TestDisk & PhotoRec

TestDisk repairs the disasters: lost partitions, corrupted partition tables, unbootable disks — it rebuilds structures that make drives readable again. Its sibling PhotoRec ignores the filesystem entirely and carves files (photos, documents, video — hundreds of formats) straight from raw sectors, which works even on formatted or damaged media. Together they’re the free Recuva/EaseUS alternative, and frequently more effective.

Both are text-mode interfaces that look intimidating, though the guided steps are actually simple — follow the wiki. PhotoRec recovers files without names or folder structure, so expect thousands of numbered files to sort. Cardinal rule of recovery applies: stop writing to the affected drive immediately, and work from an image of failing hardware (ddrescue) rather than stressing it further.