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UFS Explorer Professional Recovery Changelog

What's new in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.6

Apr 25, 2024
  • Virtual sector size transformation on images: added possibility to specify a custom source sector size;
  • Drives/bridges security: added ATA "security unlock" support (the password must be known, including padding and transformation);
  • Added support of password-based full-disk encryption on OpenBSD softraid;
  • Added support of OpenBSD softraid (RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, Span);
  • In disk imager: added a tool to re-image defect blocks (it resets the 'defect' status to the 'unread' status and allows to re-image the 'unread' zones);
  • Microsoft Storage Spaces:
  • - Added basic support of multi-tier volumes with several rotation groups;
  • - Fixed parsing issue of 'parent link' metadata entries (version 2);
  • Added a tool to open 'directory-bundled' images from a local file system:
  • - Added support of macOS sparsebundle/backupbundle format;
  • - Added support of Parallels HDD bundle virtual disks (with automatic support of snapshots);
  • In media manager: added recognition of local Parallels Desktop virtual machines and possibility to access their virtual disks (under macOS);
  • Disk images of Parallels Desktop software: added support of snapshots;
  • Fixed scan issue that caused incorrect file system sub-trees reconstruction on Linux/Unix file systems (EXT, XFS etc.).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.5 (Mar 26, 2024)

  • Added ZFS pool builder GUI:
  • Added GUI to view/edit ZFS pool configuration, including Vdevs, RAID-Z level and members etc.;
  • Possibility to assign components manually (after metadata damage) and force placeholders on place of missing components;
  • Added 'New ZFS pool' function under 'RAID' menu to build a pool manually;
  • 'View/Edit RAID' function for ZFS pool RAIDs is replaced with this tool to view/re-configure automatically assembled pools;
  • Added support of Drobo short-form metadata of latest models;
  • In Drobo assistant tool: added possibility to specify data block metadata size (to support older models/firmware);
  • In disk imager:
  • Added option to track disk by serial number after its reconnection at different device path;
  • When resuming saving image to an existing SDLSP or VHDX file, software now verifies stored serial number to match with the source;
  • ZFS file system access:
  • Fixed an issue with 'missing' support of Big-Endian file system (SPARC);
  • Fixed an issue with path navigation when multiple datasets enclosed to each other;
  • In ZFS scan procedure: fixed an issue with detection of Big-Endian ZFS (SPARC);
  • In file size report: added possibility to switch between long (full) numbers and short form in KB/MB/GB/TB;
  • ExFAT scan: addeed support of 'padding' directory records;
  • NTFS:fixed issue with support of big files when DATA attribute is moved to ATTR_LIST but still has duplication of 'DATA tail' in main MFT record

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.4 (Feb 17, 2024)

  • Disk imager: added option to save 'Host Specific' ATA log pages to SDLSP or directly to SATA physical disk clones;
  • On-damand imaging:
  • - When target image file supports writing of ATA log pages, they are cloned automatically on first use;
  • - Added a tool for explicit imaging of ATA log pages to the target;
  • Reworked 'Drives/Bridges security' tool to support ATA log pages from images or 'on-damand imager task';
  • Added double-click decryption of disks from WD MyBook with JMS561 bridge chip;
  • - Also added automatic recognition of Span/Stripe multi-disk RAID configurations on decrypted storages;
  • LUKS decruption: extended allowed password length to 8K symbols, added support of null-symbols in keys/passwords;
  • Fixed crash bug with in the disk imager working in ATA-mode;
  • In SDLSP file format: added possibility to store 'Host Specific' ATA log pages;
  • Added indication of encryption on disks from WD MyBook (DUO) with JMS561 bridge;
  • Fixed issue with support of sparse files created with EXT2/3-style inodes on EXT file system;
  • UFS file system: fixed a couple of bugs with processing of directory scan (after 'sparse' deletion).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.3 (Jan 12, 2024)

  • Reworked 'Save with filter' GUI: different filters separated to 'tabs', target path was made editable;
  • Also reworked 'folder exclusion' mask as a separate setting;
  • Added indication of ZFS pool component properties (vdev, RAID configuration, RAID-Z member, pool ID etc.);
  • New filter UI design is also applied to reporting function;
  • Access to NTFS volumes: Added support of Windows Overlay Filter (WOF) compression on files (both XPRESS and LZX);
  • NTFS file system scan:
  • Added search and processing of WOF-compressed files in scan result;
  • Removed duplicate symbolic links;
  • Corrected algorithm of directory structure recovery for 'lost' files;
  • ExFAT file system scan: added possibility to recover items from partially wiped folders;
  • In RAW recovery: added possibility to assemble SONY cam video streams with reverse header/data order.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.2 (Dec 6, 2023)

  • 'Open device (advanced)' function now has setting for maximum IO block size (to support limitations of some adaptors);
  • In disk imager (ATA mode) - fixed issues with read errors caused by mis-aligned buffer;
  • SDLSP format now has native support of extended sector sizes (such as 520, 528, 4160 etc.);
  • Saving images from SDLSP and plain files with extended sector size enable automatic conversion to standard sector size;
  • In 'Media Manager': added support of TerraMaster NAS (shared folders, iSCSI, etc.);
  • XFS file system: added support of 'object type in directory entry' extended feature for XFS metadata version 2;
  • UFS file system: added support of sparse files;
  • Increased software stack size to support much larger depth of directories nesting;
  • In Explorer, introduced additional 'yellow' state for files found with 'raw recovery'.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.1 (Nov 3, 2023)

