How to Recover Data from A Dead Hard Drive

Despite the rise of NVMEs and SSDs, many users still cling to hard drives today. Well, it’s the cheaper option that comes with larger storage capacities.

While a hard drive seems great, there’s no denying it’s an older technology. It has many moving parts inside (disc platter, arm, etc.), making it prone to damage (physical/factory defect). Plus, it’s notorious for not aging well. The more you use it, the more it declines until it becomes a dead hard drive.

That’s probably the worst thing that could happen to your files. Yes! A dead or damaged drive spells data loss. But there’s still hope. In this article, we will show you how to recover data from a dead drive. Read on to know more.

Part 1: Is Recovering Data From A Dead Hard Drive Possible

Yes! However, the dead hard drive needs to be repaired first to be accessible on a computer to perform the recovery. This means that you have to take it to a professional technician for a safe repair procedure. Although you can do the repair yourself, we do not recommend it if you are not a hard drive technician. Not to mention, repairing a hard drive requires specialized tools, which you may not have.

Now, if the drive is installed on your PC (laptop/desktop), it needs to be removed from the computer first. As for a laptop, you may take it to the repair shop and have it removed there, and for a desktop, you can have it done in the comfort of your home or take out the drive manually from the System Unit. If it’s an external hard drive, just take it to the repair shop together with the SATA cable.

Part 2: How to Recover Data from A Dead Hard Drive

As mentioned, a dead hard drive could result in data loss. Plus, if you are able to repair it, there’s no guarantee that your files are still intact. That’s why it’s important that you know how to recover data from a dead hard drive after the repair. There are 2 ways you can go about this.

Method 1: Plug in the Hard Drive into Your PC to Recover Data

You can try connecting your dead hard drive to your PC or another PC using a SATA cable. Do this after the repair. If it’s an internal hard drive, you may need to extract it from the computer and purchase a SATA cable and enclosure for it.

After plugging in the hard drive, check if it’s recognized by your PC. You usually get a prompt about that right after connecting the drive. Then, just proceed to the Windows File Explorer and open your hard drive under This PC.

There, you can start copying your files to a new folder on the PC. However, this method will only work if the repair process doesn’t permanently delete the stored data, Otherwise, proceed to the next method.

Method 2: Recover Data from A Dead Hard Drive with Tenorshare 4DDiG

If the repair process has indeed erased all the files in the dead hard drive, you can use this powerful recovery program called Tenorshare 4DDiG. It’s an app that you can install on your computer, and it can scan and recover data from internal and external storage devices such as hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and more. And the best part is it can recover data even from a damaged hard drive. How cool is that?

Yes! Even if the data has been corrupted, deleted, or overwritten after the repairs. 4DDiG can surely deliver your important files for you with a 99% success rate as per recent tests.

The way this app works is pretty simple. You just need to plug in the hard drive (if it’s external) and use the app to scan for the missing files. After that, you can restore them selectively or in bulk with just a simple click.

Moreover, you’ll never be disappointed with the recovered files. All of them will have their original file sizes, details, etc. Yes! You won’t experience quality loss at all.

Now if you want to use 4DDiG to recover data from a dead hard drive, here are the steps you need to accomplish.

Step 1

Download and set up the app on your PC. You can get it via the button below. If you are using an external hard drive, connect it to the computer. Then, launch it.

Step 2

Choose your hard drive among the drives on the screen. Then, click on the Scan option. Next, you can sort the file type or search for the files using the search bar. That way, locating the file will be much easier.

Step 3

When the scan is complete, select the data you want to recover and hit the Recover button on the lower-left side of the screen. Then, choose your preferred folder location and finish the process.

That’s it! The process is pretty simple and you don’t have to be an expert to do it.

Conclusion

Having a dead hard drive may seem like the end of the story, but it’s actually not. There are still ways you can repair it. Most importantly, you can still recover data from a dead hard drive. Just follow the methods above and see which one applies to your situation.