ddrescue

Take an image of a device with log file

$ sudo ddrescue [/dev/sdb] [path/to/image.dd] [path/to/log.txt]

$ sudo ddrescue -f -n [/dev/sdX] [/dev/sdY] [path/to/log.txt]

ddrescue [options] infile outfile [logfile]

ddrescue is a data recovery tool that copies data from one block device to another. Unlike dd, it handles read errors gracefully, skipping bad sectors and continuing to copy good data.
The logfile tracks progress and error locations, allowing resumption of interrupted operations and multiple passes for maximum data recovery.

-f, --force

Overwrite output device

Skip scraping phase (faster first pass)

Maximum retry passes for bad sectors

Use direct I/O

Read input in reverse

Always use a logfile to enable resumption. The -f flag is required when writing to a device. For best results, do a quick first pass with -n, then retry passes for bad sectors.

ddrescue (GNU ddrescue) was created to address dd's inability to continue past read errors. It's essential for recovering data from failing drives.

dd(1), testdisk(8), photorec(1)