Recover data from most any storage device

Smart Projects has updated its shareware data recovery tool, ISOBuster, to version 3.0. Previously limited to examining and recovering data from optical discs such as DVD, CD and Blu-ray, ISOBuster 3.0 now extends support to a wide array of disk formats, including hard disks, memory cards, USB thumb drives and even Zip, Jaz and floppy disks, adding support for the NTFS filing system at the same time.

Past versions of ISOBuster were renowned for being able to recover data from corrupt and even physically damaged optical discs, and the functionality will be similar for newly supported drive and file system formats too.

ISOBuster 3.0 allows users to view optical discs as sessions and tracks. On the newly supported drive formats, sessions are replaced by partitions, allowing users to view Windows, DOS, Macintosh and HFS partitions immediately along with all supported file systems (NTFS, UDF, FAT/FAT32 and HFS/HFS+).

Users then navigate the drives in the same way they would optical discs in ISOBuster, allowing them to perform data recovery in exactly the same way, with the ability to view forensic information as an overview or sector-by-sector if required. Portions of the media being examined can be extracted for further investigation or as part of the data recovery process, regardless of file system and what Windows itself sees.

You can also access data from older disc burning sessions as well as hidden partitions using an Explorer-like interface.  The tool can also be used to open and extract data from a variety of virtual disk formats, including ISO, BIN, DMG, UDF and VDMK formats, without having to open the file in its parent application.

Most of this new functionality is restricted to paid-for versions of the software only -- the old single Pro license has been replaced by a two-tiered Personal ($39.95) and Professional & Business ($59.95) license, reflecting the expansion in features in the new version. Smart Projects provides a comparison table highlighting the differences in functionality between Free, Personal and Professional & Business editions.

ISOBuster 3.0 is a free feature-limited download for PCs running  Windows 2000 up to, and, including, Windows 8. Registered users of ISOBuster 2.x get a 30 per cent discount for an unspecified “limited period of time” – a dedicated upgrade page provides full instructions.

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