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TestDisk can be downloaded from http://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.html

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Running TestDisk under DOS

Hard disk must be detected by the computer's BIOS. Note: In some rare cases, you may need to connect your hard drive directly to one of the motherboard's IDE connectors, as some IDE 'add-on cards' are broken; they do not follow the same standard specs used by TestDisk to find your drive.

Running TestDisk under Windows 95

You need to run the DOS version of TestDisk; the disk must be detected by the BIOS. Hard disks and other media that are larger than 32 Gigabytes (GB) in size are not supported under any version of Windows 95. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246818

Running TestDisk under Windows 98

You still need to run the DOS version of TestDisk, and again, the hard disk must be detected by the BIOS. Windows 98 (with the correct patches) can handle hard disks larger than 32 GB; see: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=243450 for any info that might pertain to your version of Windows 98.

Running TestDisk under Windows NT 4/2000/XP/2003

The 'Windows' version of TestDisk (since version 5.2 or later), refers to these operating systems only; for Win 9x see DOS above. It used to run much slower than the Linux and DOS versions, but since version 5.6, that has improved. To handle hard disks larger than 137 GB, support for 48-bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA) must be avaible.

Windows versions of TestDisk use /dev/sdX as the disk name (where 'X' would be a, b, c... etc. for your first, second, etc. drive location) rather than 'hdX' (the usual IDE designation). 'sdX' is the linux device name for SCSI hard disks, but TestDisk doesn't know if it's an IDE, SCSI or USB disk, because this name comes from the cygwin compiler used to make the Windows version of TestDisk. That compiler has internal mappings to Windows drives that use only the names sdX.

Windows 2000 and 48-bit LBA

Windows 2000 SP3 added support for 48-bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA), which allows the OS to access hard disks larger than 137 GB. But, 48-bit LBA support must be 'enabled' in Windows 2000 SP3 or above! To do so, the EnableBigLba value must be defined and set properly in the Windows Registry by performing the following steps:

  1. Start a Registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe). In Windows, click on Start -> Run, and enter "regedit".
  2. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters Registry subkey.
  3. From the Edit menu, select New, DWORD Value.
  4. Type the name EnableBigLba, then press ENTER.
  5. Double-click on the new value, set it to 1, then click OK.
  6. Close the Registry editor.
  7. You must restart the machine for the change to take effect.

If you are not familiar with Regedit, you may wish to try this tool instead: http://www.48bitlba.com/enablebiglbatool.htm

Windows XP and 48-bit LBA

Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) adds support for 48-bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA), which allows you to access hard disks larger than 137 GB. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=303013

Running TestDisk under Linux

Linux kernels since at least 2.4.19 have been able to access Large disks (drives over 137 GB using 48-bit LBA); and some earlier kernels, such as Red Hat 7.3's 2.4.18-x, were patched, so check the specific features of your install to know for sure. Linux kernels 2.2.x and older are limited to only 65,535 cylinders.

The TestDisk program is compressed with UPX, which will decompress and run in the /tmp directory. Free space must be available and execution of binaries on the mounted file system must be allowed (if necessary, enter: mount -o remount,exec /tmp ).

Running TestDisk under FreeBSD

Under FreeBSD 5.2-RC1 and possibly other versions, you may have to use the Geometry menu to enter the correct disk geometry.

Running TestDisk under Mac OS X

Since TestDisk 5.9, TestDisk can be runned under Mac OS X. Support for Mac partition map is minimal.

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