART-attributes. SeaTools reports on the status of your HDD as well as on the characteristics of your drive. This information will be useful for checking the status of your hard drive.
Conclusion. SeaTools is an effective and free tool which will be useful for diagnosing and monitoring your HDD status. It's wise to use this program at least occasionally in order to prevent a sudden disk failure along with a loss of data.
We also suggest you getting acquainted with similar utilities, which we've mentioned in this review.
Seagate Premium Recovery Suite
Editor Rating: Good (3.0)
Pros
- Spacious, clear interface.
- Thumbnail previews for recovered files.
- Direct link to Seagate's in-lab recovery service.
Cons
- Restrictive license.
- Recovered fewer files than competitive products.
- Lacks CD/DVD recovery option.
- No disk-image creation.
- Lacks secure-delete feature.
Bottom Line
Seagate is a major player in the disk drive industry, but its Premium Recovery Suite consumer-level data recovery software has a very restrictive licensing model.
Given that Seagate has been making high-quality hard disks for years, you'd expect its Premium Recovery Suite to be a top contender among data recovery software. In fact, the app performs well, and it has an exceptionally clear and usable interface. However, in testing it couldn't recover as many files as our top software in this field, Ontrack EasyRecovery and Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery, and its license limits the number of times you can use the program—and that limitation may be enough to send you elsewhere.
I tested the Premium version of Seagate Recovery Suite, which costs $79.99 for a one-year license that allows it be installed on one system and used 24 times. You can use the software to scan a disk as often as you like, but each time you actually tell the program to recover one or more files, that counts as one of your 24 allowed uses. In other words, recovering 24 files one at a time would use up your license in one shot, whereas selecting the same 24 files and recovering them all at once would only take up one of your 24 recovery shots. There's also a Mac version that costs $99—more on this below.
Kroll Ontrack EasyRecovery also has an annual subscription model, which costs $79 per year. For roughly the same fee as Seagate charges, however, you get unlimited uses with Kroll during the subscription term. Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery, by contrast, costs a bit more up front, at $99 for the Professional version, but for the extra $20 you get a lifetime license.
SEE ALSO: The Best Spyware Protection Software for 2020
A Spacious, Clear Interface
Seagate Recovery Suite's interface is the most spacious and clear of all the Windows data recovery software I've reviewed. It opens with a menu of three choices: Test a Hard Disk, Recover Lost Files, or Erase Data Securely. In the Premium version I tested, the secure-delete option is grayed out, and a message tells you to upgrade to the $249.99 Technician version if you want it.
The minimal interface also has the fewest user-configurable options I've seen in any software in this category. There is a Settings icon in the lower left of the window—but it leads only to a choice of interface languages and a screen that tells you that the software is licensed, which you presumably already know. The menu that appears after the software has searched your disk for lost files is more helpful; it lets you filter by date, path, or file type, but there are far fewer choices here than in other apps.
Limited Recovery Options
Unlike its rivals, Premium Recovery Suite doesn't offer the option to create a disk image and recover files from the image. It only works directly with the disk, and you may not want to use it on a failing drive. For such cases, an option built into the program takes you to Seagate's website, where you can arrange to send in your disk to an in-lab recovery service—more on this below.
Performance
I tested Premium Recovery Suite on a traditional spinning hard drive from which I had deleted a half-dozen files and then emptied the Recycle Bin. I used the recommended quick option—essentially the same option that produced perfect results from Ontrack EasyRecovery and Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery—and Premium Recovery Suite found only five of the six deleted files. One of our deleted files had a .DAT extension, and the software couldn't find that file even when I searched its found-file list by the file's name and by its extension.
When I saved the recovered files, Premium Recovery Suite warned me that I was using one of my licensed uses of the software in case I wanted to go back and choose some more, or return to recovery later. Like other data recovery apps, Premium Recovery Suite offered the option to save its because the quick option—like the quick option in all the other apps I tried—found no lost files at all on the flash drive. Premium Recovery Suite scanned the drive quickly, but found only nine of the 12 files that had been written to the drive before it was reformatted. It didn't find a JPEG graphic that all the rival products found, and it didn't detect the two WordPerfect (WPG) documents. Nine out of 12 isn't bad, but it can't match Ontrack's perfect score or Stellar Phoenix's recovery of all but one file.
Seagate Data Recovery for Macs
This is all well and good for Windows users, but what about Macs? Seagate has Apple fans covered, too, with a version of Premium Recovery Suite just for macOS users. It got the same score as the Windows version, because it shares the same strengths (simple and reasonably powerful) and weaknesses (the 24-recovery limit). Our top choice, Alsoft DiskWarrior, offers disk repair and rebuilding in addition to plain data recovery, and it does so without any limits on the number of files recovered.
Seagate In-Lab Recovery Service
Seagate Driver For Mac
If you can't get your files back with Seagate Premium Recovery Service, the company also offers a mail-in recovery service, as Kroll Ontrack EasyRecovery and Prosoft Data Rescue do. You fill out an extensive form on the site, and then send in your drive with the shipping label Seagate provides. If your files are recoverable, you can either pay $599 to have the data uploaded to a secure site from which you can download it, or $699 to have it sent to you on an external drive. If your data isn't recoverable, you'll still have to pay a $49 evaluation fee. Note that these rates are for single disk drives of up to 4TB; contact the company for information about larger and more complicated drives. The company says recovery takes 2 to 21 days. Prosoft says its standard turnaround for a standard recovery job is 7 to 10 business days. Kroll says it takes an average of seven days on its standard plan, though you can pay more for faster recovery.
Needs More Recovery
Seagate offers data recovery contracts to corporations, and Premium Recovery Suite may be worth considering for large-scale business use. But if you're looking for data recovery software for personal or small-business purposes, then our Editors' Choice products—Ontrack EasyRecovery and Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery—are likely to prove more useful and effective than Seagate's good-looking but but restrictively licensed software.
Seagate Recovery Software Free
Once you've (hopefully) recovered your lost data, your next concern should probably be doing your best to ensure that you never lose another file again. While nothing is ever guaranteed, you can go a long way toward protecting yourself with backup software. For extra piece of mind, you may also consider backing up your data to the cloud, so that even a disaster that takes out all your local hardware won't destroy your data. For this, you'll want to use an online backup service.
Seagate Premium Recovery Suite
Seagate For Mac Software
Bottom Line: Seagate is a major player in the disk drive industry, but its Premium Recovery Suite consumer-level data recovery software has a very restrictive licensing model.