TestDisk and PhotoRec

TestDisk and PhotoRec are one of the best, free and open-source data recovery apps. They both come packaged together in one archive. This single page will cover both of them to avoid any confusion.

I keep returning to TestDisk each time I am dealing with a partition issue or a corrupted boot sector.

TestDisk Review

You might think that calling a technician is your only option when something goes wrong with your drives or files. But some of the disk problems can be fixed by you if you are using the right tools, and TestDisk is one that can save you some money and keep the stress away.

What TestDisk Does

TestDisk will bring your modern machine back to DOS-era simplicity, TestDisk will take care of recovering your lost partitions and fixing boot sectors. You need to recover a deleted partition? Fix a corrupted boot record? Make a non-booting disk bootable again? This small utility can fix them.

Who is Behind TestDisk?

Mr. Christophe Grenier is the person behind TestDisk - he started the project back in the late 1990s and nowadays, TestDisk (along with PhotoRec) is one of the most popular data recovery tools available.

TestDisk Features

Feature	Description
Partition Recovery	It can help you find most popular lost partitions such as: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, BeFS, CramFS, HFS, HFS+, JFS, Linux Raid, Linux Swap, LVM, LVM2, NSS, ReiserFS, UFS, UFS2, XFS
Boot Sector Repair	It can help you fix FAT32 and NTFS boot sectors
Partition Table Rebuild	It can even reconstruct FAT32, NTFS boot sectors and MBR
File Undelete	Restore deleted files on FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2 file systems
MBR/EFI GPT Support	It will work with GUID Partition Table, Apple partition map, PC/Intel BIOS partition tables, Sun Solaris slice, Xbox fixed partitioning
Portable	There is no install process - just launch it from the archive
Cross-Platform	It runs on all popular operating system such as (even on DOS), Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, SunOS, Mac OS
Logging	You get all the logs, errors and events recorded

What Makes TestDisk Different

The Command Line Interface

You will need to get comfortable with "command line utilities", it sounds scarier than it is - but not that complicated. Instead of clicking icons and navigating fancy windows, you work with a black screen and text. You have to type the right command and the computer will execute - it is simple as that.

TestDisk makes learning command-line pretty straightforward. The app has fairly intuitive cursor controls built in. Once you get used to text-based control, you will be able to use TestDisk and recover partitions.

Getting TestDisk Running

There is no install process for TestDisk. Just extract the archive and open the executable file.

Accuracy

TestDisk can recover deleted partitions with high accuracy. The app will use a reliable algorithm to scan for partition signatures and check the disk file system metadata to locate the lost partitions. I ran a few quick tests and TestDisk found partitions that other tools missed.

The Interface

I don't know where to start but I will try to split the description of the interface.

The short version (if you used it before)

You don't need to install it. You download the executable, plug in your drive, run TestDisk and follow the prompts. That's it. The whole process typically takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours depending on disk size.

The medium version (if you're using it for the first time)

As soon as you open TestDisk it will show a simple window where you pick your disk and select what you want to do.

If you need to recover a lost partition, it will scan and show you what it finds. If you need to repair a boot sector, TestDisk walks you through it step by step.

There is also a log feature that records everything TestDisk does.

The longer version

As I said, TestDisk has a text-based interface - you get access to everything - all options are there. Disk selection is at the top, then you got partition table type selection, then analysis options. The advanced settings lets you write changes to disk or just analyse without making any changes.

The log feature is quite useful when things don't go as you expect. TestDisk automatically creates a log file and you will get detailed information about what happened.

Most apps are not so user friendly when it comes to logs or identifying errors. You get the error and then you find yourself searching for that specific error.

Error messages in TestDisk are quite helpful. Instead of some random errors, you get a clear explanation of what went wrong.

As I said above, I think TestDisk is great for three purposes:

• recover lost partitions • fix boot sectors • make non-booting disks bootable

TestDisk Alternatives

Name	Platform	Partition Recovery	Free	Notes
DiskInternals Partition Recovery	Windows	Yes	No	It is beginner friendly and comes with a nice graphical user interface, but you have to pay.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery	Windows	Yes	Freemium	You get a modern interface, it works across various platforms and has a free version with limits - 1GB - as a free trial
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard	Windows, Mac	Yes	Freemium	You get a file preview before the recovery - but limited only to 2GB free, then you have to pay
R-Studio	Windows, Mac, Linux	Yes	No	If you are a professional and you need RAID support - arrays and complex scenarios but again you need to pay.
Parted Magic	Linux Live CD	Yes	Paid	You get a bootable environment with multiple tools

Final Thoughts

TestDisk does what it's supposed to - recover partitions and fix boot problems that would otherwise require expensive data recovery services. If you need a tool only for partition recovery, TestDisk has all the features you need and it is 100% free and clean. When I say "clean" I am thinking at its creator as someone as legit as you can think of. It is developed by Christophe GRENIER which has a remarkable background when it comes to security and it is also one of the most trustworthy developers you can find - just check his CV.

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PhotoRec Review

PhotoRec is also a free, open-source file recovery tool but with a different purpose. You can use it to recover deleted data from reformatted partitions or recover lost files - pics, videos, archives and documents - from internal and also external HDDs, memory cards, USB sticks. Just like TestDisk it is cross-platform and runs on all major operating systems such as all Windows OS, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Sun Solaris and Mac OS.

Critical: Save recovered data to a different partition - NEVER to the same partition with the lost data. Ignoring this risks overwriting your lost files. Example: if you're recovering data from partition C:, you need to save the recovered files to another partition such as D: or any another storage device and most people would use an external USB or HDD/SSD.