  • Added support of RAID0+1 configurations of HP SmartArray controllers (version 1 metadata);
  • Added support of RAID0 configurations on RAID components of different sizes (dynamic adjustment of rotation);
  • Added support of iSCSI file storages on ASUSTOR NAS (format of index+data, via Media Manager);
  • In LUKS decrypt: added support of 'Base64 decode' transform to accept 'rkey' binary passwords of Synology NAS;
  • Added support of WD MyCloud backup keys for storage decryption;
  • In file viewer: added 'quick preview' for disk images and virtual disks of common formats and with most used file systems;
  • In Media Manager:
  • Added support of ASUSTOR NAS devices (shares, snapshots, iSCSI target files, encrypted shared folders);
  • Added support of WD MyCloud NAS (OS 5: PRO, EX2 Ultra etc.) storages;
  • Added support of legacy WD MyCloud Home series storages;
  • For MyCloud Home storages, added proper indication of user name for 'auth' container folders;
  • Fixed bug with support of GPT on Synology NAS;
  • Reworked ReFS file system support module:
  • Replaced 'mapping of file segments' with 'IO virtualization' to support segmentation and double indirection (optional, ReFS 3.9 and later);
  • In 'access mode': added experimental support of ZSTD and LZ4 file compressions;
  • In both 'access mode' and 'scan result': added support of 'redirected' file metadata (this fixes displaying of some files as 'folders');
  • Removed imaging optimization for AVHDX/SDLSP files with enabled 'base' files (which are used as a 'delta');

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 10.0 (Oct 11, 2023)

  • Added 'media manager' function:
  • Optional detection of supported connected 'complicated' media devices (dedicated UI section for recognized media devices);
  • Automatic assembly of mdadm RAID and LVM;
  • Assisted (automatic) access to shared folders, iSCSI volumes, snapshots etc.;
  • Automatic decryption of supported encrypted folders and containers;
  • Support of QNAP (QTS 4.3 to 5.1), Synology (DSM 6.2 to 7.1) and Apple AirPort storages.
  • Optional 'dark theme' in user interface;
  • Automatic recognition of the dark/light theme of the system under Windows and macOS;
  • Added the ability to independently configure the color theme of the program;
  • Object properties dialog now includes explanation to custom colors of objects in UI;
  • Added new scan type: 'Only the current file system' - to increase 'completion' speed and reduce memory usage;
  • Fixed issue with proper recognition of DDF1 RAID10 configuratios on some controllers;
  • Fixed several quality-related issues in raw recovery

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.18 (Jul 28, 2023)

  • Added support of multi-volume configurations of very old Drobo DAS devices;
  • In disk imager:
  • Changed two-pass imaging to multi-pass imaging by adding optional one or two pre-imaging stages (with no retries on defects);
  • Added optional pre-imaging stage 0 - to quickly skips slow and damaged areas for fast imaging of 'healthy' areas;
  • Added one more pre-imaging stage to run on slow areas and to skip areas with defects (postpone them to the 'normal' stage);
  • Added possibility to override number of retries and read timeout for the final imaging stage;
  • Built-in viewer now supports displaying the contents of certain archive file formats:
  • Added support of Zip, TAR, GZip and BZip2 archive container formats (including .tar.gz, .tar.bz2);
  • Added content decompression for Deflate, Deflate64, BZip2, LZX, LZMS, LZMA, MS XPress and plain content streams;
  • Added limited support of Windows IMage (WIM) file format (only individual files in current format);
  • Support of preview of contained files;
  • In 'file search' result: added missing color and file status indication;
  • Added displaying of the number of files in scan result folders;
  • Disabled the indication of the folder metadata size (to avoid confusion with the size of contained files);
  • Added possibility to re-enable this function in the software settings;
  • Fixed issue displaying color progressive (one scan per component) JPEG images as greyscale;
  • Reworked support of ISO9660 file system.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.17 (Jun 20, 2023)

  • Added basic function of volume address translation to a file system file/folder and the offset inside;
  • In RAID Builder: added tool to build 'a copy of RAID' - it allows to build several different configurations from the same source;
  • Added support of older 3Ware RAID metadata format for automatic RAID construction;
  • Added support of message activation in file copying message log:
  • Activation of file-related event now opens container folder and selects the associated file;
  • When events are automatically redirected to a file (due to log overflow), activation of redirection event record will open the log file;
  • In disk imager:
  • Changed log format for better compatibility to forensic imaging (also included information about forensic bridge, imaging status etc.);
  • Better handling and indication of image write errors;
  • SMART tool:
  • Refresh operation is made asynchronous to prevent UI from freezing on long updates;
  • Proper indication of SCSI 'not ready' status (including running FORMAT UNIT command);
  • Reworked file copying with replacement of 'unsafe symbols' (such as '/', '?' etc.):
  • Under Windows: unsupported symbols on a source file system are changed to special Unicode symbols (macOS-style) on a target;
  • When source file system contains macOS Unicode replacement symbols, they are changed to 'original' ones in the user interface;
  • Minor fix to ReFS3 file system (to support a variation of metadata format);
  • Fixed bug with EFS-encrypted files, recovered with full-disk scan stage;
  • Fixed bug scanning volumes with compressed files on NTFS;
  • Fixed bug processing extended attributes on XFS file system;
  • Legacy HFS file system: now displayed and preserved file creation/modification dates.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.16 (May 16, 2023)

