dd_rescue copies data from one file or block device to another. It is intended for error recovery, so, by default, it doesn't abort on errors, and doesn't truncate the output file. It uses large block sizes to quicken the copying, but falls back to small blocks upon encountering errors. It produces reports that allow you to keep track of bad blocks.
| Tags | Recovery Tools |
|---|---|
| Licenses | GPL |
| Operating Systems | POSIX Linux |
| Implementation | C |
Recent releases


Release Notes: dd_rescue 1.33 brings a new double-overwrite (random and zero) mode. More importantly, dd_rescue now supports long options and has a man page that properly documents all the options and modes.


Release Notes: This release adds two new options: -x facilitates appending to an output file, and -Y OUTFILE (can be specified multiple times) allows the user to specify secondary output files which receive the same data (at the same position) as the primary output file.


Release Notes: This release brings a few minor cleanups (messages) and one feature: it now has a mode where the output file/partition/disk is overwritten two (-3) or three (-4) times with random data and finally with zeros. This supports secure data destruction according to German data privacy standards from BSI.


Release Notes: -p correctly copies access times, output to stdout works, and the progress info is always updated when exiting. This release fixes copying the last block with hardbs==softbs. Better option validation. Allows for 512 byte blocks with direct I/O now, and has better defaults for block sizes. Optimization for writing the same block again and again (-R). Can write random data (e.g. -z seedval or -Z /dev/urandom) using the libc or Eli Billauer's RC4 based PRNG. Writes can be avoided if the output file/device already contains identical contents (-W). Builds .deb binaries.


Release Notes: Changes since the last published version (1.20) include additional warnings for overwriting existing files in sparse mode, documentation improvements, an FPE bugfix for reverse copy, really defaulting to -y 0 (not syncing except at the end), not considering EOF an error and displaying better error messages (errno was overwritten in one scenario), portability improvements, and fixes for the output of bad blocks.
A tool which reports the status of logical drives on HP Smart Arrays.