Note: This app comes bundled with TestDisk. Extract the "TestDisk" archive and look for "PhotoRec" if you only need this app.

If you need a way to recover lost data, PhotoRec is great. This recovery tool retrieves data files, photos and video from hard disks, CDs and digital camera memory. Yes, PhotoRec's function is a seemingly narrow niche, yet a lot of people will need it at least once since pretty much everyone has accidentally deleted a digital picture or file.

How PhotoRec Works

PhotoRec is designed to bypass the traditional file system and reach the underlying data for file recovery. Unlike many alternatives, this data recovery tool relies solely on signature scanning. This means the software can still work even if the media file system is damaged or has been reformatted.

PhotoRec identifies the right data block by reading known file signatures. It is able to scan one media sector at a time, checking each block against a "signature database." When a file is recovered, PhotoRec looks at the previous data blocks to confirm that the file signature was found. It also attempts to recover fragmented files when it can.

PhotoRec Features

Category	Function	What It Does
File Recovery	480+ file extensions	You can recover ZIP (archives), Office (all formats), PDF, HTML, JPEG, RAW photos, videos and archives - there are over 300 file families supported
Scanning Method	Signature-based	PhotoRec can bypass the file system completely - it works even if the drive is damaged or reformatted
Safety	Read-only access	As a safety measure this tool will never write to your source drive during recovery - it only reads
Compatibility	Multiple formats	It is compatile with many formats, you can work with BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF files and PhotoRec exports the recovered files
Disk Image Support	Works with images	PhotoRec can recover from DD raw images and EnCase E01 images
Interface Options	CLI and GUI	If you're using Windows you get command-line PhotoRec or QPhotoRec graphical version
Platform Support	Cross-platform	It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, DOS and BSD systems
Special Features	Persistent partition	You get support for Ubuntu and Debian live USBs

The Interface

Okay, I have to be honest - PhotoRec looks like something from the DOS days and that is not necessarily bad. Even the king of the modern interfaces such as macOS still incorporates some tools such as the "Terminal". While it might look old, it also means that you will figure it out in about 2 minutes once you understand the workflow. There is no complicated stuff to learn.

You open PhotoRec (or QPhotoRec if you want the basic graphical version on Windows) and see your drives listed. You select the drive you want to recover from, choose the file types you want to recover, pick where to save the recovered files and hit start. That's it!

The command-line version uses arrow keys and Enter (like most similar tools). The QPhotoRec version lets you click through menus - and yes, it is much easier for beginners.

PhotoRec will scan block by block showing you progress as it goes. When it finds files, it saves them with generic names like f0000001.jpg, f0000002.pdf and so on.

And yes, you won't get the original filenames back. Everything comes back as generic file names dumped into folders called recup_dir.1, recup_dir.2 and so on. You will need to sort through them yourself but I imagine this is the last thing someone would think about - as the first priority is file recovery.

What PhotoRec Can Do

As I said, PhotoRec can recognise and recover a lot of file formats. A lot! I mean, the whole list contains more than 480 file extensions (around 300 file families). So, it covers everything from office documents and archives to videos, RAW camera files and audio formats.

Furthermore, PhotoRec has been successfully tested with various other portable media players such as iPod and digital cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony and other popular brands.

PhotoRec can also search for known file headers. If there is no data fragmentation (pretty common), it can recover the entire file. When files are fragmented, PhotoRec will try to recover as much as possible data by checking previous data blocks.

PhotoRec Limitations

Let's be honest about what PhotoRec limitations. Files come back with names like f1482112.pdf, recup_0003.jpg and so on - there is no structure, no context. You won't get original filenames or folder structures back. But I would say it again, it doesn't matter as long as you are able to recover your data. I know the feeling - you're desperate and the last thing you care is about how the files are recovered - you just want them recovered.

Also, there is no file preview during the scan. You won't know what is recoverable until the scan finishes. And unless you are using QPhotoRec on Windows, you're stuck with the command-line interface. Mac users need to be comfortable with Terminal or use Homebrew to install it.

PhotoRec isn't able to deal with ReiserFS tail packing - that's why it doesn't work well with ReiserFS.

I would say the limitations are minor and you could argue that they are some missing features.

PhotoRec Alternatives (most are paid)

Name	Platform	Free or Paid	What It's Good At	What Makes It Different
Disk Drill	Windows, Mac	Freemium	If you want to preview during the scan (see above PhotoRec limitations) and a modern interface	You get full disk imaging, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring and a real-time file previewer - 500MB free on Windows
Recuva	Windows	Free/Paid	If you need a simple recovery that will cover your basic needs	It is beginner friendly and slower than PhotoRec, but you get unlimited free recovery
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard	Windows, Mac	Freemium	If you need a bootable recovery media	You get a polished interface - 2GB free with registration
R-Studio	Windows, Mac, Linux	Paid	If you are a professional and you need RAID support	You get advanced algorithms that handle complex scenarios - preview only in trial
Stellar Data Recovery	Windows	Paid	If you want BitLocker support on Windows	You can create bootable USB and it handles encrypted drives - preview only in trial

Final Thoughts

If you need things such as scan previews and original filenames, the alternatives listed above might be better as long as you can pay for them. Still, I would recommend to try PhotoRec first and attempt to save some money. If you need a tool only for file recovery and don't care about filenames or folder structure, PhotoRec is powerful enough for most people and it is completely free, trustworthy and no registration required, no limitation, no paywall. Another true Open-Source product!

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