S2 Services.com has changed the focus and format of its Website now to list purely free data recovery resources. The site likely has the most extensive list of corrupt file, deleted file, failing disk and lost password recovery freeware on the Web. The site also has explanations, procedures and tips for easing the data recovery process.
Paul Pruitt has changed the focus of his popular Website www.s2services.com to list purely data recovery freeware. He now probably has the most complete list of corrupt file, deleted file, failing disk and lost password recovery completely free software on the Web. He has about 125 pieces of software listed of which a high percentage are as effective as commercial software or shareware.
The need for data recovery can be one of the most frustrating experiences of owning a computer. Bad experiences like errors opening files, accidental document deletion, imminent or full blown disk failure, and lost passwords are compounded by the price of recovery services, and do it yourself software. Luckily there have been a number of generous souls and companies that have written software which they now make available for self help for completely free. Although there may be some individuals and a very rare company who will offer free services in this field, they are usually found only found to advertise in out of the way places like user groups. Listings of this kind are a future area of expansion for this Website.
This Website also includes some tricks and procedures to attempt recover data, and explanations into how data is lost and why it can often be recovered.
Freeware is non-time and non-feature limited software that can at least be used for personal, and sometimes commercial use. Freeware is usually used to refer to Windows free software, and is not trial, shareware or demo software whose features are limited from the beginning or after a short time period such as 30 days. Freeware is different from open source software in that the source code is usually not available for freeware; it usually has a more restrictive license, but is also meant for a less technical user.
Open Source software is now frequently made available in Windows versions, instead of just Linux or other operating systems and becoming increasingly user friendly, approaching the level freeware reaches more often. The S2 Services site includes some open source software and attempts to be a central place to find data recovery resources not found elsewhere.
