A recent update to the BFS-tools entry on BeBits merits mentioning here. The crew from pinc Software, otherwise known as coding machine Axel Dorfler, has released a "new" version of this command-line suite for the BeOS that will aid in keeping your harddrives in top shape!

The toolchest includes:

• bfsinfo: get information about the underlying structure of your BFS disk.
• bfswhich: tells you which file covers a particular block.
• chkindex: checks the integrity and validity of the indices on your BFS disk.
• copy_to_bfs_image: copy files to a BFS image file without having to mount it.
• recover: the most complex program of the collection - it can be used to recover data on corrupt BFS disks which you can't even mount.

The most significant update is the fact that the recover utility can now work on raw devices, even if the partition table is corrupt. As someone mentions in the Talkback, this kind of feature is a real life-saver!