6 Best Free System Recovery Software

Linux and other operating systems are blessed with powerful tools to retrieve and recover valuable data. However, it is not always possible to recover data on a running system. Sometimes the machine will not even boot. This might arise if the boot loader has become corrupted, there is damage to a partition, or vital operating system files have been lost. Alternatively, loss of access to the system might simply arise from a user forgetting their login password. Not being able to use the computer can be incredibly stressful. Of course, some individuals will be happy to get a computer engineer to run a diagnostic on the computer and repair the computer. However, there will inevitably be a delay in getting the machine up and running, together with a hefty invoice.

Instead, step forward open source software that provides your own solution. It can be run from a boot disk, live CD, USB key, or even from the network, that can be downloaded free of charge, and is easy to use.

The software featured in this article includes high quality standalone tools which help users to recover data in a range of circumstances. There are dedicated Linux distributions which provide lots of useful system administration software including data recovery tools.

Two bootable software CDs that contain a great range of diagnostic software are FalconFour's Ultimate Boot CD and Hiren's BootCD. Undoubtedly, both provide an excellent collection of software designed to repair many boot issues. However, we cannot condone the inclusion of commercial software in these CDs (notably Mini Windows XP and a collection of MS DOS utilities) given that it is unlikely the user will be the holder of a spare license.

To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 6 high quality system recovery tools that will get your system back up and running. These tools may just be a life-saver. We would therefore strongly recommend that you become familiar with how they work just in case you are ever put in the position of your system not booting, or you need to isolate what is the problem with a machine.

Now, let's explore the 6 system recovery tools at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.

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Last Updated Saturday, April 20 2013 @ 08:37 PM EDT