TestDisk

Just works. This is a CLI tool with a terminal UI. I consider this a bonus as this UI is clear and easy to navigate. Mostly self-explanatory.

Today, I managed to recover my partition table, my ntfs, ext4 and an old reiserfs partition, and save all my deleted files from the ntfs and ext4 partitions!

It has helped me so many times, in dire situations… They will be the very first people I’ll send money to when I have some again.

It’s amazing how well of a job this thing does.
If you can’t restore it with this, then nothing will restore it, save for going full-on forensics, searching for byte sequence patterns in empty space and so on.

[By the way, the Ubuntu wiki has a wonderful large list of recovery tools.]

Just like the others here, my ass was saved too when my MicroSD card just wouldn't work without 'needs to be formatted' message popping up. Techsupportalert guys mentioned this as an excellent software to recover stuff and make boot sectors work by just Googling for help and directions.

I found a website with slightly unclear directions but I didn't even need to try the 'copy' function - the 'repair BS' option caused the flash drive to appear normal on Windows 7 again and become accessible.

Thanks to the makers of this software. You rock!

It wasn't able to restore any files as it said my filesystem was damaged, but EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard did. I'm sure this is good software, as it found that old partition, but couldn't get to the files. Anyway, be sure to try this and then EaseUS if it doesnt work.

I don't normally post reviews and didn't have an account before this however, This utility deserves to be on the top of the list. An NTFS partition was not recognized after unplugging an external drive. EaseUS wanted $70 for me to transfer the files from the drive and to wipe it. This utility left the files on the drive and recovered the GPT in 5 selections and a restart.

Excellent to recover "lost" disks

Easy to use (basic features), free, cross-platform. It saved me in a BIG way after I accidentally deleted a partition I didn't mean to on an NTFS formatted HDD. It restored the 2 TB deleted partition instantly (because I hadn't done any re-formatting).

Flawlessly restored an accidentally deleted NTFS partition in a matter of seconds ??

Extremely usable, even without a GUI. Top notch documentation.

This app saved my ass after my filesystem corrupted along with the MBR. Great software, free, and a tiny download

Yes, a GUI would definitely be a plus, but I still found it very simple to use. And, most importantly, I was able to repair a 4GB flash disk containing a lot of really important files that somehow had its partition table corrupted! All in about 10 minutes. So this app gets 11 stars in my book :)

In need of a GUI for sure, but it does its job, and quickly. I use it along side Spinrite on almost all my data recovery ventures.