  • iSCSI target (server):
  • Fixed compatibility issue with open-iscsi client (iscsiadm);
  • Added proper reproduction of defect blocks via iSCSI (verified with default Windows initiator and Linux open-iscsi);
  • Drobo BeyondRAID: speed-up of general read/scan operations (especially for non-allocated storage space);
  • Added support of hardware RAID on JMicron chips (including QNAP TR extension boxes);
  • Added recognition/support of certain WiebeTech (CRU) and Tableau (Opentext) data protection bridges/adaptors;
  • In the general disk imager (image at once):
  • Speed optimization for EWF (E01) image file creation;
  • Speed optimization for SDLSP format (especially on a LAN target);
  • EXT3/4 file systems:
  • Faster (optimized) processing of file system journal - by caching it to memory;
  • Faster 'open' for existing big EXT3-4 volumes;
  • Fixed issue with support of SATA M.2 SSD via Realtek USB-to-NVMe bridge chip;
  • Added support of drives identification and SMART access on IEEE 1394 (FireWire) connection;
  • In embedded viewer:
  • Added several unsupported camera raw formats (and fixed couple of related bugs);
  • Significantly reduced number of access attempts to storage when defect block is detected.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.15 (Apr 15, 2023)

  • Drobo RAID: fixed bug with adaptive RAID reconstruction;
  • RAID builder GUI: Added stripe of size 512 bytes to the stripe size selection list;
  • Added support of direct access to SMART/identification of NVMe storages on USB adaptors with Realtek, Asmedia and JMicron bridge chips;
  • Under Linux: added support of direct access to NVMe SMART/identification information;
  • In SMART monitor:
  • NVMe: added indication of maximum (warning) temperature and current TBW (terabytes written) basing on NVMe SMART;
  • SAS: added displaying of G-list size for SSD; also added TBW estimation (both SSD and HDD), basing on Log Page 02h information (WRITE log);
  • SATA SSD: added displaying of TBW estimation using F9h SMART attribute, when available;
  • Under Windows: added system (OS) file cache size to software settings - to control system memory use when working with image files;
  • Few corrections to FAT/FAT32 scan procedure (to support several previously unsupported metadata damages);
  • Added support of several recent digital cameras (RAW formats) to embedded viewer.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.14 (Mar 7, 2023)

  • All file reports have been reworked to support splitting into files of roughly a fixed, configured size;
  • Dynamic HTML report:
  • Added 'recalculate folders capacity' sub-report type (for reports, saved from file system with no scan);
  • Fixed numeric overflow bug in object IDs;
  • Fixed issue with column sort function in search result;
  • Added experimental support of Drobo Cache - for attempts to recover damaged blocks from cache;
  • VMware Workstation - encrypted VMDK files:
  • Added decryption of split-VMDK files (they have to be opened from encrypted VMDK metadata file);
  • Added support of encrypted delta-files (including split) - setting up as a delta, indication of the parent file hint;
  • Added support of custom LaCie/WD AnyRAID LUKS encryption:
  • Added password transform function (when possible to apply);
  • Initialization vector 'cbc-plain:sha1' is considered as 'cbc-plain' (32bit);
  • Microsoft Data Deduplication:
  • NTFS access: added support of non-deduplicated modification of deduplicated files via copy-on-write bitmaps;
  • ReFS access: modified procedure for handling deduplicated files and added support of non-deduplicated modifications on them;
  • File open procedure: is now much optimized for speed (by reducing the number of verifications);
  • In scan: optimization for completion speed, fixed bug with 'hotspots' interference ('pending modifications' not yet supported);
  • LUKS2 decryption: fixed issue with decryption of volumes with 4K sector size;
  • Saving disk image files to E01 (EWF) format:
  • Fixed bug with sudden appearance of extra blocks at the end of file;
  • Added special warning message about 'correct completion' of disk image (padding with zeros);
  • Added progress indication for file finalization (when imaging is aborted) with ability to abort correct completion;
  • HFS+ scan: better reconstruction of lost folder names from journal;
  • ExFAT scan: removed duplicate 'green'/'yellow' file systems in result;

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.13 (Jan 30, 2023)

  • In sector state map tab UI:
  • Added standard control toolbar;
  • Added function of saving map information to a file in UFS Explorer SDMF format (any source format);
  • Added option of saving map in inverted state;
  • Added 'Manage all tasks' dialog to set up automatic copying from more than one file at once;
  • Added 'set caching' function in RAID builder dialog (including 'set to all');
  • Added special tool for mass setting of saving processed data from multiple storages;
  • For Dynamic HTML report now added support of custom HTM-templates (for report 'branding'/'customization'):
  • Added sample templates to installation for demonstration of dynamic report customization;
  • Added 'include folders' flag to file search function;
  • Microsoft Storage Spaces:
  • Added support of 'type 6' virtual disk descriptor records;
  • Fixed issue with support of 'type chunk' records (format version 3 and above);
  • Fixed issue with resumption of 'scan status' (ssdb) of RAID-Z scan;
  • Added settings for handling map-defined virtual defects;
  • When loaded associated map of defects for disk image, default 'defect' action is now 'virtually reproduce defects';
  • BitLocker properties (Recovery key) now has link to open Microsoft Cloud storage of recovery keys;
  • XFS file system scan: fixed couple of issues with save/resume scan and deleted file names recovery;
  • BtrFS scan:
  • - Fixed issue with assembly of multi-component file system;
  • - Better recovery of virtual address space when virtual address space tree is lost;
  • Fixed detection of LDM on GPT meta partition at long offset.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.12 (Dec 8, 2022)

  • Default 'activate' action for a BitLocker partition is now changed to 'decrypt' with automatic opening of the decrypted partition (on success);
  • List of file copying events is now limited to prevent uncontrolled memory consumption:
  • Added configuration for maximum number of log records;
  • In case of log overflow, added configuration how to handle it (stop logging, remove old items, log to a file);
  • Added BitLocker properties indication for an incompletely decrypted BitLocker;
  • In the scan finalization GUI now added more detailed indication of currently running operations, including number of found files;
  • Added support of empty folders in scan results (to recover folder structures without files);
  • NTFS file system scan:
  • Added support of recovery of empty files, including files with only named data streams;
  • Added procedure of restoration of lost file placeholders when there is no file descriptor (only a reference from a directory index);
  • EXT3/4 file systems:
  • Added support of empty folders and files of zero size in scan result;
  • Fixed few issues with processing of journal and file names recovery;
  • In disk imager: added support of import/export for lists of imaging ('include'/'exclude') fragments.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.11 (Oct 26, 2022)

