How to Recover Data from a Hard Drive
Losing important data can be a nightmare for anyone. Whether due to a hard disk failure, accidental deletion, or a virus attack, losing precious information can cause immense frustration and inconvenience. However, there's still hope. It's possible to hard drive recovery with the right ways and a little time. In this blog post, we'll look at some of the most effective ways to recover data from a hard drive in Windows 11/10, Mac, and Linux.
- Quick Navigation
- Part 1: Why Does My Data Store on the Hard Drive Disappear?
- Part 2: Steps to Take Before Beginning the Hard Disk Recovery Process
- Part 3: Top Ways to Recover Data from Hard Drive
- Part 4: What to Do If Hard Drive Recovery Fails
- Part 5: Precautions to Avoid Disk File Loss
- Part 6: FAQ
Why Does My Data Store on the Hard Drive Disappear?
Losing personal or business data stored on your hard drive can be catastrophic, especially if you don't have a backup. It's essential to understand the common causes of data loss. Here are some of them:
- 🗑️ Accidental Deletion or Formatting: It can occur when you accidentally delete files or format the entire hard drive without realizing the consequences.
- ⚠️ File System Corruption: A File System is used to control data storage and indexing. If it gets corrupted, although the data is still stored, you won't be able to access them, not even the disk.
- 🦠 Virus or Malware: They may corrupt, delete, hide, or tamper with some files, making them disappear from the hard drive or unreadable.
- 💽 Bad Sectors: Hard drives can develop bad sectors over time. Data stored in these sectors can become unreadable, making it seem like it has disappeared.
- 🖥️ System or program crash: It will cause data to be lost or corrupted, especially if the hard drive was writing data when the power issue occurred.
- 📜 Other Reasons: Data stored in a hard disk can also be lost due to drive failure, capacitance, firmware corruption, sudden power outages, physical damage, and other human errors.
Once you understand the cause, you can also improve the chances of recovery by following these tips.
Steps to Take Before Beginning the Hard Disk Recovery Process
Data recovery from a hard drive is a delicate process and requires careful preparation to increase the chances of successful recovery. Here are some steps you should take before beginning the restore hard drive process:
- 📊 Assess the Situation: Identify the cause of data loss. Is it due to accidental deletion, a software problem, or a hardware failure? This will help decide the best approach to recover data from a hard disk.
- ⛔ Stop Using the Drive: If you suspect your data has been lost or deleted, stop using the drive immediately. Continued use can lead to further data loss or overwriting of the lost files.
- 📤 Backup Remaining Data: If the hard drive is still accessible, backup any remaining data to a separate storage device. This prevents further data loss during the recovery process.
- ✅ Prepare a Recovery Destination: Have a separate storage device ready to receive any recovered data. Never recover the data to the same drive, which can result in overwriting other lost files.
- 🏷️ Consider Professional Help: If the data loss is due to physical damage or the data is extremely important, consider employing a professional data recovery service. They have specialized tools and clean room environments to safely recover data from a damaged hard disk.
Remember, the key to successful data recovery from hard drive is acting quickly and carefully to prevent further data loss.
Top Ways to Recover Data from Hard Drive
Losing important data that is stored on a disk can be a very frustrating experience. Whether it's a work report, personal photo album, or a saved project, losing such information can be overwhelming. Thankfully, with advancements in technology, recovering data from a disk is not only possible but can also be relatively easy. There are several ways to accomplish this task; they are:
1. Use the Undo Option
If you haven't done anything since you lost the file, this is the easiest way to restore data from the hard drive:
-
🖥️ In Windows 10/11: Go to the folder where the file was previously stored. On the empty area, right-click and select "Undo delete," then the lost item will appear again.
-
💻 On macOS: Open the location where the target data is located and click Edit > Undo from the top menu. Refresh the folder to check if the missing files are back.
2. Check the Trash
Both Windows and Mac provide it to avoid users losing data due to accidental deletion. However, it only works on files removed from your computer's internal hard drive and requires you not to empty the Recycle Bin. If you meet such requirements, you can follow the steps to regain your lost data.
-
🖥️ For Windows PC: Find the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and open it, then find the accidentally deleted file in the file list and right-click to select "Restore." The data lost from the hard drive will appear in its original location again.
-
💻 For Mac: Click the trash can icon in the Dock and select the file you need in the list that appears, right-click and select "Put Back." Finally, go to the destination before the file disappears to inspect it.
3. Use the System's Built-in Backup and Restore Options
Windows and macOS come with built-in options that can help protect your files and system setup. If you enabled it before file loss, then you can quickly get the lost files. Here's the step:
Recover Data from Hard Disk in Windows 11/10:
- Select the folder that once contained the file you want to restore.
- Right-click and choose "Restore previous versions" from the context menu.
- Select a version you need to restore based on the timestamp.
-
Click the triangle icon to the right of the "Restore" button and select "Restore To" to retrieve the hard disk data.
Data Recovery from Hard Drive on Mac:
- Attach the external drive or Time Capsule with the Time Machine backup.
