Recovering data from a failed or damaged hard disk drive can seem daunting, but with the right tools and techniques, the process is very achievable. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the steps for recovering data from a hard drive and provide recommendations on software to use. We’ll also look at when you should attempt a DIY data recovery versus turning to a professional data recovery service.
What causes hard disks to fail?
Before looking at recovery methods, it’s helpful to understand what causes hard drives to fail in the first place. Some of the most common reasons include:
- Physical damage – Dropping a hard drive, power surges, fire/water damage, etc can physically damage the drive and make data recovery more difficult.
- Mechanical failure – Issues with the internal components like the read/write heads can prevent data from being accessed.
- Logical damage – Accidental file deletion, corruption from viruses, system errors, etc can damage the file system and directory structures on the disk.
- Bad sectors – Permanently damaged parts of the physical disk platters can develop over time leading to data loss.
When a drive exhibits signs of failure like making unusual noises, not mounting, or having very slow data transfer speeds, prompt action is required to recover the data before additional damage occurs.
Can you recover data from a dead hard drive?
It depends on what exactly has failed in the hard drive. If there are mechanical problems or the read/write heads have failed, then a DIY solution may not be possible. But even for physical failures, a professional data recovery service using specialized tools in a dust-free cleanroom may still be able to extract some data. Your best chance of success is addressing the issue quickly before further damage happens.
When should you not attempt data recovery yourself?
There are a few instances where you should avoid trying to recover the data yourself and instead turn directly to a professional:
- Mechanical failure – If you hear unusual clicking or grinding noises from the platters. This indicates a mechanical issue that will get worse with use.
- Visible external damage – Any visible damage like a smashed casing or scratched platters requires the sterile environment of professional data recovery.
- Previous failed DIY attempts – Multiple unsuccessful attempts to read the drive using DIY software can worsen the damage.
- Very valuable or mission critical data – If losing the data would be devastating, it’s worth turning to professionals immediately.
The risks and costs of a failed DIY recovery attempt likely outweigh the benefits for drives with the issues above. Speaking with a reputable data recovery provider to evaluate the feasibility and costs is highly recommended.
Can you recover data after reinstalling Windows?
Reinstalling Windows or formatting your hard drive will make recovering deleted files more difficult, but not necessarily impossible. When Windows is reinstalled or the drive is formatted, it does not immediately overwrite all existing data. It simply marks the previously used sectors on the drive as being available for new data.
As long as new data isn’t written over the deleted files, recovery software should be able to scan the drive and restore previously available files and folders. However, the more you use the computer after reinstalling Windows, the greater the chances of permanent data loss. So recovering data after a reinstall should be attempted as soon as possible.
How long does data recovery take?
The length of time for data recovery can vary substantially based on the type of failure, recovery methods used, and the amount of data being restored. Here are some general timelines:
- Quick file recovery – Using data recovery software to restore a few accidentally deleted documents or photos is very fast, usually less than an hour.
- Deep scanning a full drive – Scanning a 1TB hard disk drive with recovery software could take 12 hours or longer.
- Mechanical drive repairs – If the drive has physical issues that require a cleanroom, recovery could take 1-2 days.
- Virtual machine recovery – Restoring a whole deleted virtual machine image may take several hours.
- Raid recovery – Rebuilding failed RAID arrays requires recovering data from multiple drives and can take a full day or longer.
The recovery time also increases substantially if there is physical damage to the drive platters requiring careful mechanical repairs before data extraction can begin.
How much does data recovery cost?
Data recovery costs vary widely based on the severity of the drive issues and what needs to be recovered. Here are typical price ranges you can expect:
- DIY file recovery software – $40-$100 for robust solutions capable of deep scanning.
- Local repair shop – $300-$1000+ for physical recoveries requiring local disassembly and repair.
- Mail-in to nationwide recovery lab – $700-$1500+ when hardware expertise and cleanrooms are needed.
- Emergency mission critical recovery – $2000+ for expedited recovery requiring immediate disk imaging.
Many companies provide free initial evaluations or quote ranges based on the drive diagnostics. With costs that can quickly escalate to thousands based on the failure type and amount of data, it pays to try DIY software first before turning to professionals.
Can files be recovered after emptying recycle bin?
Yes, even after permanently deleting files by emptying the Recycle Bin in Windows, recovery software is often still able to restore those files. When you delete files or use the Recycle Bin, Windows does not immediately overwrite the data on disk. Instead, it simply marks the regions storing those files as being available for new data.
Data recovery software scans the marked sections of the hard drive and attempts to reconstruct the original files. However, you have the best chance of completely restoring deleted files using recovery software immediately after deletion, before those disk sectors get reused. The longer you wait, the lower your chances of recovery become.
How to recover data from a crashed hard drive?
Attempting data recovery from a hard drive that won’t boot or otherwise appears to have crashed still requires great care to avoid worsening the failure while trying to salvage data. Here are the general steps to follow:
- Stop using the drive – As soon as you suspect a drive failure, unmount the drive and do not attempt any further writes to it.
- Evaluate failure severity – Determine if it’s a minor logical error or severe mechanical failure. Proceed very carefully or seek professional help if the latter.
- Use recovery software – Use DIY tools like Recuva or Disk Drill to read the drive sector-by-sector and restore recoverable files.
- Repair disk if needed – With a mechanical failure, the drive may need to be opened up in a dust-free cleanroom to repair or replace failed components before data can be read.
- Extract data – Once repaired, proprietary tools are used to read damaged platters and copy any recoverable data to another functional drive.
