- It supports LTO tapes and multiple formats: EDB, PST, SQL/MySQL/Oracle, documents, photos, and video.
- Easy installation and moderate requirements; guided interface and preview before recovery.
- Key features: lost partitions, BitLocker, Boot from rescue, image and cloning.
- Standard, Professional and Premium licenses with one-time payment or subscription option.
When an LTO tape cartridge fails or a drive malfunctions, it's a major scare; luckily, tools like Stellar Data Recovery for Tape exist to recover data from these media. In this guide, I'll clearly explain how to use it effectively, and I'll also integrate my user experience with... Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windowswhich is the environment that many administrators use daily to recover data on desktop computers and portable.
You'll find requirements, step-by-step installation, key features, useful shortcuts, a hands-on test with real results, and more. licensing options and pricingEverything is written in a direct and approachable style, but without sacrificing technical rigor, so you can make informed decisions about whether these solutions fit the needs of your organization or your personal team.
What is Stellar Data Recovery for Tape and who is it for?
Stellar Data Recovery for Tape is designed to restore data stored on tape drives, especially cartridges. LTO used in backups and long-term archived. Its purpose is to securely recover very diverse sets of files that resided on those tapes when a conventional restoration job fails or when the catalog is no longer available.
The range of formats that can be salvaged is very broad: databases and corporate mailboxes such as Exchange EDB, Outlook PST and SQL/MySQL/Oracle databases, in addition to office and accounting documents (DOC, DOTX, XLS, XLT, XLB, PPT, PPS, POT, RTF), web files (HTML), image and video files (JPG/PNG, MPG, MP4, MOV), and even less common types like ACCDB or DBF. The idea is that, if it was on the tape, The software locates and rebuilds it as far as possible.
It's important to distinguish it from the Stellar Data Recovery Professional desktop product for Windows: the former is geared towards tapes and streams of backup, while the second is used to recover data from hard drives, SSD and other media connected to the PC. Both complement each other: Tape handles cartridge media, and Professional covers the recovery in equipment and units usual, in addition to providing very practical extra utilities.
Requirements and technical specifications
In the practical assessment, the following was used: Stellar Data Recovery Professional for WindowsThe tested software, version 11.0.0.1, was available with either a one-time purchase or an annual subscription, and the editions Professional, Premium, Technician, and Toolkit were offered. It supports a wide range of languages (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Hindi), and was released in [date missing]. April 2023.
The system requirements are affordable: processors Intel x86/x64, 4 GB of RAM minimum (8 GB recommended)250 MB of installation space and compatibility with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8 and 7 (Service Pack 1). It doesn't demand great displays of hardwareTherefore, it is well-suited to most support teams, field technicians, and stations. System Administration.
Download and installation
The download is done from the official Stellar website, where you will see the button. Free downloadIt's important to understand that this is paid software; the free edition lets you analyze drives and see what can be recovered, but to save the data you'll need... activate a licenseIt's an honest way to let you check the potential before you pay.
The installation wizard is very simple: you choose your language, click "Next," accept the agreement, specify the installation path, and continue. The entire process is guided and straightforward, so you can't go wrong. in a few minutes You'll have the environment ready even if you don't usually install recovery tools often.
You can customize the name of the Start menu folder and decide whether you want a desktop shortcut. With another "Next," the installer downloads additional components, and here's a curious detail: although the documentation mentions 250 MB of space, the installer can indicate around 500 MBThis is not relevant in practice, because any modern PC has that margin without problems.
Once the process is complete, you can open the application immediately. It's not a resource-intensive program, and that's noticeable when you launch it and navigate through its screens: loading times are very short and the response is fluid, something key when you're in the middle of an information rescue operation.
Featured Features
The desktop suite, Stellar Data Recovery Professional, covers the most common scenarios on workstations and thin servers. Its key features include: effective recovery on hard drives and SSDs, whether internal or external, with support for a multitude of devices: USB drives, SD cards, storage multimedia and more.
- Data recovery on HDD and SSD, connected by SATA, USB or NVMe.
- Wide device compatibilityUSB drives, SD cards, and other removable media.
- Advanced recovery on optical discsCD/DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray.
- File system support NTFS, exFAT and FAT.
Beyond the basics, it incorporates features designed for complex scenarios where speed and depth make all the difference. Below, I detail the capabilities that, in practice, They resolve more incidents In day to day.
Restoring lost partitions
When a partition disappears, becomes corrupted, or is formatted in error, the tool analyzes the drive to identify the affected volumes and allows recover your files and folders (as in our Tutorial for rebuilding a damaged NTFS partitionIt is possible to select everything at once and launch bulk reconstruction, which saves time in incidents with multiple critical directories.
Full support for BitLocker
If you work with encrypted disks in Windows, there's good news: the program recognizes BitLocker-protected volumes and also encrypted disk imagesWith the recovery key, you can perform in-depth analysis and recover lost data without breaking the encryption, thus respecting the security politics of your company.
Recovery in teams that won't start
In case of boot failure or severe system crashes, the application allows you to create a rescue disk to copy data even if the operating system won't start. It's useful in dealing with errors. BSoDboot sector corruption, disk failures, corrupted system files, file system damage, or infections of malwareWhen all seems lost, this option saves your skin.
