About TestDisk

TestDisk is a free, open-source data recovery tool from CGSecurity. It was designed to help you recover lost partitions and make non-booting disks bootable again when the cause is faulty software, certain viruses, or human error—such as accidentally deleting a partition table. It works at the partition-table and file-system level and is trusted by IT support staff, repair technicians, and advanced users worldwide.

General strengths:

Powerful partition table repair and deleted partition recovery so your data becomes accessible again.
Boot sector recovery: rebuild NTFS boot sector and recover FAT boot sector from backup when available.
Ideal for rescuing data from corrupted partition structures, mistaken repartitioning, or table damage.
Lightweight and portable: no installation required; run from a folder or USB drive.
File undelete and copy from FAT, exFAT, NTFS, and ext2 when the file system is still readable.
Open-source (GPL): source code can be reviewed and audited for transparency and safety.
Multi-platform: Windows, macOS, and Linux builds available.

Who is TestDisk for?

Technicians and system administrators: Recover lost partitions, fix boot sectors, and restore access to damaged drives on client machines.
Advanced users: Follow step-by-step documentation to analyze disk layout, search for lost structures, and write corrected partition tables.
Careful beginners: With guides and documentation, TestDisk’s create-log, select-disk, analyze, and search workflow is manageable.
Data recovery scenarios: When a drive no longer boots or partitions have disappeared after software or user error, TestDisk is often the first tool to try.

Technical highlights:

Supports Intel (MBR), GPT, Mac, BSD, and Sun partition table types.
Command-line interface: keyboard-driven workflow in a terminal; no graphical point-and-click UI.
Rebuilds FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 and NTFS boot sectors; fixes FAT tables.
Undelete files and copy files from deleted or damaged partitions on supported file systems.
Creates a log file to help with troubleshooting and documentation; download only from official or trusted sources.

To download TestDisk, visit the download page or the main page.