A drive that won’t boot or mount at all requires delicate handling to avoid complete failure. Seek expert help instead of forcing the drive to try to read it yourself. Patience is key, as some recoveries can gradually extract data sector by sector over many hours or days if the platters aren’t too badly damaged.
How to recover files after reinstalling Windows?
If you need to recover deleted files after reinstalling Windows, follow these steps:
- Avoid saving new data – Prevent the operating system from writing any new files to the disk if possible.
- Attach drive to another computer – Connect the drive to a different computer as an external drive to avoid any further OS writes.
- Run recovery software – Use a file recovery program like Recuva to scan the disk and restore recovered files to another drive.
- Check backup files – Sometimes backup systems like File History may have copies of files that were missed restored.
The key is avoiding any further writes to the drive containing the deleted files. Attach it as an external drive to another computer and use robust file recovery software immediately for the best chance of restoring files after reinstalling Windows erases them.
How to recover corrupted Excel file?
Here are some steps to recover a corrupted Excel file that won’t open normally:
- Open in Safe Mode – Launch Excel in Safe Mode which only loads minimal components and avoids any add-ins.
- Open file in Google Sheets – Uploading the corrupted file to Google Sheets can sometimes bypass the corruption and load file contents.
- Use Open and Repair – Excel’s built-in Open and Repair utility will try to extract data from a corrupt file.
- Recover previous versions – If available, restore a previous unaffected auto-saved version of the file.
- Use recovery software – Specialized tools like Stellar Repair for Excel can directly repair corrupt Excel files.
For best results, use multiple methods like safe mode, Google Sheets, and recovery tools. Between them you are likely to recover at least some of the Excel data if not the full file contents.
What data recovery software do professionals use?
Some of the most popular data recovery software tools used by professionals include:
| Software | Key Features |
| Kroll Ontrack | Powerful remote emergency response tools like SMS notifications of drive problems. |
| R-Studio | Wide array of advanced RAID recovery and disk imaging options. |
| GetDataBack | Great for recovering data from highly damaged media. |
| Disk Drill | Deep scan capability to reconstruct lost partitions and boot records. |
Many pros use a combination of tools based on the specific recovery scenario. Boot disk utilities like Spinrite can be used first to repair mechanical issues. Then data extraction tools like GetDataBack and R-Studio read failed drives sector by sector to recover files. Remote access capabilities allow immediate response to drive emergencies in large organizations.
Should you try to recover data yourself?
It depends on the situation – for minor deleted file recovery, DIY software solutions are very capable. But for severe mechanical failures, it’s best left to professionals. Consider the following:
- Using recovery software yourself costs a fraction of professional recovery services.
- However, DIY attempts can sometimes make data unrecoverable if drives are mishandled.
- Professionals have specialized equipment and cleanrooms to repair and extract data from mechanically failed drives.
- But professional recovery can cost thousands of dollars and take weeks for results.
In general, use DIY software for minor deleted file recovery cases. But quickly turn to a professional after mechanical failure, visible drive damage, or if DIY efforts fail to recover critical data. Get an evaluation first – reputable firms can often recover data others consider unrecoverable.
Can you recover data after low level format?
A low-level format completely erases and remaps a hard disk drive by rewriting the master boot record and partition table. However, it does not immediately overwrite all existing user data on the drive. So data recovery is still possible, albeit much more difficult than a simple Windows format.
After a low-level format, disk sectors containing user files will be marked as available for new writes. Recovery requires quickly scanning and rebuilding files before they get overwritten. Tools like Disk Drill have partitioning recovery functions capable of restoring partitions seemingly lost after low-level formats. But recovering files becomes nearly impossible if you continue actively using the newly formatted disk.
How to recover Word documents?
Here are some options for recovering corrupted, deleted, or unsaved Word documents:
- Use AutoRecover files – Word periodically saves backups as you type. Check the autorecover folder for available previous versions.
- Recover unsaved drafts – The Drafts folder retains temporary versions that may have recoverable content.
- Open document in safe mode – Use Word’s /safe command line option to open corrupted files in minimal mode.
- Try conversion tools – Online converters like Docspal can convert corrupt .doc files to other formats.
- Use file recovery software – Scan your hard drive for deleted document files not yet overwritten.
The most successful document recovery uses multiple approaches together, like autosaves, safe mode, and recovery tools. This covers more scenarios with corrupt, deleted, or unsaved Word docs. Maintaining good backups of critical documents is also essential.
Tips for successful data recovery
Follow these tips when attempting to recover data from failed drives:
- Stop using the drive immediately – Prevent additional writes to avoid overwriting deleted data.
- Use read-only tools first – Try non-invasive software-based recovery before resorting to opening the drive.
- Get professional help for mechanical issues– Don’t force open drives with physical damage – this requires cleanrooms.
- Clone failing drives if possible – Creating disk images allows safer scanning and data extraction.
- Target the most critical data first – Recovering everything may be impossible, so prioritize what matters most.
Staying calm, avoiding rushed forceful measures, and targeting only the most important data gives you the best chance of recovering files from a damaged drive.
Conclusion
Recovering lost data from failed hard drives is very possible using either DIY recovery software tools or professional recovery services. For mechanical failures, visible physical damage, or very valuable data, specialists have the best chance of success. But for minor deleted file recovery, affordable DIY software can often get the job done if used correctly before data is overwritten. The key is avoiding panic and additional damage to a failing drive – be patient, use read-only tools first, and don’t force damaged drives to mount and operate if they have mechanical issues. With the right precautions, you have an excellent chance of getting critical data back intact.