Recover Data - Testdisk and DDRescue | Tek Syndicate

Level1Techs
1 

				</p>





We've got an introduction to data recovery with DDRescue and TestDisk. TestDisk is probably where you'll want to start. It will help you recover from non-mechanical problems where some piece of software has trashed your disk, partition tables, MBR or that type of problem. It may even be able to help you "unformat" a wiped hard drive, or wiped USB stick.


DDRescue is a variant of the DD program that's setup specifically for data recovery situations. Unlike DD, DDRescue can produce a physical map of unrecoverable, can retry reads and can automatically resume an interrupted DD.


DD stands for something like disk direct, and is a program that simply moves blocks of data from one device to another. It's also possible to move blocks of data from devices to files and vice-versa.


If you are not used to thinking of devices as files, it can be a little bit of a mind warp to think in these terms. However, it is a simple yet powerful tool that allows for complex recovery scenarios.


Dive in with us as we take a look in the video.




This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://teksyndicate.com/videos/recover-data-testdisk-and-ddrescue
1 Like
2

nice video! I've had a useless drive for months because I was scared of recovering it. I accidentally installed ubuntu on the wrong drive, oops
It'd be dope to see a video on encryption

3

I have a Windows rig with a 2TB hard drive for media and a 1 TB hard drive that has the OS and programs. For about a year, it's been experiencing system hangs of maybe half a second a time or two a day when I'm using it, and occasionally hangs that range from 5-15 seconds, probably every few weeks. Is it possible to hook these drives up to a Linux system to start checking their integrity without eliminating them? I'm confident I can backup the data from these drives without trouble if I snag a large enough external drive. This might also be a good opportunity for me to start exploring Linux, which I feel I ought to do. Also, what other hardware issues commonly cause system hangs, if any?

On a side note, I really like watching these instructional videos before I go to bed so I have some ideas to mull over as i doze off, but it just occurred to me that it's sort of like I'm having my bedtime story read to me by some folks I found on the internet.