  • In disk imager:
  • Target write speed (in MB/sec) is replaced with more informative indication (Slow/Normal/Good), relative to the overall copying process;
  • Replaced window for 'disk lost' notification with automatic 'yes' response to 'retry' request after 60 seconds of inactivity;
  • Fixed bug in handling of SDMF map tail;
  • In LVM manager: when there is a problem opening thin LVM volume, added detailed error message with indication of problem on the metadata area;
  • Few fixes and minor update to 'search partitions' dialog;
  • Added indication of encryption information for APFS encrypted volumes and LUKS;
  • This indicator now also can be used to start decryption dialog;
  • Storage ID for VHD and VHDX now contains their GUID value (Write GUID for VHDX);
  • Added indication of parent virtual disk for delta-file of VMDK, AVHD and AVHDX formats:
  • All formats include indication of the 'parent path' hint;
  • Microsoft AHDX and AVHDX files also indicate GUID of parent virtual disk.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.10 (Sep 21, 2022)

  • Added a tool to open Microsoft Storage Space volumes manually (to select metadata source and volume);
  • Assembled Storage Space volumes now provide sector map information (allocation and defects, if available);
  • Reworked RAID1E module: added support of multiple missing drives and optimized data access procedure;
  • Rework to Microsoft Storage Spaces module:
  • - Reworked procedure of automatic assembly of volumes to use only the latest version of metadata;
  • - Automatic assembly of volumes is now made optional (it can be disabled in the settings);
  • Scan result (VRFS) now also can be saved from context menu of the root folder of a scan result;
  • Added support of map files (log files) created by GNU ddrescue;
  • Using of maps of defect blocks:
  • - Support of maps after storage transformation/remapping (e.g. for BitLocker encrypted volumes);
  • - Indication of defects on assembled RAID1E when pair of components missing or contain map of defects;
  • - Software-generated defects now do not interrupt quickly the partition detection procedure;
  • Update to ReFS3 scan: fixed a couple of bugs in the scan completion procedure;
  • Update to FAT32 scan: better file system recovery when superblocks are lost AND FAT tables are damaged;
  • Simplification to disk imager: single 'location' for metadata and automatic creation of log/map files;
  • BitLocker decryption now supports multiple recovery keys (when available) for the same volume;
  • For BitLocker-encrypted volumes, partition properties panel now displays properties of encryption.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.9 (Aug 16, 2022)

  • Added support of EnCase E01/Ex01 image files;
  • Microsoft Storage Pools (Storage Spaces):
  • Added support of 'Parity of mirrors' internal configurations;
  • Added support of 'Three-way mirror' configurations (when the number of components is a multiple of three);
  • Basic support of so-called 'dual parity' on Windows Server 2012R2 (also with adaptive reconstruction with single missing);
  • Fixed bug with 'Two-way mirror' (in span, not rotation mode), created on Windows Server 2016 and later;
  • When image file has associated map of defects, added automatic recognition of presence of that map:
  • Software asks to load associated 'Attr.map' for 'TaskImage.bin' when it is present in the same folder;
  • Added support of saving of map association to image files in VHDX format and software asks to load the map if the file is found;
  • Software now uses 'storage with map' icon for 'defects recognition' and SDLSP with enabled internal map of block states;
  • Linux software version:
  • Addes support of indication of OwnerID/GroupID for Btrfs, EXT2-4, UFS1-2, XFS and ZFS;
  • OwnerID/GroupID is also preserved for scan results of these file systems;
  • OwnerID/GroupID can also be preserved when data is copied (when copying of 'standard' attributes is enabled);
  • Fixed one scenario of GUI-related crash bug;
  • Fixed few bugs related to XFS file system scan;
  • Updated HFS+ scan procedure to support file system recovery when main metadata locations are wiped;
  • Updated Btrfs file system scan procedure for finding fragments of very fragmented deleted files;
  • Fixed issues with support of text LVM configurations created by CentOS 8.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.8 (Jun 10, 2022)

  • Added tool and tab for displaying of a map of block states (defects) applied to a storage;
  • Map of block states is now integrated with Explorer and with the 'Go to content'/'Go to descriptor' tools;
  • Added 'View map of file' function (displays the imaging status of a specific file);
  • Information about defect blocks, recognized by a pattern now can be saved (cached) to a map file;
  • Loading of maps of sector states (defective sectors):
  • For maps in the ACE Lab format, added automatic section of sector size using the map size to drive size ratio;
  • When the ACE Lab RAW map format is selected, software now also recognizes the range-based format (to avoid mistakes);
  • For drives with DDI metadata: added an option to enable an external map of defective blocks;
  • Block state information is now also passed to 'sub-range', 'transformed' and RAID0/RAID1/JBOD storages;
  • Fixed bug with scan of chunks on VMFS6;
  • SDLSP and VHDX image file formats now preserve information about the source storage (name and ID);
  • Date/time entry fields replaced with the date/time selection dialog;
  • In hex viewer, the 'hex search' function:
  • Added a function to pause it to release the source storage for other operations;
  • When stopped, the last searched position is stored as 'Next location' to allow a jump to it;
  • NTFS file system: fixed issue with support of very fragmented files when the FileName attribute is outside of the main MFT entry;
  • Fixed bugs with creation of big VHDX files (over 4TB);
  • General modifications of maps of block states/defects:
  • Native 'sdmf' map format is changed to the "sparse" format for better speed and lower storage usage;
  • Reworked internal functions of the disk imager tool to support the sparse format;
  • Information about the source storage is now saved to a map and is displayed when the map is loaded;
  • SDLSP and VHDX image file formats now preserve information about the source storage (name and ID).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.7 (May 12, 2022)

