How to install and use Testdisk in Ubuntu?

If you are in a situation where you have accidentally deleted some files on your system and don’t know how to get them back well you can try data recovery tools available for Linux.

Testdisk is a free and open-source command-based data recovery tool. It is mainly used to retrieve damaged partitions and make a non-bootable disk bootable again which is caused by faulty software or human error.

In this article, I will discuss how to install and use the Testdisk utility in Ubuntu.

Features of Testdisk utility

The key features of Testdisk are –

It can be used to get complete information about a corrupted disk
Compatible with various operating systems including Linux, Windows, macOS, etc
Able to recover deleted partitions
Create partition backup for EFI GPT partitions
Rebuilds partition table and rewrites corrupted MBR

How to install Testdisk in Ubuntu

Before you install Testdisk in your system make sure to update the package list and upgrade packages to their latest version.

Use the following command to update the package list –

sudo apt update & sudo apt upgrade -y

Now use the given command to install Testdisk in your system –

sudo apt install testdisk -y

You can verify the installation of Testdisk by using –

testdisk -v

This will display the current version of the Testdisk utility installed on your system.

How to recover deleted files in Ubuntu

Now Testdisk has been installed on your system you can run it to recover deleted files and partitions on your system.

First, use the following command to list all disk and partitions on your system –

df -h

Next, run the Testdisk utility by using –

tesdisk

Press the Enter key and use the arrow key to navigate and select the disk or partition where you want to recover data. Navigate to Proceed and then press the Enter.

Next, select the partition table type on the disk and press Enter.

Analyze the current partition structure for the lost partitions –

Next, you can choose to perform a quick search or deeper search for deleted files on the disk –

This will start and take some time to analyze disk or partition –

Once the analysis is completed you will be asked to choose a partition, select one of them, and press p this will display the content of that partition.