TestDisk & PhotoRec
TestDisk repairs partition tables and recovers lost partitions; its companion PhotoRec recovers files by signature.
Legal & ethical use. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- Recover files from a damaged practice disk image
- Learn how partition tables work
Key features
- Partition recovery
- File recovery by signature
- Works on images
Installation
sudo apt install testdisk, or download from cgsecurity.org.
Beginner usage guide
Work on a copy of a disk image, never on the only copy of important data.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Open the interactive tool
testdisk image.ddOpens a text menu to analyse the partition table of an image file.
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Commands were written from the official documentation and have not been executed on this site; test them in your lab.