TestDisk



Project Summary

Download TestDisk for Windows now from Softonic: 100% safe and virus free. More than 1121 downloads this month. Download TestDisk latest version 2021. Jul 27, 2017 TestDisk is concerned with recovering partitions that have been lost from a disk, while PhotoRec allows for the recovery of photos and other files that have been lost due to deletion, formatting. TestDisk checks the partition and boot sectors of your disks. It is very useful in recovering lost partitions. It works with: DOS/Windows FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32; NTFS ( Windows NT/2K/XP ).

TestDisk is a powerful free data recovery program! It was primarily designed to recover lost partitions, repair FAT/NTFS boot sector, NTFS MFT and Ext2/Ext3 superblock and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting your Partition Table).
PhotoRec is a File Recovery program designed to recover lost files; including video, documents and archives from Hard Disks, CDRom and lost pictures from digital camera memory (thus, its Photo Recovery name). PhotoRec ignores the filesystem and goes after the underlying data, so it can still find files even if your media's filesystem has been severely damaged or re-formatted (overwritten data, of course, can not be recovered).

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Need to recover lost partition data and the files that went with it? TestDisk may be the answer.

In How to prevent and recover from accidental file deletion in Linux, we addressed local and remote backups, how to reduce your file recovery drama with smart management of file deletion commands, and general best practices for responding to file recovery emergencies. Unfortunately, accidents happen, and hardware fails. One tool to turn to when it’s time to recover lost files or filesystems is TestDisk.

Testdisk

Note: If you don’t have a mandatory backup plan, implement one now. The first time you don’t have to resort to TestDisk because you have a backup image, the planning and preparation pay for themselves in both time and peace of mind.

TestDisk attempts to recover lost partition data and any lost files within the bounds of the recovered partition. This tool may be able to recover your data on its own, or you might use it in conjunction with Scalpel—a file extraction tool—by first using TestDisk to obtain a disk image, and then scanning the image for file types with Scalpel. You can find more on using Scalpel in an upcoming article.

TestDisk is less focused and more flexible than Scalpel, so how you use this tool depends on the situation. TestDisk is an interactive application, so begin by pointing it to the victim device or image. Drivers fargo. For example:

TestDisk attempts to detect the correct partition map, but if you know better, you can override its guess with a specific location. Once you choose a partition scheme, TestDisk offers its main menu. Here you can analyze files, recover them, or modify the disk’s geometry and options. The typical workflow is to analyze and then recover.

Testdisk 7.1

Running TestDisk on an example lab thumb drive returns this analysis:

Testdisk Mac

In this case, the lost partition was named wreck, and TestDisk successfully discovered its boundaries. If the only lost data you are recovering from is the loss of a partition map, then at this point, you can use this data to recreate that map using GNU Parted.

Testdisk & photorec

Successful analysis unlocks several new options in the Advanced menu. Armed with the partition’s boundaries, you can dump this partition's data to an image file:

You can then use Scalpel on the image to recover individual files.

Alternatively, you may know the partition and filesystem type (Type), in which case you can dictate how TestDisk treats the data. Doing this can help TestDisk locate a backup Superblock, enabling you to use mkfs to recover the data like so:

Or, you can use TestDisk to detect files with the List menu option:

Testdisk pc

Testdisk Tutorial

Using TestDisk is definitely a journey. As long as you previously made a backup of the drive you are attempting to rescue, this tool is generally safe to experiment with when trouble happens. If you’re only experimenting, though, it’s safest to do so on a separate, test machine.

Testdisk Linux

Drivers garmin port devices. And please do experiment. The experience you’ll gain from practicing is invaluable.

Testdisk

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