What utility can be used to recover lost files on a Linux system?

Testdisk is a powerful utility designed specifically for data recovery from various file system formats on Linux. It can be employed to recover lost partitions and restore files from disk drives that may no longer mount properly. Testdisk works by scanning the disk for partitions and rebuilding a partition table, which makes it particularly effective when dealing with all types of file system corruption or loss.

Additionally, testdisk can recover deleted files from FAT, NTFS, and ext3 filesystems, making it versatile across different environments. Its ability to recover lost data stems from the way it can analyze the drive's structure and help users retrieve files without needing extensive technical knowledge. This user-friendly yet effective approach to recovery makes it a preferred choice for those looking to recover lost data in Linux systems.

While other utilities listed may have functions related to data integrity or recovery, they do not specialize in file recovery in the way testdisk does. For instance, fsck is focused on checking and repairing file systems rather than recovering lost files. Similarly, ddrescue is aimed at data recovery from devices with read errors rather than a general file recovery focus, and recover is not a standard utility commonly utilized for file recovery in Linux environments.