  • Linux LVM recovery module:
  • Added 'address translation' of found text configurations to the base storage;
  • Found text configuration now can be displayed with embedded viewer;
  • Added basic support of LVM thin-provisioned volumes (Linux only) via 'Find LVM' tool;
  • In Disk imager:
  • Added option to shut down the source after completion (when power control is available);
  • 'Entry name' field for EnCase format now can be customized (by default is the same as file name);
  • Reworked operations with defect maps:
  • Updated 'map loader' GUI (more obvious configuration, added map preview function);
  • Software now enables file-based maps (when possible) to speed up loading and reduce memory usage;
  • New type of storage object with applied map now supports indication of imaged/defect/free spaces;
  • Fixed some reported bugs/issues:
  • In hex viewer: incorrect base position for 'big block search', loss of colorer function for cached data;
  • File system module: silent crash bug with bad F2FS;
  • Handling of soft-defect blocks: extending of file map to whole block in scan result;
  • LUKS decryption: using of SHA512 for hash function caused problems with decryption;
  • Some minor GUI-related issues (under Windows OS).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.5 (Feb 15, 2022)

  • Action for activation of partitions with no file system now can be configured;
  • ExFAT scan: added processing of CheckDisk .CHK files (when possible), fixed few more issues;
  • Raw recovery scan: found and fixed 'scan stuck' issue;
  • Update to S.M.A.R.T monitoring tool: added 'SSD life' indication and support of SCSI Log Sense;
  • Added indication of storage device type and rotation speed for HDD.
  • Disk Imager:
  • Rework (optimization) of configuration GUI;
  • Fixed issue with attempting 'multi-sector retries' on defect blocks with 'system' read procedure;
  • Added setting of file system 'read policy' for storages with defect blocks:
  • Enabled support of 'read policies' for FAT, FAT32, ExFAT, NTFS, ReFS, Ext, XFS, F2FS file systems;
  • Added Export/Import function for user-defined raw recovery file types:
  • Selective export to own XML-based file format for backup or selective restore on different PC;
  • Partial support of importing user-defined rules in some third-party XML formats;
  • Optimized 'Refresh' procedure; scan of logical drives is now made optional (by default it is 'on');
  • DeepSpar USB Stabilizer/Guardonix:
  • Added recognition of devices with no media or when it is not powered on;
  • Added power control and support of driver configuration;

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.4 (Jan 17, 2022)

  • Added experimental support of QNAP SSD write-cache;
  • Implemented integrated management of raw recovery rules:
  • Reworked storage schema for custom raw recovery rules;
  • Added GUI that shows full list of custom and built-in raw recovery rules;
  • Implemented simplified interface to create/view/edit user-defined rules;
  • Built-in editor is set as priority source of custom rules for scan;
  • Added support of BitLocker decryption using external keys from BEK-files (with no TPM);
  • Update to S.M.A.R.T monitoring/log pages reader tool:
  • Reading of both GP log and S.M.A.R.T log (when possible);
  • Fixed issue with indication of 'seek error count' when it includes seek statistics;
  • Added automatic assembly of APFS Fusion drives;
  • Added indication of encrypted APFS volumes and volume decryption states;
  • ExFAT scan: fixed issue with recognition of previous cluster size after format;
  • Implemented ZSTD compression and enabled its support for ZFS and Btrfs file systems;
  • F2FS file system: added support of 'extra attributes' flag.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.3 (Dec 14, 2021)

  • Added experimental support of Synology SSD write-cache:
  • - Recognition and indication of SSD cache partitions;
  • - Applying latest cached data from SSD 'as a delta' to the 'base' volume;
  • Added decryption of drives from WD MyBook with JMS561 bridge chip;
  • Fixed several issues with opening files, deduplicated using Microsoft Data Deduplication;
  • Under Linux, added 'unlock' function for WD drives, locked with WD Security;
  • File status indication in Explorer is extended with 'zeroed' (bad) state;
  • Source sector size is now preserved for image files, saved to VHDX and SDLSP formats;
  • In Linux software version:
  • - Added proper identification of SCSI/SAT drives to support drive serial numbers etc.;
  • - Added support of SMART monitoring for SCSI/SAT-attached drives;
  • Linux LVM2 logical volumes:
  • - Added indication of logical volume ID in partition properties;
  • - Fixed issue with recognition of 'long' (64K) binary metadata;
  • - Fixed issue assembling multi-segment logical volumes on 'fake' (single-component) mdadm RAID;
  • For manually defined partitions added recognition of known metadata at defined location;
  • Reworked FAT/FAT32 quick scan/indexing procedure for better support of damaged folders;
  • In embedded file viewer:
  • - Added support of HEIC/HEIF photo format (Canon R5/R6, Apple products etc.);
  • - Added decoding of Fujifilm 14bit 'packed' RAF format (models X-A3, X-A7 etc.);
  • - Added decompression of Fujifilm compressed RAF format (models X-T2, X-T3, X-E3, X-H1 etc.);
  • - Defined configurations for many other raw photo formats.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.2 (Nov 18, 2021)

