NEUTRONBETA DIRECT DRIVE RECOVERY — WINDOWS COMPANION v0.2

This package adds a local web dashboard for physical-drive recovery using
PhotoRec. The hosted website cannot access drive sectors by itself.
This is a source distribution, not a signed Windows installer.

REQUIREMENTS
- Windows 10/11 with administrator permission.
- Python 3.10 or newer with Python Launcher and Tcl/Tk installed, from
  https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/
- Official Windows TestDisk/PhotoRec package, extracted with all its files:
  https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
  PhotoRec is not bundled, downloaded, or installed by this companion.
- A separate healthy physical disk with sufficient free space for recovery.

SETUP
1. Save/extract this companion, Python and PhotoRec onto a healthy drive,
   never the affected source. Do not format or initialize the affected drive.
2. Right-click Start-Windows.cmd and choose Run as administrator.
3. In the native file dialog, select photorec_win.exe from the official
   extracted PhotoRec folder (not qphotorec_win.exe or testdisk_win.exe).
4. A local dashboard opens in your default browser at 127.0.0.1:8765.
   Keep the companion console open. If the browser does not open, copy the
   session link printed in the console; do not share that link.
5. Refresh drives. Check model, disk number, capacity and serial number.
6. Choose a destination folder on a DIFFERENT physical disk. A native Windows
   folder chooser opens. Cloud destinations are desktop-synced local folders,
   not direct Google account uploads. Make sure there is enough local space.
7. Confirm the selection and start recovery. PhotoRec opens a console showing
   detailed progress. It saves results as it scans; no disk image is required.
8. Open recovered files from the dashboard. Validate the documents/images.
   Stop scan retains output, but the last file can be incomplete.
9. Close the companion console when finished. Closing the browser alone does
   not stop recovery. Ctrl+C in the companion console stops its child scan.

HOW RECOVERY WORKS
The companion uses the documented PhotoRec whole-disk signature-carving
workflow. It does not run TestDisk repair commands, format disks, or write
recovered data onto the source. Windows itself may still write to a mounted
source; this software does not provide a hardware write blocker or dismount it.
Deleted, quick-formatted and damaged-filesystem data may be recoverable if the
original content survives. Existing files may also appear. Original names and
folder structure usually cannot be restored by carving. Full overwrites, SSD
TRIM, encryption, fragmentation and hardware failure can prevent recovery.
All default PhotoRec file families are enabled, including document formats
supported by your installed version. The browser-only image scanner remains
limited to its original five types. Check Office files after recovery.

LIMITS AND PROTECTIONS
- Windows only. The running boot/system disk is blocked. To recover that disk,
  connect it as a secondary drive to another Windows computer.
- Offline, virtual and Storage Spaces devices are not supported.
- The destination, companion, Python and PhotoRec folders must map to a physical
  disk other than the source. Ambiguous mappings fail closed.
- No source formatting, repair, unlocking, mount changes, partition edits or
  automatic downloads. No direct cloud uploads or remote network service.
- Local API binds only to 127.0.0.1, requires an ephemeral session token and
  rejects cross-origin requests and unexpected Host headers.
- Source identity is rechecked before launch; do not unplug or swap drives
  during recovery. Physically failing disks need specialist handling.
- Counts in the dashboard are capped at 10,000 and its file list at 200; output
  itself is not capped. PhotoRec's console provides detailed scan progress.
- Recovery writes begin immediately to a new output folder; ensure free space.
- This version has automated controller/security tests, but physical-drive
  recovery has NOT been tested on Windows hardware in the development sandbox.
  Start with a disposable USB drive containing expendable test files.

TROUBLESHOOTING
Python missing: install Python and its launcher, then reopen the batch file.
Access denied: run as Administrator; source must be connected and readable.
Folder cannot be mapped: choose a normal basic-disk local folder. Junctions,
network drives, mount configurations or provider virtual drives can be rejected.
Port busy: close another companion instance; do not expose the service publicly.
Scan error/no results: inspect PhotoRec's console and photorec.log in the output
folder. Do not treat exit code 0 as proof that lost files were recovered.

PhotoRec is an independent CGSecurity project. This wrapper is not endorsed by
CGSecurity. Consult its documentation and license from the official download.
https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk_doc/scripted_run.html
