How to Recover Data Hard Drive?
Recover Data – Did your external hard drive drop you and contain data (photos, files) that you want to recover? Dependent on the type of failure, it may be possible to save them. Seaside Magazine tells you how?
You are using an external drive, and disaster is now down! It does not work anymore. Connected to your computer, laptop, or desktop, you can no longer access data. It may be due to a shock, misuse, a virus, or corrupted files. This disk contains many files that you need. You want to recover data from this broken hard drive, but how? Depending on the type of problem, this will be simple, sometimes complicated, or even impossible.
Is it Still Possible to Recover Data from a Broken Hard Drive?
Without going into details, and to simplify, the operating principle of a hard drive (external or internal) is as follows: the data stored on rotating platters is sensitive to magnetic excitation. During read or write operations, the disks rotate at a very high speed, and read heads “float” on the rotating platters, creating a variable intensity of the magnetic field, allowing reading and writing.
Some older hard drives have glass platters, shattering into a thousand pieces. Therefore, some damage is irreversible, especially if the hard drive is dropped . If the platters have severe damage, recovering data from the broken external hard drive will be impossible.
Similarly, in the event of a shock, a read head may come to rest on the platter. Or, if the ventilation fails, dust may settle between the playback head and the platter. In both cases, the surface of the trays is “planed,” causing a pile of black dust that extends the damage to the entire hard drive. A misaligned reading head can also cause scratches or impacts. Some may make any future reading of the trays impossible.
Unfortunately, in all these cases, you will never be able to recover the valuable data from that broken hard drive. On the other hand, many failures affect either the internal architecture of the disk or the operation of reading heads and the motors and have left files intact. In these cases, recovery is possible.
How to Quickly Recover Data from a Broken Hard Drive?
If the problem is mechanical (motor or reading head), you will have very little chance of being able to recover the data from your broken hard drive on your own. But if the problem is with the disk architecture, the file allocation system (the “guide” that makes the read heads know where to look for what), or a damaged or defective partition, you will probably be able to access the data you -same.
However, be careful! If you manage to access the disk, but the files are inaccessible, do not write anything to this disk. Under no circumstances attempt to copy a new file over it. It could cause irreparable data loss.
It is also possible that a few files corrupt, but the disk’s overall operation is still optimal. In this case, the drive appears on your desktop when you plug it in. You can then attempt to repair the corrupted files, instantly fixing the problem. Data recovery software always begins by performing this operation. But, on Windows, you can do it yourself.
To do this, open “Start,” then type “cmd” and press “Enter.” You will access the command prompt window. Then type chkdsk X: /f (“X:” being the access path of your disk: if it mounted as d: type chkdsk d: /f, if it mounted as g: type chkdsk g: /f, etc.). Then press “Enter.” If you can reaccess your files after this repair operation is complete, congratulations! Otherwise, proceed to the following methods.
Recover Data from Broken Hard Drive: Free Software
If this technique does not work, you can use data recovery software. The principle is simple: if a partition is damaged but its files are intact, the software accesses it. It cannot “repair” the section in any way. He can recover the data from the broken hard drive and copy them to another medium. So be sure to bring another disk or a USB key to save your precious files.
Free or paid, this software will generally do the same job. Paid tools offer more advanced features, which sometimes help locate files not found in free software. But start with a free solution instead. Almost all of this free software runs on a PC. On Mac, the practical solutions paid.
First, check whether your external hard drive is recognized or not by your operating system. In the first case, the system accessed the partition but not the data. You can then use one of the many free file recovery software on damaged sections or files deleted by mistake. These include the excellent Recuva, but PC Inspector File Recovery or PhotoRec also do great.
If the system does not recognize the disk, the partition is inaccessible. In this case, it will require to use of partition recovery software. We recommend the excellent (and free) Testdisk – which also has a Mac version! But EaseUS Partition Recovery and MiniTool Partition Recovery (on Windows) are also very effective. With a tutorial on how it works: TestDisk step by step.
Recover Data from External Hard Drive: Paid Software
If none of this work, you’ll have to go with paid software. Most are pretty fair play. It offers you a free version, which allows you to scan the disk. Then you will know if the software can recover data from your broken external hard drive. You will then have to go to the checkout to access it. But you won’t have to pay anything if the software doesn’t find anything! Others severely limit the transfer speed in the free versions.
Much powerful software exists on the market to recover data from your broken hard drive. On Windows, let’s mention Partition Find & Mount. Designed specifically for Mac, try Disk Drill or Stellar. On Mac and Windows, you can try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Recoverit Data Recovery, or Remo Data Recovery. It will usually cost you between 50 and 80 euros.
Recover data from a broken hard drive: as a last resort
If none of these methods worked, the problem with your hard drive is likely mechanical. It will then be necessary for a specialist to open it to see if the damage is repairable. It will access the platters, and if the problem comes from the motors or the read heads, without affecting the integrity of the platters, it can save your files. If you still want to recover the data from this broken disk, you will have to entrust it to a professional.
You can opt for a computer store, which will offer you quotes for a few hundred euros. Check carefully before choosing: some “specialists” are content to use software as we have mentioned. Make sure the store has a real hard drive connoisseur.
Some Important Tips to Recover Deleted Files from External Hard Drive
- Stop using your external hard drive once you lose data.
- Take quick action to recover deleted data.
- Do not use underhanded external hard drive data recovery methods or tools to recover your external hard drive.
- If your external drive is damaged, please recover data before repairing it.
- If you want a cooler and safer way to recover deleted files from external hard drive, then use Remo Recover software.
Frequent questions?
1. Do files Deleted from the External Hard Drive go to Windows Recycle Bin?
No, files deleted from the external hard drive do not go to the Windows Recycle Bin. But if you erase a file from the hard drive, the deleted file will move to Trash. However, the external hard drive has its own recycle bin, which is hidden.
Deleting files from an external hard drive without any backup is similar to permanently delete files from a hard drive using Shift + Delete keys, emptying recycle bin, etc. Therefore, please check all the files before deleting them from the hard drive.
2. Can I Recover Files from an Unknown Hard Drive using Remo Recover?
You can improve files from unknown external hard drives using Remo Recover software. But before you recover data from an unrecognized external hard drive, you can try the free tips mentioned below to fix an unknown external hard drive.
- Check if your USB cable is not badly connected or defective.
- Check if the USB port of your PC is not damaged.
- Update your device driver.
- Try connecting your external hard drive to another PC.
- Format the drive.
Note: Formatting a hard drive deletes all data stored on it. Therefore, try to backup your drive before formatting it. If you have deleted your external hard drive without taking a backup, please refer to this article on recovering data from a structured hard drive.
3. Is it Possible to Recover Data from a Dead External Hard Drive?
Yes. It is possible to improve data from a dead external hard drive. However, if your external hard drive is dead due to logical errors and you cannot access files from it, use the Remo Recover tool to restore your data quickly. But if your USB drive or external hard drive is dead due to physical damage, it is not possible to recover files using data recovery.
Conclusion
External hard drives are considered safe storage devices compared to USB drives which are easily lost, and internal hard drives from which it is almost impossible to extract information when the computer crashes.
However, there are many reasons why an external hard drive may stop working correctly. If you find yourself in this situation, try not to despair because different methods allow you to fix hard disks not recognized and recover data from disks. We will tell you all about this subject to help you solve the problem in the following lines.
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