  • 'Transform sector size' tool is extended with options to switch between 512/1K/2K/4K sectors;
  • Added decryption of encrypted VMware VMDK virtual disks (encrypted VMs for Windows 11 etc.);
  • Added decryption of compressed Apple DMG disk images encrypted with version 2/'encrcdsa' format;
  • Write support for VHDX virtual disks (file creation and modification);
  • In 'Imaging Task' interface:
  • - Added VHDX as target file format option;
  • - Optimized target format selection UI;
  • Added VHDX as target file format option for Disk Imager;
  • 'File mask' operations ('search' etc.) now all support multiple values with semicolon as delimiter;
  • Raw recovery and tool for re-assigning file extensions are extended with more types;
  • Fujifilm RAW photos format (RAF):
  • - Added extraction of file size, camera 'model name' and 'date taken' in raw recovery;
  • - Fixed issue with file separation to 'preview' and 'tiff' when it is detected by content;
  • MacOS HFS+ file system:
  • - Enhanced procedure of damaged file system reconstruction and deleted data recovery;
  • - Fixed issue with direct access to highly fragmented file system;
  • Fixed several issues with Btrfs file system scan.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.1 (Oct 18, 2021)

  • Emulation of defects by pattern recognition in 'read ahead' mode now uses cache (for speed);
  • Support of macOS ".sparsebundle" disk image format (open as disk-on-disk storage);
  • Decryption of encrypted Apple DMG disk images (version 2/'encrcdsa' format);
  • Fixed bug with data caching in hexadecimal editor;
  • Recovery of lost address translation leafs in Btrfs scan (for correct deleted data recovery);
  • FS with address translation (Btrfs) is now supported for 'status indication' in Explorer;
  • File and Folder hardlinks deduplication is now made optional;
  • Fixed few issues with disk imager (corrected number of retries, read block size etc.)
  • Added Drive/Bridge Security tool:
  • Decryption of WD drives encrypted with JMS538E, Inic-1607E, OXUF943SE and SW6316 USB bridges;
  • Support of key block detection both on storage area and in SMART Log pages;
  • Support of standard AES-256 ECB mode (also AES-128/256 ECB/CBC/XTS modes, depending of chip);
  • Unlocking of password-locked WD drives (no need to install and run WD Security software);
  • Microsoft Data Deduplication:
  • Software now automatically asks to open and enable MSDDD when file system is opened;
  • Fixed support of big (over 1GB) files deduplicated with Windows Server 2012/2012-R2;
  • Fixed issue with opening files from relocated segments;

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 9.0 (Sep 20, 2021)

  • Added tool for saving on-demand disk image files (imaging tasks):
  • Support of imaging to flat, flat-sparse and sparse (SDLSP) disk image files
  • Support of imaging (clonning) to another disk
  • Using of built-in defect map for SDLSP and external defect map for other targets
  • Save/restore of task configuration (.uitask) files
  • Support of 'imager' interface and background (asynchronous) imaging
  • Task control panel with map of defects and with activity indication
  • Map of defects can be cleared in given region (all states or only defects)
  • Detailed configuration of imaging parameters (two-pass imaging, timeouts etc.)
  • Quick switch of pre-configugured and customizable imaging tiers
  • Added support of flat-sparse image files (set of chunks with missed fragments);
  • Scan now has option to save status periodically (with predefined time period);
  • Data saving now can be scheduled as number of steps in priority order:
  • Added 'Create batch copying task'/'Add to copying task' tool to context menu;
  • Task can be aborted with possibility of resumption from aborted step;
  • Common task copying log with logging of task step events;
  • Task manager dialog to re-order, remove or configure steps (enable filters etc.);
  • Added 'Quick scan (index)' tool to context menu of valid ('green') file systems;
  • When empty or damaged FS is activated, there is a choice to browse or to scan it;
  • Activation of partition with no file system now activates 'scan' dialog;
  • Changed format of SDLSP files to version 3;
  • Added tool to re-assign file extensions basing on content (for CHK files etc.);
  • Fixed bug in adaptive RAID5/RAID6 reconstruction;
  • Folders in scan result now display contained objects capacity;
  • Explorer now highlights lager files/folders in scan result with percent bar;
  • Color differentiation of existing and scanned file systems in Explorer;
  • Support of hard links on NTFS, APFS, HFS+, Ext, F2FS, Reiser, UFS and XFS;
  • Added automatic deduplication of duplicate hard links:
  • Hard link to file is restored as hard link on target storage;
  • If target file system doesn't support hard links, software creates copy of file;
  • Hardlinks to HFS+ folders are restored to special location and linked with target;
  • Links to folders are established with hardlinks (on HFS+) or with symlinks;
  • If target file system doesn't support links, software fails to process such folders.
  • Added support of duplicate file/folder hard links in scan result;
  • NTFS scan procedure now processes NTFS indexes and thus hard links;
  • APFS direct access:
  • File system state is now loaded using the latest generation of stored superblock;
  • Added support of file system snapshots, including 'local' and 'backup' Time Machine;
  • Loading of file set is postponed until it is first used (for performance reasons);
  • APFS scan:
  • Indexing of APFS optionally includes snapshots (enabled by default);
  • Better structure recovery and finding of lost snapshots in full scan;
  • Added support of symbolic links;
  • HFS+ scan: added support of hardlinks (including Time Machine);
  • Support of reading S.M.A.R.T Log pages of SATA drives;
  • Added indication of file status (validity) information for scan results:
  • Indication is enabled by default; it can be disabled via 'Explorer' settings;
  • Verification if file start matches to data of known and valid type;
  • If defects bitmap is available, optional check if file is imaged;
  • Tool to enable/disable/configure file status indication in Explorer;
  • Option to save 'only good files' when status indication is available and enabled;
  • In Explorer, added ability to stop reading content of big folders;
  • Preserving 'Hidden' and 'System' flags on copied files (Windows version);
  • XFS access: fixed problem with mixed Intel/Standard short folder metadata;
  • XFS scan: fixed few major bugs with structure recovery in full scan;
  • NTFS access: fixed issue displaying of multiple hardlinks from the same folder;
  • NTFS scan: added processing of mount points as 'folder' symbolic links;
  • ReFS3 access:
  • Mount points (junctions) are displayed as 'folder' symbolic links;
  • In symbolic links, paths are changed to relative to support their 'export';
  • Older ReFS (Windows Server 2012): fixed few bugs in scan procedure;
  • ExFAT scan: support of 1MB clusters, fixed few issues;
  • Fixed loading RAID/storage configurations when PhysicalDrive has no serial number;
  • Fixed issue with long cancellation of quick scan and duplication of results;
  • Fixed duplication of $LostFiles folder in scan result;
  • Fixed problem with support of ATA S.M.A.R.T via DeepSpar USB Stabilizer.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.17 (Jun 14, 2021)

