Talk:TestDisk

Untitled Thread
Can I use it to convert an XP dynamic disk to basic without data loss?

Yes, it has been done: http://mypkb.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/how-to-non-destructively-convert-dynamic-disks-to-basic-disks/ Cgrenier 15:45, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Lycurgus's Notes
After some trial and error, I found this tool essential in salvaging what could be salvaged from a crashed Linux LVM (single disk) system. I had a severely damaged filesystem (fs) and yet was able to get decent recovery. The following is an outline of the process:


 * Remove the drive to a system where you can access it if as a result of it being the booted device you can't.
 * Get a ddrescue copy of the object to be recovered. In my case this was a LVM logical volume containing an ext2 filesystem:
 * You can now access this with TestDisk specifying the image copied to reliable media with ddrescue on the command line.
 * The partition type is None (in my case because the image object is not a partition)
 * Select Analyse.
 * Select QuickSearch, but stop it ("S"). It will fail because the image is still not a healthy partition/fs.
 * Your fs can be selected in the list and you can navigate to the recoverable item(s) of interest and copy them out.

The unrecoverables will be red in the directory listings and you may be able to recover some of them or parts thereof with the PhotoRec utility from the same author.

Similar process should work with any system supported by the author. 74.78.162.229 (talk) 15:21, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

If YOU really need it some day!
I removed the "Self-promotion" header someone placed on this article. I can see why someone unfamiliar with TestDisk (and/or its main author, Christophe Grenier), might make such a conclusion, since Christophe has added many edits to this article. [Note: There have been other programmers who've contributed to TestDisk's GNU/GPL source code; it's not a one-man project, but many are not fluent in English.]

However, the software niche this particular program would normally be classified under does not lend itself to having many promoters capable of discussing TestDisk's value in a knowledgeable manner and also willing to reveal who they are. Why? TestDisk is mostly (apart from its companion program "PhotoRec") a specialty tool for the recovery of partitions that have been accidentally deleted by a user. If you thought you'd deleted all the data on a computer, especially a company or client's computer, would you want to tell everyone here you did so? Approaching the issue from the side of a recovery specialist who used TestDisk on a client's machine and charged for the service, do you think they want to tell everyone how easy it could have been to resolve that with a FREE program?

Occasionally, TestDisk might appear in some article dealing with data recovery, but magazines do tend to review commercial software more often than truly free software; unless it is completely 'ad free' and paid for solely by its readers. And even then, in general, no recovery software is used very often, so few editors feel a need to mention such tools. Those who've used TestDisk tend to want to forget that they nearly lost everything on their computer (especially due to carelessness) and/or want to quickly move on with their lives, rather than write about their experience.

Yet if YOU ever mistakenly deleted your computer's partition(s), I'm sure you'd want to know that not only does TestDisk exist on many "Live" Linux bootable CD or DVDs, such as all forms of Knoppix; often used as a recovery CD, but is either already included in the base install (or available via a package management system) of ALL popular Linux distributions (OpenSUSE, Fedora Core, Ubuntu, Debian, Mandriva to name only a few), or can be downloaded and installed under Microsoft Windows, OSX or even DOS. This program is useful for just about any computer system you might be using!

This program has MANY international users who wouldn't be able to review it in English or contribute to this article. Should that keep English users from being made aware of it?

Lastly, I would be concerned if the article helped a contributor's business, but Christophe and the other coders have given away much of their time in creating it, and I believe they all have careers independent of TestDisk. Hopefully, all here can understand why I think this article should remain on Wikipedia. And if you're a programmer, please review the freely available source code and add some comments here, or expand the article. Daniel B. Sedory (talk) 09:22, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

I realize Wikipedia is not a forum, but I want to add to the text above. Yes - this program saved my partition table last night, when I thought everything was lost, and I feel so grateful. I don't understand Spanish, so I can't understand a word from recuperadata.com, and I was looking for a way to make a money contribution. Not to mention that several trial versions of paid programs I tried before this - failed or simply didn't know what to do. This one is a treasure, many thanks. --Дарко Максимовић (talk) 13:53, 24 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I would echo the comments of the above users, and agree that this article does not deserve a "Self-promotion" or "Conflict of interest" warning header. The author very generously helps users and answers user questions but doesn't require any payment.


 * A year ago I was very lucky to discover TestDisk on Wikipedia, and tried it as a last resort on a Windows XP / Vista / Linux triple boot system whose Windows XP partition had become unbootable as a result of my shrinking the Vista partition. I found it simply awesome. As stated in the articles, Test Disk (and PhotoRec) are on virtually all of the Linux "System Rescue" disks, so they are widely respected, and they can understand a huge variety of different disk formats including old and new Windows and Apple disk formats (and photo and document file formats in the case of PhotoRec). The optional shareware fees that the authors get from these programs are surely small compensation for their dedication in creating and continuing to support them. LittleBen (talk) 13:37, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Active development?
Can a utility that last had a release 2 years ago accurately be said to be in active development? Come to think of it, is there a definitive definition of "active" for that particular sidebar label? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaos-Industries (talk • contribs)

There are new commits coming out in Feb 2023. Check https://git.cgsecurity.org/cgit/testdisk/log/. Some things are just good enough for the author to not require a lot of changes besides the occasional file carver signature and Frama-C formal proof stuff. --Artoria2e5 🌉 05:21, 23 August 2023 (UTC)

Dangerous??
Should there be a dangerous warning in the article? I was running a live Knoppix DVD and did not know what "TestDisk" was and ran it/I and accidentally erased the MBR of an USB drive I had also connected. I don't know yet if the data on it is recoverable. --Mark v1.0 (talk) 04:25, 15 September 2020 (UTC)


 * If it's recoverable, it will be recoverable with testdisk. A detailed partition scan will find the lost partition, then you write the MBR with the slow scan result. Disk programs are dangerous in general... Artoria2e5 🌉 05:19, 23 August 2023 (UTC)