Recover (command)
| Company type | Utility software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Founded | Early editions of MS-DOS (before DOS 6.0) |
| Products | File system error recovery utility |
| Owner | Microsoft (original MS-DOS), IBM (PC DOS), Imre Leber (FreeDOS variant) |
In the realm of computing, recover refers to a fundamental utility designed for file system error recovery. It was included in early editions of MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS before the release of DOS 6.0, as well as in several other operating systems.
Overview
When executed at the DOS command prompt, recover operated via or , under the assumption that directory data on a disk or partition had become corrupted while the File Allocation Table (FAT) and other non-directory regions potentially remained intact. The utility removed all subdirectory entries along with root directory listings, then reconstructed files such as "" within the root directory by following valid FAT allocation chains, deliberately omitting disk clusters marked by hardware faults. This procedure caused disks that were previously bootable to lose their boot capability. Due to its limited practical application, users sometimes misapplied recover expecting it to restore deleted files, which occasionally resulted in unintended data loss.
With DOS 5, a new functionality was introduced whereby providing a filename to recover triggered a scan of all sectors belonging to that file, truncating it to exclude any sectors identified as defective.
This command is also found in DR DOS 6.0, and is present on SISNE plus and IBM's OS/2. The FreeDOS variant, created by Imre Leber, is distributed under the GNU General Public License.