ddrescue -r3 /dev/sda /backup/disk.img /backup/rescue.log

Category: Backup & Restore

ddrescue -r3 /dev/sda /backup/disk.img /backup/rescue.log

Retry bad sectors three times

Adds -r3 so ddrescue retries unreadable areas up to 3 extra times after the first pass, squeezing more data out of a failing disk. Retries are slow by design, so run it overnight. Combine with -d for direct disk access on stubborn drives.
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