Windows only: The Giveaway of the Day web site is offering the normally $90 Data Recovery Wizard Professional software as a free download today only. If you've accidentally deleted important files or documents, chances are the Data Recovery Wizard Professional edition can recover them (if another process didn't overwrite the disk space with new data). The trick with software like this is to install it before file loss panic, so you don't write the software installation files over your deleted documents. The Data Recovery Wizard Pro download is free for the next nine hours or so only at Giveaway of the Day, so grab it while you can—and it's for Windows XP/NT/Vista only.

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CNET News takes a behind-the-scenes look at data recovery service Drive Savers, and the frantic customers who come to them with fried hard drives and lost data. We've posted at least one DIY solution for getting your data back from an unbootable drive, but desperate times call for desperate measures. How desperate have you gotten?

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If you've ever delved into the realm of Windows/Linux dual-booting, you probably know that the Master Boot Record can unexpectedly stop working, leaving you locked out of your Windows system. If you don't have (or just don't want to dig up) your Windows installation CD to fix it, ArsGeek has a handy tutorial on un-wonking the MBR with an Ubuntu live CD. The guide seemingly requires a working internet connection from inside the live session, but all should be well once you download the ms-sys application and run the right command. Except for the installation line, this guide could work for other Linux live CDs as well. For other live CD options, check out Gina's Top 10 free computer system recovery tools.

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You don't need a complicated boot CD or expensive software to create a restorable system disk image for your PC: free utility DriveImage XML can save a full, working snapshot of your Windows hard drive while you work on it. (That's hot.) When your PC crashes and burns or just slows down over time, the best insurance you can have is a mirror image of your operating system, complete with drivers, user settings, software applications, and documents in one place. A while back we covered how to partition and image your Windows hard drive using the Linux-based System Recovery Boot CD, a process that involves command line work, disk-burning, rebooting, and video driver wrangling. With DiskImage XML, imaging your PC's hard drive is a matter of a few clicks, no reboots required. Let's check it out.

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