Data loss is inevitable, whether from a computer crash, natural disaster, or just plain carelessness. When your data is gone, you’re exposed to all sorts of problems. You might have lost the only file that proves your innocence in a court case or photos of your kids that could never be replaced. What do you do when this happens?
The good news is that tools are available to help you recover your data. But when it comes to recovering data from an external hard drive, there are several different things you should know before leaping. Here are some tips for recovering data from an external hard drive.
Recovering Data from an External Hard Drive
One of the most important things about an external hard drive data recovery is to use a professional service. These services are designed to help you retrieve your data, and there are plenty of reasons why they’re better than doing it yourself.
You could try downloading software that can recover data from an external hard drive yourself, but the problem is that the programs don’t always work as advertised. For this reason, it’s best to leave it up to professional service by using their tools and expertise. The only downside is that these services can cost money, but they’re worth it if you want your data back.
You may also want to consider storing your data in the cloud so that if anything happens again, your files will be safe. Cloud storage solutions offer unlimited space and allow users to access their files from any device with an internet connection–even those without an operating system! This way, you’ll never have to worry about losing your important information again.
How Can I Recover Files From an External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
The first thing you should do is make sure the drive is not broken. A broken hard drive can’t be read and therefore won’t provide any useful information. Try a different cable or another computer with a working hard drive if the disk isn’t working.
If you have tried all of the above and still can’t recover your files, then you’ll have to format the disk to recover them. This is a very bad idea because formatting wipes out all of your data; however, it will allow you to recover files from the disk without worrying about losing everything on it. To format a disk, follow these steps:
- Turn off your computer and unplug all of the peripherals connected to it.
- Wait for about 5 minutes to cool the disk down a bit.
- Plug in your external drive, and wait until Windows 7 can recognize it. If Windows 7 does not recognize the disk, you will have to choose Format from the Disk Management window instead of AutoFormat.
- If you are using a Mac, plug in your external drive and wait for it to be recognized. Then open Disk Utility and reformat the disk as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This will allow you to recover files from an external hard drive that hasn’t been appropriately formatted by a computer with a different operating system.
- When both your computer and external hard drive have been properly recognized, open a Command Prompt window by clicking Start > All Programs > Accessories and then right-clicking on “Command Prompt” and selecting “Run as administrator.”
- Type the following command: diskpart
- Type the following command: list disk
- Type the following command: select disk n, where n is the number of your hard drive. This will show you all of your hard drives.
- Type the following command: clean
- Type the following command: list partition where n is the number of your hard drive. This will show you all of your partitions on each hard drive.
- Select a partition from one of your hard drives with this command: select partition x
- Type the following command: format fs=fat32 quick where x is the number of your hard drive. This will reformat your hard drive to use a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system.
That’s it! You should now access files on your external hard drive from your Mac computer. Please leave them in the comments section below if you have any questions.