-
Click the "clock" icon in the top bar and select "Enter Time Machine."
-
A timeline on the right side shows the dates of past backups. Use the timeline to find the version of the file or folder you're looking for. You can also use the up and down arrows or the search field in a Finder window to locate a file.
- Once you've found the lost files, click on it to select it. Press the "Space" bar to preview it and ensure it's the one you want. Click "Restore" to save them.
4. Use Disk Recovery Software
The above methods of recovering data from a hard drive require features or a backup. If you have neither, then you can only rely on professional recovery tools. They use special algorithms to extract and reorganize fragmented files remaining on the hard disk for the purpose of data recovery. However, the choice of such a program will vary depending on the system. To recover the hard drive, you can choose the following different steps according to your system:
For Windows and Mac:
Here, you can use iBeesoft Data Recovery, which is a professional software designed to retrieve deleted or lost files from various storage devices. Additionally, it has the ability to reorganize damaged files, which is an excellent option for users looking for effective ways to restore data from the hard disk in Windows 10/11 and Mac. Here are its main features:
Your Best Free Hard Drive Recovery Software
- Besides the initial quick scan, it also offers a "Deep Scan" option that thoroughly searches the chosen location.
- Its intuitive user interface makes unerase and unformat hard drive a simple process.
- Users can preview files before recovery, ensuring that they're restoring the correct file.
Here's an essential guide on how to recover data from a hard drive using iBeesoft:
- Download the software from the iBeesoft website and install it on your computer.
-
Launch the Program, and you'll see a list of locations from which the program can restore files. This includes hard disk drives, external devices, and specific file paths.
- Choose the disk where you lost the data and click "Scan" to start scanning.
-
After the scan, the software will display a list of files that can be recovered. You can preview these files before recovery.
-
Select the files you lost and click "Recover" to save them to a location other than where they were lost to avoid data overwriting.
For Linux:
Due to the small audience of Linux, there are also few software suitable for hard drive recovery. However, there is still a choice. Here, you use TestDisk. It is an open-source tool used to recover disk/partition and fix its errors. Here are steps to recover data from a hard disk free on Linux by TestDisk:
- Download TestDisk on your computer.
- Type "sudo apt-get install testdisk" in your terminal to Install it.
- Enter the command "testdisk" to run the utility.
- Choose "Create a new log file."
-
Select the disk from which you want to recover the data.
- Select the type of partition table of your disk.
-
Choose "Advanced" and the disk where the lost files were located and select "Undelete."
-
At this point, you should see a list of deleted files. Select the ones you want to recover and press "c" to copy them to a directory.
What to Do If Hard Drive Recovery Fails
Losing important data can be devastating. The situation can cause even the most stoic of people to despair. Disk recovery can often solve this problem, but what happens when that doesn't work? In this case, you have one more option - consider data recovery services. Here are some features about them:
- Key Features:
- Have professionals who are skilled in handling different types of data loss situations.
- Use professional tools to reverse engineer the original data and recover the hard drive, even if it is physically damaged.
- Disk data recovery is done in a dust-free laboratory to avoid further damage.
- Disadvantages:
- These services can be expensive, especially for complex hard drive recovery tasks. The cost can vary greatly depending on the severity of the damage and the amount of data to be recovered.
- It can be a lengthy process, depending on the extent of the damage. Restoring data from severely damaged hard disks can take days or even weeks.
Overall, it can be expensive and time-consuming. If you want this service to recover data from hard drive, you need to search to find the service provider near you.
Precautions to Avoid Disk File Loss
Prevention is always better than cure. You can avoid data recovery from hard disk hassle by taking simple preventative measures. Some measures include running a regular antivirus scan, keeping your computer away from viruses and malware, avoiding accidental deletions, and backing up your files regularly.
FAQs
-
While many cases of data loss can be recovered, it's only sometimes possible. The success of file recovery depends on the nature and extent of the hard disk damage.
-
The cost can vary widely depending on the severity of the data loss and the service you use. Some software options are free or low-cost, while professional data recovery services can charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
-
The time it takes to retrieve files from a hard drive can depend on several factors, including the amount of data to be recovered and the speed of your computer. It could take anywhere from a few hours to several days.
-
Many data recovery software for Mac, Windows, and Linux options can help you recover a hard drive. However, you may need professional recovery service help if the disk is physically damaged
-
Almost any type of data can be recovered, including documents, photos, videos, emails, and system files.
-
Sometimes, a professional data recovery service can recover data from a 'dead' hard drive. However, if the drive's components are physically damaged, recovery may not be possible.
-
The best way to prevent data loss is by regularly backing up your file to an external hard drive or cloud-based service. Using reliable security software to protect against malware and other threats is also important.
Conclusion
We hope this blog post has helped you understand how to recover data from a hard drive in Windows 10/11, Mac, and Linux. With the help of these methods, you should be able to regain the lost items. In addition, if the hard drive suffers serious errors or physical damage, consulting a professional recovery service is also helpful. At last, don’t let data loss be a nightmare for you; be proactive and take preventative measures to keep your data safe and secure.