5 of the Best Free Linux Data Recovery Tools

Data recovery is the process of retrieving data from corrupted or damaged storage media when it cannot be accessed.

The storage media in question will often be a hard disk, but it can also be removable media such as CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and storage tapes.

There are many different reasons why a system administrator may need to use data recovery tools.

At boot up, mainstream Linux distributions perform routine scans to identify and fix any inconsistencies in the file system.

A damaged file system might be caused by the computer not shutting down in an orderly fashion, which can occur say in the event of a power cut.

However, such routine scans will not detect hardware failure which might exist for a long period without being noticeable to users. Accesses to bad sectors on the media can make the situation worse, and with further usage as well as the passage of time, the media can eventually become unreadable.

As data is a priceless asset for many organisations, you might think it will be necessary to use a professional recovery service.

However, these are incredibly expensive. A better strategy is to have a good set of open source software with a plan ready to be implemented if you need to recover the system, and not simply to have made regular backups of data, and saved the partitioning information on the hard disk.

The software featured in this article are high quality standalone tools which help you to recover data in a range of circumstances.

It is also worth remembering that there are also dedicated Linux distributions which provide lots of useful system administration software including data recovery tools. SystemRescue CD and Trinity Rescue Kit are two respected examples.

To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 5 high quality Linux data recovery tools.

These tools may well be a life-saver in the event that you need to retrieve data from corrupted media. We would strongly recommend that you become familiar with how they work just in case you are ever put in the position of needing to recover data.

Now, let's explore the 5 data recovery tools at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.

Data Recovery Tools
Mondo Rescue	Tool for configuring and maintaining network machines
TestDisk	Partition scanner and disk recovery tool
safecopy	Copy utility ignoring errors
PhotoRec	Digital Picture and File Recovery
ddrescue	GNU data recovery tool