- Data stored on a hard drive is safe under normal circumstances, but not foolproof.
- If the hard drive was removed or corrupted, knowing how to recover the data on it is important.
- This article will cover all the basic steps that you need to take to recover data from an HDD.
- The solutions listed include using third-party tools, as well as ways to do it manually.
Hard drives are a core component of any PC and laptop, since that’s where everything is stored, both system-related data and personal data, and they are becoming bigger and bigger with each year.
Of course, hard drivers don’t just get bigger, they also become safer and harder to corrupt, hence our tendency to store more and more data on them without thinking of backups.
Unfortunately, safer and harder to corrupt are not the same thing as incorruptible, and hard drives can become damaged and unreadable, either because of hardware or software errors.
The biggest issue is when there’s plenty of data on those hard drives, data that, as we’ve mentioned earlier, you may not have thought about backing up somewhere else either, so recovering that data becomes your priority.
Today we will be looking over several methods through which you can recover your data from your hard drives, providing you with step-by-step solutions and pictures so you can see exactly what needs to be done.
How can I recover data from a Hard Drive?
1. Boot in Safe Mode
This process differs based on what version of Windows you are using, as follows:
- Select Safe Mode from the menu.
- Select Safe Mode from the menu.
Once the transfer is done, clean your PC with a third-party PC optimizer and cleaner, or an antivirus, or simply give it a complete reset so whatever caused the initial problem will be fixed.
2. Try recovering your data manually
As mentioned in the previous solution, there are ways of recovering data from a corrupted hard drive without the use of dedicated third-party software, and we’re going to cover that in the steps below:
- You can also slot it into an additional port.
- If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to buy an enclosure that matches your hard drive’s specs.
Tip
Note: If the original PC or laptop was password-protected, the new PC will deny you access to the newly installed HDD, so additional steps need to be taken.
Here’s how to recover data from a password-protected HDD:
- Users Folder
- Documents and Settings
3. Use a third-party data recovery tool
The fastest and most efficient way to recover data from an HDD or SSD, regardless of why it got corrupted in the first place, is to use dedicated third-party data recovery software.
Besides, regular methods of data recovery, such as the ones described after this solution, require a certain degree of experience using a PC, so beginners pretty much lack an alternative.
Nonetheless, Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition is a completely free data recovery tool that will return all of the data to you, even if the HDD went through a complete PC reset.
Tip
Note: Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition is indeed completely free without any kind of limitations, although you must know that there is a 1 GB recovery limit, so if you have more data to recover, you should opt for one of their paid plans.
4. Use the help of your local PC repair centers
This is probably the most costly of all of the solutions mentioned above, but since we’re talking about handing over your HDD to a third-party PC repair establishment, at least you know that your hardware will be handled by experts.
So, simply take your desktop or your laptop to the local repair service, tell them what you want to recover, and wait for them to contact you again.
By following these steps, you should be able to efficiently recover the data from your hard drive. However, keep in mind that if the hard drive is severely damaged physically, chances are there are very few things that can be done, even if you take it to a PC repair shop.
Know of another way you can recover data from a hard drive? Let us know about it by leaving your suggestions in the comments section below.
ncG1vNJzZmivmaOxsMPSq5ypp6Kpe6S7zGipnpufq7KzecOaq5plmJa%2FpXnDq6CvnV8%3D