FileFerret

FileFerret is a free file search and recovery tool for 64-bit Windows. Results appear as you type, even across millions of files. It supports multiple words, exclusions, wildcards, extension filters and full-path matching.

It also finds files you've deleted, including ones removed from the Recycle Bin or deleted with Shift+Delete. Deleted files show up in the same list as your current files, and FileFerret tells you whether each one can still be recovered. Recovered files have to be saved to a different drive. If you'd rather make a file truly unrecoverable, there's a shredding option as well.

A "Recent changes" window shows files being created, changed or deleted on any drive as it happens, and a "History" view shows when a file was created, changed, renamed or deleted. USB drives and SD cards are picked up automatically when you plug them in.

Recovery isn't always possible: files that have been overwritten can't be restored, and many files deleted from SSDs are erased by TRIM.

FileFerret is free for personal, business, government and school use, with no ads and no locked features. Your file list stays on your PC and is never sent anywhere. It comes as a 3.7 MB installer or a 4.0 MB portable .exe, and both are code-signed.