Disks
Linux Filesystem Overview A basic introduction to how the Linux filesystem works, including devices, partitions, filesystems, and mounting.
How to identify drives in Linux A guide to identifying disks and partitions in Linux using tools like lsblk and fdisk, crucial for safe data recovery.
Windows Disk Management The basics to disk and partition management in Windows
Windows Diskpart The basics to disk and partition management with diskpart
Linux Gparted A Linux/gnu front-end to the parted tool. It is the recommended method for manipulating disks when using a Linux live session.
Clonezilla Clonezilla is a free, open-source tool for disk imaging and cloning, ideal for backing up data from a failing drive before it fails completely. It can create an image of the entire drive or clone it to another drive, and it intelligently handles bad sectors to maximize data recovery.
Data Recovery A guide to recovering data from failing or damaged disks using various software tools and methods.
Using an adapter to read a disk A guide to using a USB adapter to read a disk from another computer for data recovery purposes.
GNU ddrescue GNU ddrescue is a command-line tool that copies data from a bad drive to an image or another drive while intelligently skipping and retrying bad sectors, making it much safer and more efficient than using plain dd on failing disks.
Photorec A step-by-step guide to using Photorec, a powerful data recovery tool, to recover files from a disk that has been accidentally overwritten or formatted.
BTRFS-Progs Utility btrfs-progs delivers management tools for the Btrfs filesystem, featuring mkfs.btrfs for creation, btrfs subvolume operations, scrub for integrity checks, and snapshot support.
ExfatProgs Utility exfatprogs supplies utilities for the exFAT filesystem used in cross-platform USB/SD cards, including mkfs.exfat for creation, fsck.exfat for repair, and tune.exfat for labeling.
HFSProgs Utility hfsprogs offers tools for Apple's HFS and HFS+ filesystems, such as mkfs.hfsplus for formatting and fsck.hfsplus for checking, aiding Mac-Linux file exchange.
NTFS-3G Utility ntfs-3g enables read/write access to Windows NTFS filesystems on Linux via FUSE, supporting mounting, permissions, and compression.
Ext2 File System Programs e2fsprogs provides essential utilities for managing ext2, ext3, and ext4 filesystems (which are used by many Linux distros), including tools like e2fsck for checking, resize2fs for resizing, badblocks for scanning bad sectors, and debugfs for debugging.
Recovering files with a Linux USB A guide to using a Linux live USB to access and recover files from a disk, including mounting the disk and copying files to another location.
Safecopy Safecopy is a command-line data recovery tool that copies from failing or damaged storage devices by skipping problematic areas and using incremental passes to minimize further damage, making it suitable for live Linux sessions where you need to image a dying drive safely.
Testdisk A step-by-step guide to using Testdisk, a powerful data recovery tool, to recover partitions from a disk that has been accidentally deleted or damaged.