The Perils of Portable Data Storage
The convenience of external hard drives is undeniable. They allow us to carry terabytes of data everywhere we go, they can be easily shared among many devices, and their installation could hardly be any simpler. Because of their ubiquitous nature, we have come to rely on them so much that we seldom consider just how fragile external hard drives are. How many people know how to recover files from external hard drives, and how many would simply panic, not knowing what to do? If you know how to recover data from external hard drives, you have much better chances to prevent the worst from happening and turn what could be a disastrous situation around.
Drawing on over 30 years of experience, including a significant tenure at IBM as a Backup and Recovery Expert, I’ve encountered nearly every form of hard drive failure imaginable. Through this article, I’ll share insights from firsthand testing of recovery tools, guiding you through common issues and effective solutions for external hard drive data recovery. Before rushing to download and use any data recovery tool you come across, it’s important to step back and understand the common reasons behind external hard drive failures. Using an inappropriate tool can worsen your situation, leading to permanent data loss. It’s essential to start with a basic understanding of how hard drives operate and the typical causes of their failure.
Stopping the Spread of Data Loss
At the first sign of trouble with your external hard drive, the most critical action to take is to stop using it immediately. Continuing to use the drive can result in data being overwritten, which is often irreversible and can significantly reduce the chances of a successful recovery. [1] It’s like when you accidentally spill red wine on your favorite white shirt – the quicker you act, the better the odds of salvaging the situation.
Hard drive failures can be categorized into two broad categories: software failures and hardware failures. Recovering from logical issues often requires specialized data recovery software capable of navigating the complexities of file systems to restore access to the data. Fortunately, these types of problems have a high recovery rate if addressed promptly, using the right tools before any new data is written to the drive, potentially overwriting the lost files. [2] It’s like finding a lost set of keys – the sooner you retrace your steps, the better your chances of locating them before someone else snatches them up.
On the other hand, hardware failures can be much more daunting. A hard drive may make beeping sounds when it’s trying to spin the platters, but it’s unable to do so. This can happen because of something that’s known as stiction. Because the gap between the hard drive heads and platters is so small, they can literally stick to each other. [3] It’s like trying to pry open a jar that’s been sealed shut for years – you need specialized tools and a lot of patience to get the job done. A hard drive recovery service center with a well-equipped, dust-free lab should be able to solve this problem, for a hefty price.
Navigating the Data Recovery Landscape
Let’s take a closer look at how to recover files from a hard drive that has suffered one of the common types of hard drive failure described in the previous section of this article. As long as you select the right recovery method, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to reunite with your files. [4]
Data recovery software is your best bet when it comes to recovering data from logically damaged hard drives. In this article, we list our top 11 favorite HDD recovery tools, and we encourage you to make your own choice. For the purposes of this recovery guide, we are going to focus only on the number one hard drive recovery tool we know: Disk Drill. [5]
Disk Drill runs on Windows and macOS, and the free version lets you preview an unlimited number of lost files. Because Disk Drill has a modern, intuitive user interface, it’s suitable even for inexperienced users whose understanding of data recovery is limited to the information provided in this article. [6]
Here’s what you need to do to recover files from an external hard drive using Disk Drill:
- Download and install Disk Drill on your computer. Make sure to install it on a different hard drive than the one you want to recover.
- Launch Disk Drill, select your external hard drive, and scan it by clicking the Search for lost data button.
- Wait for Disk Drill to finish scanning. Depending on the size and speed of your drive, the process may take some time, so be patient.
- With the help of Disk Drill’s search results filters and search feature, analyze the scan results and select all missing files.
- Click the Recover button and select a suitable recovery destination for your files.
As you can see, data recovery with Disk Drill is a matter of three simple steps, so you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, especially considering that Disk Drill can preview all deleted data for free. [7]
Calling in the Professionals
Unfortunately, not all data loss situations can be addressed at home with DIY data recovery software. In some cases, such as when dealing with physically damaged hard drives, it’s necessary to contact a data recovery service center like SalvageData and let professionals with state-of-the-art equipment and plenty of experience take care of the recovery for you. [8]
Most data recovery centers have a similar workflow:
- You initiate a work order.
- Pack and ship your media.
- Receive an expert estimate.
- Approve the price quote.
- Wait until your data is recovered and securely delivered to you on a DVD, a flash drive, or an external hard drive.
It’s like hiring a plumber to fix a leaky faucet – you may be able to do it yourself, but sometimes it’s worth the investment to let the experts handle it, especially when the stakes are high.
So, whether you choose to go the DIY route with Disk Drill or entrust your data to a professional recovery service, the key is to act quickly and avoid further damage to your external hard drive. With the right approach, you can turn a potentially disastrous situation into a stress-free data recovery experience.
[1] https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-recover-data-or-just-get-my-external-hard/bad1ead0-a9f6-4e53-bd01-e1fe0d37c6d4
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/datarecovery/comments/wqq2gc/recovery_files_from_corrupted_external_hard_drive/
[3] https://www.cleverfiles.com/help/external-hard-drive-recovery.html
[4] https://askubuntu.com/questions/334512/recover-data-from-external-1tb-hdd
[5] https://recoverit.wondershare.com/harddrive-recovery/recover-files-from-external-hard-drive.html
[6] https://superuser.com/questions/840367/recovering-data-from-a-fried-external-hard-drive
[7] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6454461
[8] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-11/how-to-recover-data-from-a-corrupted-hard-drive-on-windows-11/td-p/4091084