  • Added 'calculate hash' tool with support of hash verification for E01/Ex01;
  • Added support of saving RAID configurations with 'decomposed' components;
  • File system filtering now preserves structures created by "recycle.bin" recovery;
  • Added option to copy storages list from RAID Builder to Parity Calculator;
  • Microsoft Storage Spaces:
  • Added support of double-parity volumes (so far, with only one missing disk);
  • Support of metadata version 3;
  • Fixed issue with support of Adaptec 1430SA DDF2 metadata;
  • Fixed some compatibility issues of saved E01 files (compression, rounding);
  • Storage properties tab now includes hashes for E01/Ex01 format;
  • Disk Imager log is extended with more details (source/target properties etc.);
  • Fixed few issues with processing of Windows Dynamic Disks (NT LDM);
  • In 'advanced' copying, added filter to copy normal, deleted or both states;
  • ReFS support is extended with new version found on Windows Server 2022 preview;
  • Fixed several bugs (including crash bugs).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.16.0 (May 27, 2021)

  • Change Info:
  • Added support of Intel IMSM NV Cache (SRT, Optane Memory) technology;
  • Added experimental 'read' support of AFF4 image files format;
  • DDF RAID50/RAID60: fixed pattern for LSI/Intel, added support for Adaptec (5805);
  • Support of DDF1.2 metadata for Marvell 88SE92xx;

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.13.0 (Mar 25, 2021)

  • Added function of access to network disks via built-in iSCSI client
  • Full support of discovery and communication with UFS Explorer iSCSI Targets
  • Support of third-party SAN/iSCSI targets (require multi-host/cluster support)
  • Authentication, multi-LUN targets and single-connection mode

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.9.0 (Dec 3, 2020)

  • Added 'read' support of UDF file system from partitions with 512/4K sector size;
  • Fixed problem reading ATA SMART under 32bit Windows;
  • Under Linux/Mac: restoring 'owner' RWX permissions for copied files (when available).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.8 (Nov 11, 2020)

  • Reworked usability of checkboxes on tree view of 'Explorer' UI;
  • NTFS file system:
  • Added procedure of files recovery using $LogFile content;
  • Added indication and blocked copying of non-synchronized files from OneDrive;
  • Enabled following symbolic links in Explorer (when possible);
  • Fixed bug with copying error when source to target is copied root to root;
  • Added displaying of metadata files to result of indexing of HFS+ file system.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.2.0 (Jun 30, 2020)

  • Rework of NTFS scan procedure:
  • In part of 'red' file systems - for memory use reduction;
  • Exraction of some missing file system structure elements from Log File (Journal);
  • In disk imager:
  • Disabled bad blocks logging if defect block is emulated by the software;
  • Fixed rounding issue when map cluster size is smaller then imaging sector size;
  • Fixed bug with growing saved jump size (each time after tool restart);
  • Fixed several bugs causing software crash.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.1.0 (Jun 17, 2020)

  • Modifications to Disk Imager:
  • Option to save defect map and log to 'the same location' when target path is selected;
  • Added 'test API call' start stage to make sure API works with specified parameters;
  • Pausing imaging process in case of API call errors (when disk is disconnected etc.);
  • Read errors from imaging procedure (ATA/SCSI) are now duplicated to main event log;
  • Fixed skipping blocks when SCSI layer reports invalid 'resid' value (Linux etc.);
  • New functions in procedure of files recovery in 'raw mode' (IntelliRAW):
  • DOCX, JPEG, Raw photos - extract file name and modification date from file content;
  • XLSX, TIFF - extract file modification date from metadata;
  • Added analysis of file tails of ZIP archives when chunk sizes are not enabled;
  • Toggle selection of partitions in partition manager;
  • Fixed bug reading disks with defect blocks under Linux using 'system procedure'.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 8.0.1 (Jun 12, 2020)

  • Change Info: Enhanced “Open Storage” procedure with data access configuration
  • and “Read-once” option;
  • Reworked disk imager with new settings, map of defect blocks, used space imaging,
  • etc.;
  • Added new options for DeepSpar DDI, data analysis in hex, creating reports.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.23.3 (Apr 23, 2018)

  • In this version we updated Apple APFS module to support "release" version of APFS file system. The software will provide file system access to read files from consistent file system and to recover files from RAID storages with this file system.
  • "Scan" procedure to search for lost and deleted files will be available in Recovery Explorer version 6 products since version 6.13.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.23.1 (Aug 28, 2017)

  • This update adds support of file compression on Btrfs file system to UFS Explorer software. UFS Explorer Professional Recovery and Standard Access also receive read support for new VMFS6 file system (available since VMware ESX version 6).
  • Scan procedures for both Btrfs and VMFS6 are still only available in version 6 (Recovery Explorer) software.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.23 (Aug 28, 2017)

  • Fixed bug reading Ext3-Ext4 created with meta-GD;
  • Added several camera raw photo formats.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.22.1 (Apr 2, 2017)

  • Ordinary update, addressing several issues and extending support camera-raw photo formats by embedded viewer.
  • Additionally, this software version implements basic "read" support of new, experimental, Apple APFS file system.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.22 (Jan 19, 2017)

  • Since version 5.22 UFS Explorer Professional Recovery supports data recovery from thin-provisioned LVM2 volumes: the volume can be opened and operated as "virtual disk" storage.
  • More significant changes were applied to software editions for Linux OS: there was replaced procedure of displaying texts in user interface. As result the software executable files size was decreased at least two times. Style of displaying of text elements was changed from "sharp" to "smooth".

