XFS Deleted File Recovery

 XFS is a high performance Linux file system.  Unlike NTFS, recovering deleted files is not always possible, but CnW have developed tools to assist.  The results can be mixed, but normally better than just data carving.

XFS comes in a few flavours, but until recently CnW Recovery did not support file version 5.  The changes between earlier version and version 5 are small in overall design, but almost every internal data structure has been changed.  The most critical iNode is now twice the length at 0x200 bytes.  All structures now have increased security including a (unique) parent UUID as part of their structure.

CnW version 5.45 now supports all current versions of XFS

Windows 10 2004 update

I don't often comment on Microsoft because I actually like their products, in particular Visual Studio for C++.

My  main PC (Dell XPS desktop) is a few years old, but with a SSD drive and iCore 7 3.4GHz processor,  12GB RAM, still fine for I use it for.

I try and keep the software up to date and so downloaded the 2004 windows update.  I know there has been some bad press about it, but that was a few months ago.  I also have it running this update without problems on a few other PCs/laptops.  The download and install took a few hours, and all seemed OK when I logged in.  My PC is set to sleep if idle for 2 hours.

Normally coming out of sleep is a much faster process that that of it's owner, ie 5-10 seconds and all running well. This time, it did not show signs of waking up, so much so I ended up doing a forced power off.  Starting from cold was a very slow process, about 4-5 minutes, rather than the normal 30 seconds.  

I then did a test sleep, and this time was more patient.  The system eventually started after 3 about minutes, and ran as normal.

Google searching high lighted I was not alone, but none of the suggestions worked.  At the same time I kept losing screens from my 3 screen setup. I normally would have two, but on one occasion I only had one.

My eventual solution was to revert back to an earlier release (an option in Windows Update). This was a 'quick' process, a few minutes not hours. Everything is now as before.

I will wait a month or so before I retry this 2004 update.

GPS values in data recovery

The two main CnW products now try and include GPS co-ordinates in the forensic versions of the software.  For CnW this is added to photos (jpegs) that are recovered.

For GoPro Recovery, the cameras Hero 7 and later all include GPS receivers.  The the starting location value is added for all videos.  It should be noted though that the receiver is has limited sensitivity and so may not be active for internal recordings.

For a forensic investigation, location can be a very valuable tool.

GPR website

Drone cameras added to GoPro Recovery software

Many drone cameras are similar to GoPro Hero cameras in that they save high and low resolution video at the same time.  For this reason it has been possible to expand the capabilities of the world leading GPR software to include drones.  Currently supported drones include the following list

 ● DJI Inspire 1
 ● DJI Matrice 210
 ● DJI Matrice 600
 ● DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise
 ● DJI Mavic Pro
 ● DJI Phantom 3
 ● DJI Phantom 4 (FC6310)
 ● DJI Spark
 ● Yuneec Typhoon H

Download the current demo version and try for yourself from https://www.goprorecovery.co.uk