I was installing Zorin 12.4 Ultimate, and was unclear on the chosen installation path. The OS installed on my SATA SSD, wiping all my vital data. I am desperate for a solution that will be able to recover my lost data. I have not done anything to the drive since, other than attempting to restore the data using programs such as EaseUS and CleverFiles Disk Drill to attempt restoration, but neither worked. Is there a tool/software that can be used in Zorin to recover lost data from the drive it was installed onto?
I use Disk Digger to try to recover data files and it can be used in Zorin. It is one of the better Free Version out there. Many Professionals use it, then charge you an arm and a leg. It’s about as good an option as you are likely to get.
https://diskdigger.org/linux
That said; I get to be the bearer of bad news. Any sectors or blocks that was overwritten in order to install the Zorin OS will have a lot of corrupted or lost data in those blocks.
Fortunately, Zorin OS is pretty small and does not take up anywhere near as much space as a Windows installation- leaving more sectors or blocks available to try to recover data from.
Installing the OS Does Format the drive. I am uncertain as to whether that will also cause a lot of data loss. Normally, formatting does not wipe the data, just the addresses. But this depends on a few things, such as the Original Format and if that format was changed.
Cross your fingers and be prepared for the worst, sad to say.
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Thank you. I’ll give it a try.
The main thing here is not to repair the hard drive because of such seemingly insignificant damage.