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.21.1 (Dec 21, 2016)

  • Revised software installation policy: now software is installed via single installer for 32 or 64 bit OS with automatic software selection;
  • Software comes with "SDL Software Manager" to keep track of software updates (updates are still free within same major version 5.x);
  • Windows version of UFS Explorer Professional Recovery comes with updated registration codes: please request registration code update via our web site.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.20.3 (Dec 21, 2016)

  • Support of network shared folders connected under privileged/non-privileged user account contexts of Windows 10 with enabled UAC;
  • Recovery editions of UFS Explorer now have better chances to retrieve good data with IntelliRAW scan.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.20.2 (Sep 5, 2016)

  • This update enables the following features in the software:
  • Support of Apple file Extended Attributes and Resource Forks. When copying of extended attributes is enabled (by default), the software restores file tags, associations and other custom attributes. This function is available under Mac OS X via native API and under Windows/Linux by means of support of .AppleDouble extended attribute format.
  • Glyphs pre-composition. Apple Mac OS X does not support so-called "composed glyphs" (such as certain Kanji or umlauts, formed by base symbol and "accent modifier" symbol). When copying data across operating systems, using of composed glyphs may cause issues with access to file system under Mac OS. Starting from this version, UFS Explorer replaces "composed" symbol sequences with "pre-composed" characters.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.19.1 (Mar 18, 2016)

  • This is mostly technical software update that replaces old digital signature on Windows editions of the software with new, more secure one, according to new Microsoft security recommendations.
  • Another feature is added function to Windows software edition of direct "drive passport" query from ATA/SATA/SCSI/USB attached storages, even through certian bridge chips. This makes valid drive serial numbers available in the interface.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.19.0 (Mar 18, 2016)

  • This is ordinary software update that adds the following new features to all UFS Explorer software:
  • VHDX support: along with other supported virtual disk formats, UFS Explorer can now open VHDX virtual disks, created with Microsoft Hyper-V of all versions. It is included read-only support of both stand-alone virtual disks as well as virtual disks with "snapshots".
  • New hard disk "keep alive" policy. Starting from version 5.19 all UFS Explorer products perform attempts to restore hard disk connection in case of accidental disk disconnection or link loss. With this new policy, you will not need to re-open storage to restore disk data connection.
  • Other modifications include found bug fixes. This update is considered as "recommended" to all users of UFS Explorer version 5 products.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 5.8 (Apr 2, 2013)

  • This release includes several new features and among them:
  • Full support of data recovery from Windows Server 2012 ReFS (Resilient File System).
  • Supported functions include "read" access to ReFS formatted volumes from all supported operating system platforms, deleted files recovery from ReFS (this preserves file names, dates and structure), finding lost ReFS partitions and reconstruction of ReFS volumes after even severe damage and metadata corruption.
  • Public version of UFS Explorer gets Unix "divvy" partition layout support;
  • UFS Explorer Professional Recovery also gets basic support of plain non-chunked EnCase Forensics image files.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.14 (Nov 24, 2008)

  • Features: optimized data recovery and RAID reconstruction tools;
  • Features: UFS Explorer version 3.x migrated to UFS Explorer Core4.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.12 (Oct 27, 2008)

  • Features: new damaged file system reconstruction methods for Adaptec and Iomega NAS; Problem fix: Solved few problems causing software crash on damaged XFS.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.9 (Jan 14, 2008)

  • Damaged or formatted file system reconstruction with Advanced Recovery

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.5 (May 15, 2007)

  • Multiple laguages support;
  • Known file system problems fixed (XFS, NTFS);
  • Data size evaluation for copying (taking to account target file system block size);
  • Set of cosmetic and usability changes;
  • Embedded help system.
  • Recovery editions:
  • RAW recovery signatures now could be customized;
  • Much enhanced RAW recovery engine;
  • New methods of RAW recovery for XFS and UFS (basing on allocation data heuristic detection).

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.4 (Mar 29, 2007)

  • GUI and memory use optimization

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.3.2 (Mar 17, 2007)

  • Some XFS and UFS problems fixed (for unclenaly unmounted disks)

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.2.4 (Mar 7, 2007)

  • XFS support, GUI enhancements

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.2.2 (Feb 6, 2007)

  • ReiserFS-related problem fixed.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 3.0 (Dec 21, 2006)

  • Lost partition scan/detection tool;
  • Lost/deleted files heuristic scan/detection tool;
  • Back up scan results;
  • Enhanced disk direct access tool set (disk images saving tools, settings etc.);
  • Embedded file HEX preview;
  • Many GUI-related modifications

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.8 (Oct 30, 2006)

  • GUI enhancements

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.7 (Oct 13, 2006)

  • GUI enhancements

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.6.2 (Oct 2, 2006)

  • GUI enhancements

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.6 (Sep 10, 2006)

  • New NTFS engine, Windows Dynamic Disks support.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.5 (Aug 17, 2006)

  • Faster large files extraction
  • NTFS support

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.4 (Jul 25, 2006)

  • Microsoft Visrtul PC virtual disks support; RAW and 'chunked' MacOS .DMG files support with ZLIB compression support. Disk image file autodetection.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.3 (Jul 10, 2006)

  • New 'Detailed view', preserve file modification date, FAT LFN support.

New in UFS Explorer Professional Recovery 2.0.3 (May 15, 2006)

  • UFS related: large files extraction bug fixed.