External Hard Drive Data Recovery: 4 Methods to Recover Lost Data from External HDD/SSD

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Do you need to recover deleted or formatted data from an external hard drive that was accidentally erased, formatted, corrupted, or destroyed by malware? Here are 4 tried-and-true strategies for retrieving information from an external HDD or SSD.

Before you finish your coffee, you'll have everything back on your device, whether you need to retrieve images from an external hard drive or restore other HDD data. Let's examine the reasons for and solutions to data loss from hard drives.

Can We Recover Lost Data from An External Hard Drive?

Files on an external hard drive lost due to deletion or formatting can be recovered. The files which have been removed from the external hard drive are not REALLY LOST. The file system only hides the deleted/erased files and makes the disk space of the lost files be available for new files. Before the disk space of the lost files is completely overwritten by new files, the lost files can be recovered by data recovery software or other data recovery methods.

When you have realized that your data on your external HDD or SSD is lost, stop using the external HDD or SSD. Immediately find a reliable data recovery solution to get the lost data back. Just check the data recovery methods below to help you undelete files on external hard drive, unformat an external hard drive or recover overwritten, damaged, inaccessible data from an external hard drive.

Best 4 Methods to Recover Lost Data from External Hard Drive

Data loss can happen at any time. If you delete files on an external hard drive by mistake, or format the external hard drive without backup, you still have the chance to get the lost files back. The following 4 methods can help you recover lost data from an external hard drive whether you are a Windows user or a Mac user. 

Method 1: Use external hard drive data recovery software

As a powerful data recovery program, Donemax Data Recovery is able to recover all lost data from HDD, SSD, external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, camera, RAID, Server, etc. If you are looking for a tool to recover lost data from an external hard drive, this software is a good choice.

Step 1. Download and install Donemax Data Recovery.

Download the trial version of Donemax Data Recovery on your Windows PC or a Mac. The trial version can help you scan the external hard drive, find all recoverable files.

Step 2. Select the external hard drive to start data recovery.

Connect the external hard drive to your computer and open Donemax Data Recovery. This software will recognize the external hard drive (even it gets damaged) automatically. Just select the external hard drive to start data recovery.

Step 3. Scan for deleted/lost/inaccessible data.

Get started looking for lost data. Select the button labeled "Scan" and continue. Allowing the program to deeply scan the external hard drive and find all existing files, deleted/lost files, hidden and inaccessible files, etc.

Step 4. Preview and recover lost files.

Check out a preview of the recoverable data before deciding to save it. If you want to rapidly locate specific files among the recovered data, you can use the filtering options. Then select the wanted files, and save them by clicking on Recover button.

Method 2: Use backup to restore lost files

Have you made copies of the data on your external hard drive to store locally, in the cloud, or on another device? To prevent data loss, you should do that. You can regain that data if you accidentally deleted something or the disk malfunctioned.

However, this external hard drive data recovery procedure can retrieve the files from a backup. After a disk backup, the data cannot be recovered. However, it works wonderfully for data recovery in general.

Method 3: Check if the lost files are in Recycle bin

The Recycle Bin is capable of retrieving information from external drives. Yes! The Recycle Bin is widely recognized as the standard method for retrieving lost data from computers, mobile devices, and other storage media. All files and folders you delete will be stored there until you fully empty the Recycle Bin and replace the space on your external hard drive.

Method 4: Use data recovery services

You may be out of luck if you've stored crucial information on an external hard drive but have tried and failed at every possible recovery technique. The user must then resort to contacting a data recovery provider. They are experts at retrieving information from portable hard disk drives. They have extensive expertise in HDD data recovery, even in the most difficult cases. Be sure to investigate the data recovery services thoroughly.

FAQs About External Hard Drive Data Recovery

1. Can I recover permanently deleted files from an external hard drive?

Yes, Donemax Data Recovery is able to scan the external hard drive in deep scan mode and it will find all deleted files including the ones you deleted a few years ago.

2. How to unformat an external hard drive?

• Download and install Donemax Data Recovery on your computer.
• Connect the external hard drive to your computer.
• Open Donemax Data Recovery and select the external hard drive.
• Click on Scan button.
• Recover all recoverable files.

3. What to do if the computer asks me to format the external hard drive?

First of all, use Donemax Data Recovery to export all files from it to your computer, then you can format it. If you have formatted it, you also can use Donemax Data Recovery to get all formatted data back.

4. What is the best external hard drive data recovery software?

Here is the list of best 10 external HDD/SSD data recovery software (Windows and macOS supported):

• Donemax Data Recovery
• Stellar Data Recovery
• EaseUS Data Recovery
• Wondershare Recoverit
• Magoshare Data Recovery
• iBoysoft Data Recovery
• iBeesoft Data Recovery
• Recuva Data Recovery
• Do Your Data Recovery
• Minitool Data Recovery

5. External hard drive is not showing up, how to fix this issue?

If you are a Windows user, open Disk Management, then give the external hard drive a new drive letter or format it.

If you are a Mac user, open Finder > Settings, then check you have selected External disks under General and Sidebar. If it still does not work, open Disk Utility to mount the external hard drive or repair it by using First Aid.

6. How to recover lost data from an unrecognized external hard drive?

Donemax Data Recovery is able to find and scan the unrecognized external hard drive, RAW drive. Then it will find all existing files and lost files. You can select the wanted files and save them to a safe location.

Conclusion:

You can avoid permanent data loss in the event of a malfunctioning external hard drive or an unintentional format or deletion of files. Use Donemax Data Recovery or one of the other methods described above to retrieve deleted files or lost files from an external hard drive.

Whether you are a Mac user or a Windows user, Donemax Data Recovery is a good choice for your to recover lost data from external hard drive. It is recommended to perform the data recovery with this data recovery software immediately when you have formatted your external hard drive.