GNU ddrescue

GNU ddrescue is a handy tool created by the folks behind the LZ Utils package. It's an open-source command-line utility that helps you recover lost data from damaged devices like hard disk drives (HDD), solid state drives (SSD), CD-ROMs, or USB flash drives. If you've ever faced a situation where your important files went missing, this software could be a lifesaver!

Key Features of GNU ddrescue

This tool shines with its impressive features. It can read and recover any type of file, which is pretty cool! If there are sectors that are unreadable, it fills those gaps with data from other copies of the same file, if they're available. Plus, it has a fill mode that lets you selectively overwrite parts of your output file. It's also compatible with various devices like SATA, SCSI, ATA, floppy disks, MFM drives, and even SD/CF flash cards.

How to Install GNU ddrescue

If you're looking to install this program from the source tarball, you'll need to start by getting the GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) and GNU Make installed first. After that, just run three simple commands in your terminal: "./configure", "make", and "make install" (don't forget those quotes!). To see what options you have when using it, just type "ddrescue --help" in your terminal emulator.

Command-Line Options

The command-line options are super useful! You can check out the minimum read rate of good areas in bytes per second or mark non-trimmed files as non-tried. There's even an option to restrict the domain to finished blocks in a file! These features make managing data recovery much easier.

Compatibility and Availability

GNU ddrescue is written entirely in C++ and works on any 32-bit or 64-bit GNU/Linux operating system. The best part? You can download it for free. It comes as a universal sources archive that requires configuration and compilation before installation. Many Linux distributions have GNU ddrescue available in their default software repositories too—so we totally recommend installing it from there for ease!