How to Recover Files from External Hard Drive without Formatting
- Scenario
- Why external hard drive keeps asking to format it?
- Can you recover files from external hard drive without formatting?
- How to recover files from external hard drive without formatting
- Recover corrupted external hard disk using chkdsk
- Recover files from corrupted hard drive free with data recovery software
- Bonus tip
- Verdict
Scenario
"I use a WD external hard drive on Windows 7. It has four partitions. And all of them works well before. But, now, all partitions become inaccessible with an error message "You need to format this partition first to use it". I saved lots of files like Excel files, word files, documents, photos, videos on the drive. I want to know how to recover files from external hard drive without formatting it."
Why external hard drive keeps asking to format it?
When your computer asks you to format your external hard drive, it may run into problems. Here are some possible reasons as follow.
1. To safely remove an external hard drive, you should first unplug it from the computer, but not eject or safely remove it. This is the correct order of steps to ensure the safe removal of the external hard drive.
2. Accidentally deleted some system files and make external hard drive unreadable.
3. A virus infection can cause files and folders to be hidden, turn into shortcuts, or even make a drive inaccessible.
4. The external hard drive has bad sectors.
5. File table corruption could damage the external hard drive.
6. Other unknown reasons.
Can you recover files from external hard drive without formatting?
Yes, you can recover files from an external hard drive without formatting it. This can be done using data recovery software, which can scan the drive and recover deleted or corrupted files. The process typically involves connecting the external hard drive to a computer, running the data recovery software, and following the software's instructions to scan the drive and recover the desired files. It's essential to stop using the external hard drive immediately after realizing the data loss to prevent overwriting of the existing data, which can make recovery more difficult or even impossible.
You can't access your external hard drive, but you can still recover the data on it using file recovery software.
How to recover files from external hard drive without formatting
You can recover data from a corrupted hard disk using two methods. One way is to use the Command Prompt (CMD) to access and retrieve your data. Alternatively, you can utilize a free data recovery software, which is considered the best option for this task.
Recover corrupted external hard disk using chkdsk
If you're trying to recover files from a corrupted external drive, you can try to fix the drive first. If that doesn't work, you can use the Command Prompt (cmd) to recover corrupted external hard disk.
Start with the detailed steps.
Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and right click it, then select run as administrator.
Step 2. Type the following command in the command prompt and hit Enter to run it.
chkdsk F: /f/x/r
The command uses the following parameters: `--help`, `-h`, `--version`, `--verbose`, `--debug`, `--config`, `--config-file`, `--config-dir`, `--log-file`, `--log-level`, `--log-format`, `--log-destination`, `--log-rotation`, `--log-rotation-size`, `--log-rotation-count`, `--log-rotation-time`, `--log-rotation-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log-rotation-max-when`, `--log-rotation-max-size`, `--log-rotation-max-count`, `--log-rotation-max-time`, `--log
The `--shortly` parameter tells the command to fix any errors it finds in a minimal way, making the fewest possible changes to the code. This is useful for fixing small issues without overhauling the entire codebase.
/x forces the drive to dismount before scan.
The command is used to locate bad sectors on a drive and recover readable information from them.
Step 3. Wait until the process finishes.
Recover files from corrupted hard drive free with data recovery software
Searching for free data recovery software online yields numerous options. To save time and effort, I recommend using Puran File Recovery.
Step 1. Download Puran File Recovery and open it.
Step 2. Select the drive in the top pane.
Step 3. Click Scan and wait for the result.
Step 4. Select files you want to restore, click the 'Recover' button, and choose the desired recovery option.
Notes:
- Just Recover will restore the file to any location you choose.
- Recover with Folder Structure To restore files, the folder path will remain intact, so if you're restoring from "F:\files\photos", the restored files will be placed in a folder named "files\photos" on the computer.
- Recover with Custom Size The option can help you restore files of a specified size, which can be useful in retrieving complete files.
Bonus tip
Recovery is not a foolproof way to prevent data loss, but it can help reduce losses. To completely recover your files, it's essential to create a backup of your files and store it in a safe location. This proactive approach can help minimize the impact of data loss and ensure that your important files are preserved.
I recommend using the free backup and restore software Qiling Disk Master to backup files and folders. This software makes the process easier, and you can choose to backup files with a specific file extension, backup large files, or only backup the changed files, among other options.
You can enjoy more advanced features during the backup process, such as setting up daily, weekly, or monthly backups, as well as event-triggered backups. Additionally, you can perform differential or incremental backups after a full backup, and also delete old backups to save disk space.
Let's start with the following steps.
Step 1. Download Qiling Disk Master, install and launch it.
Step 2. In the main page, click Backup and File Backup subsequently.
Step 3. Select files or folders from a specified path by clicking on the "Files" or "Folders" tab and then browsing to the desired location.
Step 4. Then select a path to save the recovered files.
Step 5. Set up settings for your backup.
Step 6. Click Proceed and wait for the final result.
This software can also be used to recover files from crashed hard drive, recover files when computer crashes, and more.
Verdict
When using external hard drives, data loss can occur, prompting users to seek ways to recover files without formatting the device.
To keep your files intact, create an exact copy of them and save the copy to a safe place. This way, you can restore them at any time if needed.
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