The best way to recover from unexpected data loss is to be properly
prepared. With one of the following tools on hand, you'll always be
ready to save your data from the Reaper.
TestDisk (Windows/Mac/Linux)
TestDisk
is a powerful open-source tool for recovering your data. Not only can
TestDisk perform basic file recovery like undeleting accidentally
deleted files from FAT, NTFS, and ext2 file systems, but it comes with a
host of additional functionality. With TestDisk you can recover your
boot sector from a backup, rebuild your boot sector, fix FAT tables, fix
your MFT, locate the ext2/ext3 backup SuperBlock, copy deleted files
from partitions to recovery media, and find lost partitions in dozens of
formats to help you locate your lost data. It's a command line tool, so
there's no GUI, but the menus and the documentation in the wiki should
get you started without much trouble.
Recuva
is a user-friendly Windows-based tool. When you run Recuva, you can
resurrect missing files using either the file-recovery wizard or the
application's manual mode. The file-recovery wizard is handy when you're
sure your data is gone but you're not quite sure where it went or how
to get it back. The wizard lets you narrow your search type to pictures,
music, documents, video, or all files, and you can set the search
location to everywhere on your computer, removable media only, in My
Documents, the Recycle Bin, or a specified location. If you don't need
the wizard you can jump right into manual mode and get to work searching
where you know the file should be. Recuva uses a green/yellow/red light
system to indicate how probable the recovery of your files will be, and
when available, it can provide previews image files available for
recovery. Recuva also includes a tool to securely wipe files you find,
handy if you're attempting a file recovery just to ensure the files are
actually dead and gone.
PhotoRec (Windows/Mac/Linux)
PhotoRec
is a companion program to TestDisk, also included in this Hive Five.
Like TestDisk, this app is also devoid of a GUI, but likewise is quite
powerful at file recovery. We're including PhotoRec independently of
TestDisk because many users distinctly prefer PhotoRec as a safer
alternative when deep disk recovery isn't necessary. This recovery tool
won't mess with your partitions or help you rebuild your master boot
record; it will, however, dive into your disks in a safe, read-only mode
and ignore partitions and file systems in an effort to seek out your
missing files. PhotoRec focuses on file types, is operating-system
agnostic, and despite its name, isn't relegated to just photos. Overall,
PhotoRec is a powerful tool for quickly and safely copying your deleted
files to another disk.
TestDisk (Windows/Mac/Linux)
TestDisk
is a powerful open-source tool for recovering your data. Not only can
TestDisk perform basic file recovery like undeleting accidentally
deleted files from FAT, NTFS, and ext2 file systems, but it comes with a
host of additional functionality. With TestDisk you can recover your
boot sector from a backup, rebuild your boot sector, fix FAT tables, fix
your MFT, locate the ext2/ext3 backup SuperBlock, copy deleted files
from partitions to recovery media, and find lost partitions in dozens of
formats to help you locate your lost data. It's a command line tool, so
there's no GUI, but the menus and the documentation in the wiki should
get you started without much trouble.
Recuva
is a user-friendly Windows-based tool. When you run Recuva, you can
resurrect missing files using either the file-recovery wizard or the
application's manual mode. The file-recovery wizard is handy when you're
sure your data is gone but you're not quite sure where it went or how
to get it back. The wizard lets you narrow your search type to pictures,
music, documents, video, or all files, and you can set the search
location to everywhere on your computer, removable media only, in My
Documents, the Recycle Bin, or a specified location. If you don't need
the wizard you can jump right into manual mode and get to work searching
where you know the file should be. Recuva uses a green/yellow/red light
system to indicate how probable the recovery of your files will be, and
when available, it can provide previews image files available for
recovery. Recuva also includes a tool to securely wipe files you find,
handy if you're attempting a file recovery just to ensure the files are
actually dead and gone.
PhotoRec (Windows/Mac/Linux)
PhotoRec
is a companion program to TestDisk, also included in this Hive Five.
Like TestDisk, this app is also devoid of a GUI, but likewise is quite
powerful at file recovery. We're including PhotoRec independently of
TestDisk because many users distinctly prefer PhotoRec as a safer
alternative when deep disk recovery isn't necessary. This recovery tool
won't mess with your partitions or help you rebuild your master boot
record; it will, however, dive into your disks in a safe, read-only mode
and ignore partitions and file systems in an effort to seek out your
missing files. PhotoRec focuses on file types, is operating-system
agnostic, and despite its name, isn't relegated to just photos. Overall,
PhotoRec is a powerful tool for quickly and safely copying your deleted
files to another disk.
Restoration
is a tiny, no-frills, portable recovery tool. You can use it in all
versions of Windows and Windows file systems. It lacks some of the
advanced functionality of other nominees but does have basic file-name
search and the ability to sort by file parameters such as size and
filename. Despite its tiny size, it performed just as well as the other
nominees when tasked with restoring files from our test disks.
Restoration weighs in at a mere 406k and would make a great addition to
any Windows-based USB toolkit.
Undelete
Plus used to be commercial software but has gone on a lengthy "limited
time offer" freeware run. This file recovery app works on all versions
of Windows and incarnations of the FAT and NTFS file systems. Like
Recuva, Undelete Plus assigns a recovery probability to files it finds
based on how damaged the file is. You can sort files by type, set
filters based on time and size to avoid sifting through every deleted
file on your disk, and keep folder structures intact when you perform
your recovery.
9. Winamp
