While PhotoRec also lacks a GUI, just like Testdisk, it is also fairly easy to use if you look past the big, bad, command prompt: PhotoRec works on hard drives, CDs, external media (memory cards, USB/flash drives, etc.).
PhotoRec is a software that specializes in data recovery, as opposed to partition recovery of Testdisk.
PhotoRec is going to be of more interest to more people than Testdisk. Of course partition recovery and boot fixing is something better done outside of Windows rather than inside Windows, so there are ways to run Testdisk from a bootable CD or you can always download a live CD which comes with Testdisk on it.
Testdisk is actually very easy, and well worth the effort put into learning how to use it, so don’t let the lack of a GUI deter you. Rather you just select the options from the menu it gives you… Well, to say it is command line is a lie you actually do not have to physically type in any commands to use Testdisk. The downside, obviously, to Testdisk is it is a command line utility with no GUI ( Graphical User Interface).
The great thing about Testdisk is it actually works it finds undeleted partition at a much higher recovery rate than any other partition recovery software I used yet (note, however, you will need to do the “dig deeper” option to find more partitions the normal scan is not the best). Copy files from deleted FAT, NTFS and ext2/ext3 partitions.Undelete files from FAT, NTFS and ext2 filesystem.Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup.Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup.Fix partition table, recover deleted partition.Testdisk is an open source, command line utility designed to help you either recover deleted partitions, or to boot non-bootable partitions. Turns out Testdisk and PhotoRec are companion programs that are from the same developer, come in the same download, and both are probably the most powerful programs in their specific class. Well, recently a couple of people have been recommending I check out PhotoRec, and in the process I rediscovered Testdisk. Since then I have moved on from Linux and forgotten all about Testdisk yet the lingering memory of the program still remained in my memory and whenever I wanted to write about Testdisk, I just couldn’t think of the darn name. Back then, I discovered Testdisk and used it to recover/boot my Windows partition when I had problems (it was usually very successful). I remember long ago, in my Linux phase, I used to mess up my Windows partition about twice a day (don’t ask me how… it just happened).