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mes salutations
merci
mes salutationsWhy do I need to set an exception in the firewall to be able to register “StrongRecovery”?
Br / Gert[@Gert] Was that an outbound exception or an inbound exception? If outbound it would mean that the license validation requires internet server validation to get the data required to fully activate the extended trial… If it was an inbound exception then that is an anomaly that needs to be investigated and probably fixed. I don’t personally know which it is as I don’t need the product and am not curious enough to install it just to see how weak it is. I am convinced from the description it is too simplified for my potential needs.
This is kind of scary. I installed on a 3rd drive, and wanted to check for lost files on 2X other drives (mainly 1 drive where I lost an important excel file, MS locked it as MS often does things like that). But the warning popups about overwriting existing files stopped me from wanting to go any further. I will have to do some serious reading before using this software. I don’t want to lose anything, and I certainly do not want this program to lose more files.
[@Gert] Hi Gert, StrongRecovery activates its license by connecting once to our server over a secure (HTTPS) connection on first launch — that’s the only reason it needs network access. Some firewalls block that outbound connection by default, which is why an exception can be needed. After the one-time activation, the program works fully offline and doesn’t need any network access at all. It’s a standard license activation, nothing more.
[@RB] @TK You’re correct — it’s an outbound exception. The license validation connects to our server to retrieve the activation data, exactly as you described. There’s no inbound component and nothing listens for incoming connections. Once activated, no further network access is needed.
[@StrongRecovery] Hi RB, I completely understand the concern — but those warnings are actually the software protecting you, not a sign of danger. StrongRecovery scans in strict read-only mode and never writes to the drive you’re recovering from. The popups you saw are there to stop you from accidentally saving recovered files back onto the same drive, which is the one thing that could overwrite lost data. As long as you install on a separate drive (which you did) and save recovered files to a different drive, your data is completely safe — the scan itself cannot harm anything. You’re doing it exactly right by reading first.
I have a physical drive partitioned to C and D, and I would want to recover from D. Are the two partitions considered to be the “same drive”?
[@Don] Good question — let me lay it out from the ground up, because once you see the structure, the answer becomes clear.
1. The physical drive. This is the actual hardware — the whole physical disk inside your computer, whatever its size. It’s a single physical device.
2. Partitions. That physical drive can be divided into partitions — in your case C: and D:. Think of them as separate, walled-off sections of the same disk. Each behaves as its own independent volume: its own file system, its own free space, its own file table. The operating system treats C: and D: as two different places, even though they physically live on one piece of hardware.
3. Why this matters for recovery. The key point: a data recovery program follows the same logic the operating system does. When Windows writes a file, it writes it within one partition — it doesn’t spill over into the other. Recovery works the same way. So writing something to C: does not touch, and cannot overwrite, the deleted data on D:. They’re separate sections; activity in one doesn’t reach into the other.
So, practically, for what you’re doing:
Recover from D: — that’s where your lost files are.
Install the software on C: or (better) an external/USB drive — anywhere except D:.
Save the recovered files to C: or an external drive — again, anywhere except D:.As long as nothing is written to D: during the process, your lost data there stays completely safe. The fact that C: and D: sit on the same physical disk doesn’t change that — because the boundary that protects your data is the partition, exactly like in the operating system itself.
The one exception, where the whole physical drive comes into play, is disk reorganization (repartitioning). Just as an illustration: imagine a disk that was originally a single C: partition taking up the entire physical drive, and it’s later split into C: and D:. That kind of change physically rewrites the disk’s layout, so old data from the original single-partition area can end up physically sitting under both C: and D:. This is only an example to show when the physical drive matters — it may have nothing to do with your setup. If your data loss did involve repartitioning like that, then the whole physical drive is in play and you’d want to be more careful. But for ordinary deletion, or a locked/corrupted D: partition, the partition rule above is all you need.
Hope that makes it clear — happy to go deeper if useful.
— Maciej, developer of StrongRecovery
[@StrongRecovery]
Do you have a Windows XP 32-bit compatible version?[@Bob] Hi Bob,
Honest answer: the giveaway version (the full FREEBIE build) doesn’t run on Windows XP. The newer builds depend on libraries that aren’t available on XP, so that particular version can’t run there.
What I can offer for XP: I have an older build (the free/trial version, 5.1.2.0) that does run on XP 32-bit. Note it’s the limited free edition, not the full giveaway version — but if you just need something that runs on an XP machine, it works:
https://www.strongrecovery.com/5.1.2.0/StrongRecovery.exe
I’m also looking into an update that would let a newer version launch on XP. I can’t promise a timeline yet, and one limitation up front: on XP that newer version wouldn’t include the file/video preview feature, because the libraries it relies on aren’t available on XP. Everything else would work.
If you’re on a more recent Windows (7 or later), the full giveaway version runs without any of these limitations.
Hope that helps — let me know if you have questions.
— Maciej, developer of StrongRecovery
[@StrongRecovery] Hi Bob,
Good news — I’ve released an update, and version 5.2.6.0 now runs on Windows XP.
One honest caveat about the giveaway specifically: the automatic FREEBIE activation used for this promotion can’t work on XP, because it relies on system components XP doesn’t support. So the full giveaway (FREEBIE) build can’t self-activate on an XP machine.
What does work on XP:
The regular version runs fine — both as the free edition (with the usual limits) and as a licensed version if you have a regular license. License support for regular (non-giveaway) licenses is available on this build.
So if you’re on XP: you can use StrongRecovery 5.2.6.0 today in the free edition, and it’s fully licensable with a standard license — just not through the giveaway’s automatic activation.
You can grab it from the download page: https://www.strongrecovery.com/download.php
One more note for XP specifically: the file/video preview feature isn’t available there, due to library limitations on XP. Everything else works.
Hope that helps — glad I could get XP support in.
— Maciej, developer of StrongRecovery
Update: StrongRecovery 5.2.6.1 is available
Hi everyone,
I’ve released a small update, version 5.2.6.1, with the following improvements:
Improved the DEEP SCAN engine (signature-based file recovery) for XLSX and MKV files
Fixed disk image loading, you can now load images that are currently open in other programsImportant, how to get your license renewed with the update:
For the license to renew automatically, the previously generated license file must not be present. So before or during installing the new version, please do one of the following:
delete the old license file first, or
install the new version into a different folder (one that doesn’t already contain the auto-generated license file)Once that’s done, the new version will generate a fresh license automatically, in line with how StrongRecovery FREEBIE licensing works. Nothing else is needed.
Updated FREEBIE version: https://www.strongrecovery.com/xdownload.php?xfile=StrongRecoveryFreebie.exe
Giveaway page: https://www.strongrecovery.com/strongrecovery-freebie.phpOne more note: during the giveaway period there may be further updates. I’ll post about them here in this thread, so it’s worth checking back.
Thanks to everyone trying StrongRecovery, and feel free to reach out if you run into anything.
— Maciej, developer of StrongRecovery
