How to recover data from a unrecognized external hard drive

[srobid1968]

my external hard drive is corrupted and now does not show a healthy partition how can i get my files back for free. i am disabled and can not afford expensive programs.
thanks

 

[phil22]

Free data recovery software can be downloaded, but none of them will work unless the system can actually "see" the drive and that the recovery software can read from it. Free recovery software here:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/filerecovery/tp/free-file-recovery-programs.htm

If the drive has failed however, the only way to rescue any data from it is to send it to a data recovery service, but that is very expensive.

That's why keeping all your files backed up on a second hard drive or on optical discs is so important. Backing up data has never been easier or more affordable than it is today, yet countless people still don't bother to even think about it.
the fact is that all hard drives fail eventually and you have to be prepared for when that happens.

 

[dabber]

It may be worth trying to see if UBUNTU will recognise the drive, I managed to recover files from an internal drive using it.

Booting the system gave a message something like SMART BAD, so the disk was seen by the bios. However once windows loaded the disk wasn't available.

I downloaded the UBUNTU 12.04 ISO, burned it to a DVD then booted from that. Even though Windows wouldn't recognise the drive, UBUNTU did. I managed to copy the data from the faulty disk to a working disk.

 

[alkarnak]

my external hard drive is corrupted and now does not show a healthy partition how can i get my files back for free. i am disabled and can not afford expensive programs.
thanks

answer : Hi for you all

i would like to suggest to you to check your external hard disk on other computer , if it works then the problem might be from one of the usb cables connected to your computer , disconnect any usb cable ( if one cable is faulty it will affect all usb ports ) then connect only your external hard disk and windows will recognize it , that problem happened to me last month and i was working to solve it for weeks , i googled the problem and non of the solutions work for me , then i decided to solve it my self and found that one of my usb-hub extension cable is faulty , once i removed it my ex-hdd works immediatly and all my data were available as they are .

try this solution it might work for you and many others.

maasalamah ( bye )

jamal almoqeem - saudi arabia

EMAIL REDACTED - SS

 

[Nishita Shah]

Spam in quote removed - SS

i can see it in disk management which free software can be used i have almost 1tb of data i have segate external hard drive both mac and windows conpatible

 

[oopsy]

Free data recovery software can be downloaded, but none of them will work unless the system can actually "see" the drive and that the recovery software can read from it. Free recovery software here:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/filerecovery/tp/free-file-recovery-programs.htm

If the drive has failed however, the only way to rescue any data from it is to send it to a data recovery service, but that is very expensive.

That's why keeping all your files backed up on a second hard drive or on optical discs is so important. Backing up data has never been easier or more affordable than it is today, yet countless people still don't bother to even think about it.
the fact is that all hard drives fail eventually and you have to be prepared for when that happens.

 

[oopsy]

A similar thing has happened to me. My Samsung Ex HD just decided to stop working but My Computer recognizes the drive and that it has content, when click on open- the window comes up with selections to view files etc, usually there would be 5 or 6 choices now only 2 and when I open the drive it shows no files or folders from a lap top.

Tried on a friends PC and the drive showed 2 things on the disk 1. a folder called Folder.0000 and a recycle bin neither of which I opened. I tried 3 recovery programs already but not the one mentioned above starting with U. Ironic I am in between moving and PCs and Lap tops and have been looking at pricing for online storage as all my college work, backed up emails, docs, files, programs, my lives work basically for 10 years worth of computers is on this flipping drive.

I am a pretty tech savvy 51yo woman but I do have Chronic Fatigue which is probably why I never thought to save to optical disk, now I feel really stupid...I also can barely afford a new external drive let alone pay someone to retrieve the files. I've been told might need to go into a "clean room" at great expense will take me over a year to save for that.

If anyone knows any programs under $100.00 that WILL recover my files given my disk is still "visible" please let me know, and or if anyone knows anyone in Australia reputable for getting a quote on recovery of my info much appreciated. Meanwhile I will try the program starting with U, and I do know not to allow reformatting or changing of any partitions etc.

 

[Levy42088]

It may be worth trying to see if UBUNTU will recognise the drive, I managed to recover files from an internal drive using it.

Booting the system gave a message something like SMART BAD, so the disk was seen by the bios. However once windows loaded the disk wasn't available.

I downloaded the UBUNTU 12.04 ISO, burned it to a DVD then booted from that. Even though Windows wouldn't recognise the drive, UBUNTU did. I managed to copy the data from the faulty disk to a working disk.

I know I may be necro'ing the thread, but I had to put my 2 cents in.

This solution worked. My brother has an hitachi g-drive 2 terabyte external and 2 days ago is got a red blinking light on it and was unable to be read by his apple pc. All his editing work for the past 2 days has not been backed up, so simply formatting was not an option.

I saw ur post, I already had a copy of Ubuntu so I gave it a shot. Booted up Ubuntu off of the cd, plugged in his external, and boom, recognized AND accessible.

I will be transferring all his files
To a new external, through Ubuntu, tonight.

Thanks again