How To Recover Data from A Dead Hard Drive

So, you tried to boot from your hard disk, and all you could hear is a buzzing sound with no response. Chances are it is dead. But, instead of crying over the spilled milk, let’s try and see if we can recover data from the dead hard drive. And that’s what this post is all about. Here we will look at ways you can access the damage and recover data from a dead hard drive.

Ascertaining The Level Of Damage

At the outset, let’s assume you don’t know whether your hard drive actually dead or it is just corrupted. In this step, we’ll assess the level of damage and if there is some hope left.

There are two types of hard drive damage – physical and logical. The physical damage makes data recovery difficult, and in such a case, you might have to seek the help of a professional data recovery service. In logical damage, you can mostly recover files using a data recovery tool.

Prepping Up

– Have An Antivirus Ready First

Since you might risk inserting a hard drive into another computer that has been corrupted or damaged with a virus, you should have an Antivirus program ready on the other computer. This way the Antivirus utility will catch hold of any malware and remove it. Here is a list of some of the best Antivirus for Windows OS.

– Remove Hard Drive And Plug It Into Another Computer

As we said before if you can’t boot from your hard drive and especially if it had the operating system on it, you may have the possibility in your hands where your hard is dead. What you can do is open the case and connect the corrupted hard drive to another PC using a SATA cable. In case it’s a laptop’s hard drive, you may want to seek the assistance of a technician or someone who has proficiency in removing hard drives from laptops.

How To Recover Data From A Dead Hard Disk

Here we are going to discuss ways in which you can recover files from a dead hard drive (external or internal).

– Recover Files From A Dead Hard Disk Using A Data Recovery Tool

If nothing else seems to work, try out using data recovery software that might just increase your chances of getting the lost data back.

Advanced Disk Recovery, for instance, is one of the most popular data recovery solutions that can help you recover all kinds of files including lost documents, videos, audio files, photos, and all other types of files. It even supports external drives such as USB flash drives, memory cards, external hard drives, and others. So, if you are on the lookout for a solution to recover files from a dead external hard drive, Advanced Disk Recovery might just be the tool you are searching for.

How To Use Advanced Disk Recovery To Recover Files From A Dead Hard Drive?

1. Download, run and install Advanced Disk Recovery.

2. Under the Select the areas to be scanned for deleted files and folders, click on the Hard Drive radio button. You can even click on the Removable or Partitions radio button as well.

3. Under Select Drive select the name of the drive.

4. Click on the Start Scan Now button.

5. Select the mode of the scan. In this case, we recommend you opt for a Deep Scan for a detailed sector-wise scanning of your hard disk. The scan will take some time, but the results will be worth it.

6. Click on the Scan now button located at the bottom-right corner.

7. You will now see a list of recoverable files. Select the ones you want to recover and click on the Recover button from the bottom-right corner of the interface. You can also click on the Preview button and preview a file before deciding whether to recover it or not.

This was just a glimpse of this wonderful tool. Want to know more about it? You can check out our comprehensive review of Advanced Disk Recovery.

Some Other Ways You Might Be Able To Recover Lost Data

– Restore From A Previous Backup

We are ardent advocates of taking data backups regularly. That’s because, in a situation where your hard drive is dead, and you might lose the data in it, you can at least rely on your backup and restore data from there.

If you haven’t backed up your data yet, here is how you can back up your Windows 11/10 data. Not a fan of manual methods, instead want a tool that can help you backup your data on Windows 10? Check out the various backup software for Windows.

– Use The CHKDSK Command

If there is any hope that you can revive the dead hard drive, the CHKDSK command in the Command Prompt can be of aid. To use the CHKDSK command –

1. Search for cmd in your Windows search bar  and click on Run as administrator from the right-hand side.

2. When the Command Prompt opens, type CHKDSK /f /r drive name and press Enter.

You can check if you have been able to revert the damage.

– Use The SFC Command

Another command-in-line command that could prove helpful is the SFC command. Once you have opened the Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow and press Enter.

Wrapping Up

Were you able to recover data from your dead hard drive? If yes, which of the above methods helped you out? Do let us know in the comments section below. And, if you found the information in this post helpful, do share it with someone who might be in the same situation. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek. Follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.