Data loss can be a significant issue, whether due to accidental deletion, hardware failure, or software corruption. Fortunately, Linux offers a variety of tools and methods to recover lost data. This article will guide you through some practical examples of data recovery on Linux, using both command-line tools and graphical applications.

Examples:

1. Using testdisk for Partition and File Recovery

testdisk is a powerful open-source tool that can recover lost partitions and make non-booting disks bootable again. It can also be used to recover files from deleted partitions.

Installation:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install testdisk

Usage:

1. Run testdisk with root privileges:

   sudo testdisk

2. Select Create to create a new log file.

3. Choose the disk you want to recover data from.

4. Select the partition table type (usually Intel for most PCs).

5. Choose Analyze to search for lost partitions.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to recover partitions or files.

2. Recovering Deleted Files with extundelete

extundelete is a utility specifically for recovering deleted files from ext3/ext4 file systems.

Installation:

sudo apt-get install extundelete

Usage:

1. Unmount the partition from which you want to recover files:

   sudo umount /dev/sdXn

2. Use extundelete to recover files:

   sudo extundelete /dev/sdXn --restore-file path/to/file

   Replace /dev/sdXn with your actual device and path/to/file with the file path relative to the root of the partition.

3. Using photorec for File Recovery

photorec is part of the testdisk package and is designed to recover lost files including videos, documents, and archives from hard disks and CD-ROMs.

Usage:

1. Run photorec with root privileges:

   sudo photorec

2. Select the disk you want to recover files from.

3. Choose the partition and file system type.

4. Select where you want to save the recovered files.

5. Follow the prompts to recover the files.

4. Graphical Tool: R-Linux

R-Linux is a free file recovery utility for the Ext2/Ext3/Ext4 file system used in Linux OS and several other file systems.

Installation and Usage:

• Download R-Linux from the official website and follow the installation instructions.
• Launch R-Linux and use its graphical interface to scan and recover files from your Linux partitions.