HDDLive — a data-recovery live ISO (Xubuntu 24.04 + OpenSuperClone)
HDDLive is a rescue live system (it boots from a USB stick or DVD, runs from RAM and does not install anything on the computer) whose only job is to get data off failing or damaged storage devices safely. It is plain Xubuntu 24.04 with its installer and consumer software removed, a recent kernel (7.0), and a curated, pre-configured toolbox for the whole recovery workflow: diagnose the drive → clone it first → recover files from the clone → open RAID/encrypted volumes → analyze images → repair only on a copy. The desktop is organized in that order, and every tool has a launcher or a cheat sheet.
The central piece is OpenSuperClone — an open-source (GPLv2) fork of HDDSuperClone, a cloning tool made specifically for drives with bad sectors, with direct AHCI/IDE/USB access and a virtual disk mode — together with GNU ddrescue and the usual recovery suites.
Features
- Disk clone
- Data recover