1. When to use it
Useful when every extra read may worsen the disk condition and you want to reduce destructive retries.
ddrescue | disk recovery | image | log file | damaged disk
2. Base setup
ddrescue -f -n /dev/sdb /mnt/recovery/disk.img /mnt/recovery/disk.log
ddrescue -d -r3 /dev/sdb /mnt/recovery/disk.img /mnt/recovery/disk.log
ls -lh /mnt/recovery/disk.imgAdjust host names, IPs, interfaces, paths, and versions to the real system before making the change persistent.
3. Quick verification
tail -n 20 /mnt/recovery/disk.log
ls -lh /mnt/recovery/disk.img
file /mnt/recovery/disk.imgConfirm that the output matches the expected state before considering the intervention complete.
4. Operational notes
The principle is simple: first stabilize the damage by creating a readable copy, then run fsck or carving on the copy.
Quick checklist
[ ] Steps completed\n[ ] Config updated\n[ ] Tests executed\n[ ] Rollback ready\n[ ] Logs checked