How to Recover Lost Files Using Parted Magic? Any Easier Ways?

What can Parted Magic do?

Parted Magic is a Slackware-based Linux distribution offering tools for partitioning and data recovery.

It is featured in its booting method: it directly boots from a CD/USB flash drive. In addition, you don’t need to install it on your hard drives; what’s more, plenty of useful programs are covered in it, facilitating users to perform disk clone, erase, data recovery, etc. Some users will use Clonezilla in it to clone Bitlocker encrypted disks.

 It is also available for Windows users, for it supports a wide range of operating systems, e.g., NTFS, ext2/3/4, fat16/32. According to Parted Magic, it provides a data rescue feature, helping users recover lost files from hard drives. Then how does it work?

How does it work to recover data?

As a distribution that is like a toolbox, Parted Magic is equipped with a bunch of programs that can help recover files from hard drives. E.g., TestDisk, ddrescue, extundelete, and some PhotoRec alternatives you may know.

Users could use these tools in Parted Magic to recover files under many data loss situations. For example, if your hard drive is unbootable after dropping, this tool will be helpful.

Simply put, you need to boot Parted Magic from DVD/USB using the Live mode; select CDROM in boot options to change the boot loader; mount the connected external device, and use data recovery tools to get your data back.

Now follow the detailed guide to performing hard drive data recovery using Parted Magic.

Steps to recover lost files via Parted Magic

As mentioned above, Parted Magic is bootable from a CD or a USB flash drive, a live rescue CD. It would help if you created it manually.

Notes:✎...

Please prepare a good-condition USB or an external hard drive to carry the recovered files.

Step 1. Download the latest version of Parted Magic > choose ISO image > create a bootable CD (burn the image to a CD/DVD).

Step 2. Connect the empty USB to your affected computer > insert the CD/DVD you have created > restart your PC > press the F10/F12 key immediately > select CDROM as the first boot device.

Step 3. Click Mount Devices > mount your connected external storage device.

Step 4. Click Start menu > System Tools > launch data recovery tools like PhotoRec.

Step 5. Choose the affected drive > select the correct file system that the drive is using > select the connected external hard drive as the location > wait for data recovery.

Then try to connect the external device to another computer to see if your files are all back.

How to recover files from hard drive much easier?

Though it is possible to recover lost files Parted Magic, it is way too complex for ordinary users.

Considerable users who don’t know much about boot devices and don’t possess any data recovery experience urgently need more straightforward ways to perform hard drive data recovery.

This section will introduce more accessible Windows data recovery solutions and tools.

1. Perform hard drive data recovery if your computer is bootable

If your computer is still bootable, but you have met data loss situations, e.g., accidentally formatted the hard drive or emptied the Recycle Bin, you first need to prevent using the affected hard drive.

As long as deleted/lost files are not overwritten yet by the new data, you could have chances to get them back.

Instead of learning complex commands and making laborious attempts, users might as well choose a professional Windows data recovery app as their helper – MyRecover.

It is specially designed for Windows users, equipped with advanced scanning methods, helping them recover deleted and missing data from healthy/formatted HDD/SSD/USB/SD card, etc., without problems.

Notes:✎...

This program will detect the deleted and missing files using Quick Scan & Deep Scan; the former is for deleted files, and the latter is for missing files. 

It is suggested not to store your recovered files in the original location.

Step 1. Install and run the software > Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. Search for and sort the wanted files using the extensions, Size, Type, Date modified, etc.

Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original location > select deleted files > click Recover x files.

Now, there is no need to worry about how to recover lost files Parted Magic; and you can quickly get deleted data back. In addition, you could use this tool to recover permanently deleted files in Windows 10.

2. Recover data from hard drive that won’t boot

Except for a healthy bootable PC, you may also meet an unbootable computer; thus, the essential files are inaccessible. It may result from dropping, jolting, and other physical damages, logical damages, etc.

Then, how to recover data from hard drive that won’t boot?

If so, the quickest method is to uninstall your drive from the computer and connect it to another machine, back up your data, then go back to fix the possible issues of your unbootable computer.

But if this issue occurs after you have made some deletions, e.g., you have deleted partition and now the computer won’t boot, then you might have removed the boot partition to a large extent.

Given this, you could quickly build a bootable media using a professional partition recovery tool and then recover the deleted boot partition via it.

Step 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant on another bootable computer > connect a USB stick > Make Bootable Media > Next.

Step 2. Choose USB Boot Device > Proceed.

Step 3. Connect the USB to the unbootable computer > it will bring you to its interface > click Partition Recovery Wizard > choose the drive that has lost partition> Next.

Step 4. Choose a search method. Fast Search is recommended for first-time scanning. If failed, try Full Search.

Step 5. Select the partition you have deleted from the detected lost partitions > Proceed.

Thus the boot partition is recovered.

Wrapping up

This article is about how to recover lost files Parted Magic. You could learn how this tool works and how to operate it with the detailed information provided.

If you need more straightforward approaches to recovering lost files from hard drives, you might as well try using the efficient and simple tool – MyRecover.