Troubleshooting and FAQ
Questions
Can DiskRescue damage my drive or my files?
DiskRescue opens the drive read-only and never writes to it. It refuses to save onto the drive being rescued. Reading a mechanically failing disk still wears it, which is why you copy it once and work from the copy.
Can it recover files I deleted from an SSD?
Rarely. An SSD usually erases deleted data by itself (TRIM) within minutes. Files that still exist on a failing SSD can be recovered.
My camera says "card error" and the computer wants to format the card. What now?
Do not format. The file list is damaged but the photos are usually intact. Rescue the card with Copy the drive to an image first turned on. The raw-data search finds photos even when the file list cannot be read.
Why do some recovered files have names like f00002c41000.jpg?
They were found by searching the raw data, where the original name is lost. Files found through the file list keep their names and folders.
Why does a recovered photo have a grey area?
Part of its data was missing or unreadable. DiskRescue keeps every row it can decode and marks the file as partly repaired. It never invents data.
Does DiskRescue send my files anywhere?
No. It works offline: no accounts, no telemetry, no update checks.
Which file systems are not supported?
APFS, HFS+, btrfs, XFS and encrypted volumes.
Problems
"The drive is in use by the system (mounted)"
Unmount the drive in your file manager (not "Eject" or "Safely remove", which disconnect it), then select Check again. On Windows the message is The drive is in use by Windows; follow the advice shown with it.
"DiskRescue needs administrator rights to read this drive"
On Linux select Copy with administrator rights and enter your password. On Windows select Restart as administrator.
The drive does not appear in the list
Check that it is connected, and try another port, cable or card reader. Select Refresh.
The USB drive keeps disconnecting
DiskRescue waits for it to come back and recognises it again. Try a different port or cable. A drive that shows a size of 0 bytes or a few megabytes has a failed controller; software cannot read it.
No files were found
Run the rescue again from the image with Every kind of file, or set Searching the raw data to Everything in Advanced settings. Use Recover from an image file so the drive is not read again.
A video still will not play after repair
Videos whose index is missing need a reference clip from the same device with the same resolution and frame rate. Add one and repair again. See Repair photos and videos.
Windows blocks the zip download
The zip from GitHub is not signed. Use the Microsoft Store edition, which is signed.
Get help
Report a problem on the DiskRescue issues page. Do not attach personal photos to a public issue.