The moment you plug your external hard drive in, a window opens stating that it can’t be read, or that it’s inaccessible. You might even receive a window that suggests formatting it. Regardless, something has happened that’s now preventing you from accessing your files. Show
In these situations, you have to be strategic in what you do. Making changes could worsen the situation if you’re unsure of what you’re doing. In this article, we’ll discuss what could have caused this to happen and how to recover your external hard drive without formatting it. As with any data loss situation, you should stop using the drive immediately. Continued use of the affected drive may result in new data overwriting your lost files. Only use the drive once you’re prepared to implement the fixes outlined in this article. Reasons Behind Faulty External Hard DrivesHard drives are far from perfect. Their proneness to data-related issues worsens as they age. Let’s take a look at a few common reasons why your external hard drive has decided to stop working:
Any one of the above problems can prevent access to the drive. Let’s move onto how you can recover an external hard disk without formatting. How to Recover Files From an External Hard Drive Without FormattingIf you’re unable to get your external hard drive up and running, the next step you should take is recovering your data before the external hard drive stops working completely. If you don’t have a backup of the data that was on your external hard drive, you should look at using data recovery software. This type of software specializes in the search and recovery of data that is presumably lost or inaccessible. In this instance, we’ll be using Disk Drill Data Recovery because it offers a free trial and has a proven track record of successful recoveries in both personal and commercial environments. In just a few clicks you can have your data restored and ready to use.
How to Fix a Corrupted External Hard Drive Without FormattingIf you’re having problems with your hard drive, the ideal solution is to fix it without losing your data. Try some of the below solutions to access the hard drive without formatting. Method 1: Assign or change the drive letterFor your operating system to allow you access to the drive, it needs a drive letter. These are usually assigned automatically once the drive is connected, but if it isn’t, you can assign or change the drive letter manually:
Method 2: Reinstall or update the driversDrivers enable your operating system to communicate with the hardware that’s connected to your computer. If the drivers used by your external hard drive are corrupted or outdated, this can result in a breakdown in communication between the drive and your computer. This can easily be fixed by manually reinstalling the drivers or updating them to the latest version:
Method 3: Use the CHKDSK utility to fix file system errorsWindows includes the Check Disk Utility by default. It’s used to scan for and fix issues relating to the file system such as bad sectors and directory errors.
How to Take Care of Your DataOf course, while data recovery is a lifesaver in many situations, actively taking care of your data ensures you’re less likely to lose data in situations like this one.
FAQ
Many who face problems with their hard drive would like to open the hard disk without formatting. However, when plugging the drive in, Windows advises that the drive needs to be formatted first. If your drive is facing issues relating to its file system, you can try using the CHKDSK utility to fix it:
How to retrieve data from a hard disk without formatting?If your drive isn’t accessible and you don’t have a backup to restore from, you can recover data from an external hard drive using recovery software. Through the use of data recovery software, you can restore files that were previously lost, as well as files that are inaccessible by your operating system. What do I do if my external hard drive is not detected?First isolate where the issue sits. Try the hard drive in another port. If that doesn’t work, try it on another computer. If that doesn’t work, try using a different cable. By doing this you can determine whether the issue sits with your external hard drive or the machine it’s being used in. If none of the devices you connected to have detected it, it could be a hardware-related issue. If that’s the case, a professional will need to review and fix the problem. Will formatting fix a corrupted hard drive?While it may not work in every situation, formatting a corrupted hard drive definitely has a chance of fixing it. Formatting is typically done when preparing a new hard drive or performing a fresh install and involves removing all the data from the hard drive. A quick format can address issues related to the file system and a full format can identify and mark bad sectors so that new data isn’t written to them. However, if a drive is severely damaged, there’s a chance that some bad sectors won’t be marked as such. And, a full format doesn’t prevent future corruption from appearing. Can you recover files from a corrupted external hard drive?Yes, you can. If you don’t have a backup of the hard drive’s contents, you can recover files from a hard drive using data recovery software. You can attempt recovery of the data in the drive’s current corrupted state. If this isn’t possible, you may need to format the drive in order to restore it to a functioning state. However, even after formatting, there’s still a good chance that you can recover lost files. ConclusionWith the methods outlined in this article, you can recover an external hard drive without formatting. However, even when attempting all of these fixes, the problem may persist. If that’s the case, attempt recovery using data recovery software, then consider formatting the drive to restore functionality. Going forward, proactively taking care of your data can help prevent these types of situations. Taking the time out of your day to set up an automatic backup can save you countless hours in the future. How do I wipe my hard drive without a disk?Disk Wipe. Disk Wipe(Opens in a new window) is a free portable erasure utility that runs from a USB drive and wipes your Windows boot drive. Simply download and run the DiskWipe.exe file on your PC, or create a bootable environment on your USB flash drive and run Disk Wipe from there.
How do I force a hard drive to format?Right click on the drive and select Format. Enter a name for the drive in Volume label and select the format type in the File system dropdown box. Click OK. It will take a short while to delete all the files and change the format of the disk.
How do I manually reset my hard drive?Formatting in Windows. Click "Start" and type "disk" into the search field. ... . Right-click the disk drive you want to reset and choose "Format" from the context menu.. Type a name for the new drive in the Volume Label field. ... . Uncheck "Perform a Quick Format." Click "OK" twice to format the hard drive.. |