Mounting Output Files

This is one of the most helpful features of DDRescue-GUI, especially to people who are new to data recovery or are not technically-minded. It allows you to view all the data you recovered easily. The procedure is a bit different depending on whether you recovered a partition or a device, but it is very similar.

[Tip]Tip

Mounting output files using DDRescue-GUI is not yet supported on Windows.

Notes for Windows users

I haven't yet added the ability to mount output files using DDRescue-GUI, but there are a number of options available in the mean time.

[Tip]Tip

If you are running Windows 8.1 or later, you may not need the below tools as Windows provides some built-in options for mounting disk images.

CD/DVD Images

WinCDEmu should provide all the tools you need to do this. It will run on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows from XP onwards. WinCDEmu is open source software and is available for free at https://wincdemu.sysprogs.org/

Hard disk/partition images

OSFMount is another free program that provides a variety of tools to help you mount your disk images. It works on Windows 7 or later (32-bit and 64-bit), and is available from https://www.osforensics.com/tools/mount-disk-images.html

When recovering from an entire device

When your recovery is finished, click "Mount Image/Disk".

Figure 4.6. The mount button (Linux)

The mount button (Linux)


Figure 4.7. The mount button (Mac)

The mount button (Mac)


You will be presented with a window that looks like this:

Figure 4.8. Selecting a partition (Linux)

Selecting a partition (Linux)


Figure 4.9. Selecting a partition (Mac)

Selecting a partition (Mac)


The information here is like the Disk Information Window, but more basic. Select a partition you want to mount, and click okay. After a few seconds, you should see this:

Figure 4.10. Successfully mounting a partition in your device (Linux)

Successfully mounting a partition in your device (Linux)


Figure 4.11. Successfully mounting a partition in your device (Mac)

Successfully mounting a partition in your device (Mac)


[Tip]Tip

Don't worry if you select the wrong partition; you can just try again. Often, there will be a few partitions that are unmountable. These don't hold any meaningful data, so don't worry about it, just pick a different partition and try again until you find your data.

And simply navigate to where your files are, and view or copy as desired. When you're finished, cluck "Unmount", and you'll be returned to the previous window.

[Tip]Tip

On Linux, you can now mount LVM volumes the same way as normal devices/device images as of DDRescue-GUI v2.1.0.

DDRescue-GUI v2.1.0 also added APFS mounting support on macOS 10.12 and higher.

When recovering from a partition

This is a bit simpler; just click "Mount Image-Disk", and it'll do it for you. After a few seconds, you'll see:

Figure 4.12. Successfully mounting your partition (Linux)

Successfully mounting your partition (Linux)


Figure 4.13. Successfully mounting your partition (Mac)

Successfully mounting your partition (Mac)


And then navigate to where your files are. When you're finished, click "Unmount", and you'll be returned to the previous window.