Our verdict: TestDisk is the classic free tool for bringing back deleted partitions and making a non-booting disk readable again. It runs in a text-mode console window, so it takes patience, but it supports far more file systems than most paid tools. The same download includes PhotoRec for recovering individual files.
About TestDisk
TestDisk is open-source software by Christophe Grenier, licensed under the GNU GPL v2 or later. It was designed to recover lost partitions and make non-booting disks bootable again when the cause is software: a deleted partition table, a virus or a user mistake. It can rewrite the partition table, rebuild or restore FAT and NTFS boot sectors from their backups, fix FAT tables and repair the NTFS MFT using its mirror.
It also undeletes files from FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2, and copies files out of deleted FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2/3/4 partitions. It recognizes dozens of file systems, including APFS, HFS+, btrfs, XFS, ZFS, LUKS and Linux RAID. The interface is keyboard-driven text in a console window, and the Windows download is a ZIP archive with no installer.
What it does well
- Partition recovery. Finds lost partitions and writes them back into the partition table.
- Boot sector repair. Rebuilds FAT and NTFS boot sectors or restores them from backup.
- MFT and FAT repair. Fixes the NTFS MFT from its mirror and repairs FAT tables.
- File undelete. Restores deleted files on FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ext2 file systems.
- Wide file system support. Recognizes NTFS, exFAT, ext4, APFS, HFS+, btrfs, XFS, ZFS and more.
Who it is for
Good fit
Technicians and careful users rescuing a drive whose partition disappeared or whose boot sector is damaged.
Look elsewhere
Beginners who expect a point-and-click wizard, or drives with physical hardware failure.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free and open source
- Recovers partitions many paid tools miss
- Supports a very wide range of file systems
- Portable, includes PhotoRec
Cons
- Text-mode interface with a learning curve
- Wrong choices can make the damage worse
- Cannot help with physically failing drives
How to install TestDisk
Extract the ZIP to a folder on a different drive from the one you are recovering and run testdisk_win.exe as administrator. Choose Create to log the session, then follow the menus. Do not write anything to the damaged disk until recovery is finished. For single files, run photorec_win.exe or the graphical qphotorec_win.exe from the same folder.
Questions about TestDisk
Is TestDisk free?
Yes. TestDisk is open source under the GNU GPL v2 or later, with no paid edition.
What is the difference between TestDisk and PhotoRec?
TestDisk repairs partitions and file system structures. PhotoRec, included in the same download, ignores the file system and carves individual files such as photos and documents from the raw disk.
