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(Current version is: 17.0, released 2022-October-25)
by
Fsys Software
Jan van Wijk                  
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Features   |   Filesystems   |   Operating Systems   |   Bootable Solutions

Note that ALL SALES and FORMAL support on DFSee has ceased as per July 2024!

However, DFSee is still available for download and FREE use with the 17.x OPEN SOURCE EDITION


DFSee IS THE ULTIMATE MULTI-PLATFORM DISK AND FILE SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Use it for Partition and File Recovery, Disk Maintenance, Forensic Disk Analysis, and Many Other Purposes

DFSee is the perfect data recovery solution.
Examine disks in great detail and repair problems with partition definitions and file systems.
Use DFSee to create an exact clone or a compressed image file,
from your whole disk or a single partition.

If you want one great tool for disk maintenance and management,
you owe yourself a DFSee test drive

DFSee is intended for system administrators, data-recovery and forensic experts, and power-users!
It IS NOT a tool for beginners or the inexperienced.

DFSee was created with recovery and analysis in mind and takes safe approaches to all operations, but the power of the program may lead to unexpected and undesirable results, including data-loss, in the hands of inexperienced users. DFSee should only be used if you know what you are doing or if you are being instructed and closely supervised by someone who does.


FEATURE highlights

MBR and GPT disk partitioning

As a replacement for the classic FDISK, OS2-LVM and (Linux) Gparted programs, with support for MBR as well as GPT style tables.
It is operated using (possibly scripted) commands or specific editors working on MBR or GPT partition tables (PTEdit) or OS/2 LVM tables.

Disk and partition recovery

To recover from partition problems and disasters (UNFDISK ) either by restoring a previously backup from just the partitioning-info, or by using the DFSFAST/DFSDISK disk analysis procedures to allow an expert (like DFSee support) to create a recovery script.

Disk and partition copying

IMAGING Whole disks, partitions or parts of partition can be saved to an imagefile, in RAW or a compressed format (IMZ). The imagefiles can be restored to the same or a different location resulting in backup or copy functionality. Compressed images can be opened for directory/file browsing, to view or to retrieve individual files from such a backup image (selective restore).
CLONING Cloning can make an exact copy of (part of) a partition or disk to another area on the same or another disk. This can be used as a very fast backup facility and to create a work-copies for forensic analysis.

For forensic use, the SMART option can be disabled, to make sure the image/clone retains ALL the information of the original, including the unused disk sectors/blocks.

Filesystem BROWSE and FILE RECOVERY

A directory and file BROWSER, much like a filemanager, and an easy to use and powerful way to access files in filesystems that may otherwise be inaccesible, either because there is some filesystem damage that prevents it from being 'mounted' in the normal way, because you need to access it from an operating system that does NOT have a driver for this type of filesystem, or because it is inside an imagefile.

Once in the browser, you can navigate through the directory structure and edit/view/copy one or more of the presented files. Copying files from the browser is a user-friendly way to RECOVER FILES from inaccessible filesystems, and as a form of selective RESTORE from an image backup.

Forensic disk and filesystem analysis

DFSee has dedicated display and analysis functions for the supported filesystems. This includes boot-sectors, superblocks and low-level directory structures.

Binary/HEX viewer/editor

DFSee includes a powerful binary (or rather HEX) display and edit tool, including an x86 disasssembler and an ASCII viewer. Works directly on disk/partition sectors or on (binary) files.



DFSee diagram

Recognized FILESYSTEMS

DFSee has built-in drivers for many filesystems, so it does NOT depend on the operating system to access them, it only needs RAW access to the disks. A modular approach is used where each filesystem recognized, implements a specific mode of operation with FS-specific commands and structures. On selecting a data-source (disk, partition, volume, image) DFSee will try to recognize the involved filesystem and activate the support for it automatically. The currently available modes/filesystems are:

FDISK For partitioning work, default active at startup
APFS Apple filesystem, used on iOS and later macOS
AUX Auxilary mode for unrecognized data
EFAT Enhanced FAT filesystem for huge files and media
EXT2/3/4 Native filesystem on Linux, EXT3/4 are journaled
DUMPFS Large-disk (crash) DUMP partition for OS/2
FAT Classic PC filesystems including FAT32 and VFAT
HFS The journaled filesystem HFS+ for (older) macOS
HPFS Native filesystem on OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS
ISO ISO9660 FS as used on CDROM/DVD and ISO images
JFS Journaled filesystem on OS/2, eCS or ArcaOS
NTFS Native filesystem on Windows-XP and later
REISER * Journaled filesystem on Linux by Hans Reiser
SWAP * Dedicated Linux SWAP partition
XFS * The 'X' terabyte journaled filesystem on Linux

The filesystems marked with '*' have partial support (no browse/file-recovery). More fileystems will be added over time. Filesystems can be accessed either on real hardware, or in several variations of imagefiles like RAW, DFSee IMZ and VirtualBox VDI.


Supported Operating Systems

DOS A 32-bit DOS program, runs on most DOS versions, including FreeDOS
Linux Generic Lunix 32-bit program running in X-terminals as well as the console
macOS Apple macOS, as a 64-bit program running in the Terminal or iTerm
OS/2 IBM's OS/2 platform, including the newer eComStation and ArcaOS variants
WindowsMicrosoft Windows, starting from XP op to the latest Windows-10 release

Designed to offer the same windowed user-interface including mouse and clipboard suport on many platforms. Most functionality is available in the form of commands, that can either be executed from an extensive menu-system with dialogs, entered on the commandline, or from a script-file allowing automated operation.


Bootable Solutions

DFSee USB-stick Run DFSee from

bootable MEDIA like

USB-stick or CDROM

DFSee CDROM

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