Disk imaging and cloning
Another important advantage is the creation of disk images and the sector-by-sector cloningThe first creates a snapshot for investigation without damaging the original drive; the second exactly replicates one disk to another. These are two essential techniques for preserving evidence, accelerating processes, and reducing downtime. risk of additional loss during an intervention.
Preview and organization of results
After scanning, the data is organized into a clear view: Folder tree, File type, and Deleted items list. In addition, it incorporates preview to check quality before recovery. This pre-check prevents failed rescues and helps you prioritize what really matters in each case.
Interface and user experience
Despite the comprehensive nature of the system, the interface remains clean and straightforward. It's clear the goal is for anyone, even those with little experience, to be able to start the recovery process without getting lost in menus. Everything is where you'd expect it to be, and every step is guided to minimize errors.
The initial screen is called "Select what to recover," and it's a clever touch: instead of forcing you to navigate through technical options, you start by choosing what types of content you need. It's open, select, and search; the learning curve is... practically nil.
At the top are menus for additional utilities such as disk cloning or the drive monitor. Even with these advanced features, navigation follows a wizard-like flow, so complex processes become much more affordable for the average user.
Step-by-step recovery process
The typical workflow begins with category selection; in simple cases, you can supplement this with tools such as tools like RecuvaThe software allows you to focus your search to reduce noise and shorten search times. Here are the available options and their practical uses, one by one, along with their most frequent applications. real environment:
- All the files: a general sweep that attempts to reconstruct any locatable element.
- Office DocumentsFocus your shot on Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files.
- Folders: Instead of individual files, prioritize entire directories.
- Emails: designed for locally stored mailboxes (e.g., Outlook PST).
- PhotosIt covers common formats such as JPG and PNG, among others.
- Sound: focuses on audio type MP3WMA and similar formats.
- Institutional: recovers MPEG, MOV clips and several other formats.
After making your selection, click "Next" and proceed to "Recover from," which lists all locations accessible from Windows Explorer. Here you can choose partitions or specific folders to fine-tune the scope of the analysis as much as possible.
There's an important distinction: if you select a specific folder, the "Deep Scan" option won't appear. However, if you choose an entire drive, that option will be enabled, which is useful when you suspect complex deletions or metadata corruption.
During the analysis, you'll see a progress bar and a preview window at the top, which you can disable if you prefer to get straight to the point. This view is useful for verifying on the fly that you're finding exactly what you're looking for. you need to recover.
At the end, a report appears summarizing the findings and the amount of potentially recoverable data. This summary helps you decide whether to expand the process with a deeper scan, further filter the search or proceed to the final restoration.
Real test and results
To test it, a scan was performed on the complete unit with deep scanning disabled. The idea was to measure what the quick mode was capable of before getting into something more thorough.
The results were striking: the program located files corresponding to an old installation of ChromeOS in a partition that had been previously deleted, which shows that the data trail can be reconstructed even after partitioning changes.
Files from a past installation also appeared. Windows that had been deleted using the disk cleaner. This is one of the scenarios where it's most worthwhile to try, because it's typical to think that there's nothing usable left, and in reality, there is. margin of recovery.
In addition, data related to uninstalled applications and a significant number of personal files (images, videos, and documents) that we thought were lost were recovered. All of this was found in a quick scan, suggesting that a more in-depth analysis could reveal even more. more complete.
Prices and editions
Stellar Data Recovery Professional It can be downloaded from the official store and used in free mode to analyze and preview findings. When saving, the program will request the activation key. You can choose to subscription or a single payment, with automatic renewal in the first case so that it does not expire in the middle of an intervention.
| Edition | Annual price | Single payment | What includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 84,22€ | Not available |
|
| Professional | 119€ | 239€ |
|
| Premium | 249€ | 379€ |
|
If you work with macOS, there is also a version for data recovery in MacIt has a similar approach, with search profiles by file type and deep analysis options; choose the edition that best suits your system and the needs of your environment.
Regarding its usefulness, the verdict is favorable: it's an effective tool that will get you out of more than one tight spot and, incidentally, facilitates certain equipment maintenance tasks (such as the disk monitoring or sector-by-sector copies). The interface is clear, the tree view makes navigating directories quick and easy, and while it doesn't perform miracles, it delivers on its promises. That said, it's professional software, and the price reflects that; my advice is to use the free version to see what it can do. recover in your case and decide from there. If you'd like to share your experience or questions, you can leave your comments and contribute to community.
To complete the picture, remember: if your problem is specifically with LTO tapes, the way to go is Stellar Data Recovery for Tape, which supports everything from EDB/PST mailboxes to databases and multimedia files on cartridges; and if what you need is data recovery from disks, partitions, encrypted drives, or computers that won't boot, then the Professional edition for Windows comes into play with its wizards, preview, and cloning toolsTogether they cover most real-world data loss scenarios with a balanced combination of technical depth and ease of use.
Passionate writer about the world of bytes and technology in general. I love sharing my knowledge through writing, and that's what I'll do on this blog, show you all the most interesting things about gadgets, software, hardware, tech trends, and more. My goal is to help you navigate the digital world in a simple and entertaining way.