Recover deleted files from external hard drive windows 10

Can you recover files from external hard drive?

An external hard drive, a kind of portable storage device, is usually used as a backup drive, which can store valuable personal files, photos, videos, etc.

Data loss in an external hard drive is actually not an issue we will meet seldom, due to its fragility and delicate design. Here let’s view a real case of external hard disk data loss.

Have an old external hard drive I'm trying to recover old deleted files from (mainly a range of image and video files I love. Happy to spend money to get as many of these files back as possible, but want to spend wisely.

- Question from Reddit

When using external hard disks, these delicate devices are prone to meet some logical and physical errors after dropping, bumping, deletion, etc., leading to data loss.

The reasons for their external hard disk issues and the brands of external storage devices may be different, but the goals are the same—to perform external hard disk data recovery.

Some users may use WD external hard disks, if they have accidentally deleted the data or formatted the partition, they will need to perform WD external hard disk data recovery.

No matter whether you are a Windows user or a Mac user, you can find some feasible ways to get your data back. But before that, let us move on to the causes of data loss in external hard disks.

Why does data loss in external hard drives happen?

Everyone understands how useful an external hard drive is. With its good portability, it can be taken with users when they go outside or on business trips.

However, it is rather delicate and must be handled with caution. Its interior structure can easily be destroyed or damaged if not handled with care.

Some prevalent causes of data loss on an external hard disk are prepared for you to check if you have met a similar one.

Those who accidentally formatted the hard drive partition will be eager to recover formatted partition data in Windows 10, 8, 7, and 11.

How to recover files from external hard drive on Mac?

Different solutions to recover files from external hard drives for different OS users have been represented as follows. If you are a Mac user, you can check them out in this part.

Here two feasible methods are offered to recover files from external hard drives on Mac.

Method 1. Perform external hard disk data recovery from Bin

To Mac OS users, there is a chance that the files directly deleted from external hard drive will be shown in the Bin. Thus we can utilize this tool to retrieve the lost files.

Tips: If there are no files in the Bin, check if you have ticked the Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.

Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to your Mac. Find the corresponding trash bin in the Dock.

Step 2. Locate the files you need to recover, right-click on them and choose Put Back.

Then you can check if the lost files are back on your external hard drive or not.

Method 2. Restore data from external hard drives via Time Machine

If the preceding approach does not fit your preference or satisfaction, you may try to recover data from external hard drive using Time Machine.

Time Machine will generate backups on an hourly, daily, and weekly basis. Such as a backup of the past 24 hours, daily backups for the preceding month, and weekly backups for all prior months.

Step 1. Open the window where you lost files.

Step 2. Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, find Time Machine, and click Enter Time Machine.

Step 3. Use the up and down arrows to locate the files you need to restore.

Step 4. Click Restore to recover the selected files, then your lost data will come back to the previous location.

How to recover files from external hard drive windows 10?

If you are a Windows user, there are also remedies prepared for you to restore files from external hard drive in Windows. Choose the proper method to do it.

Method 1. Recover data from external hard drive by reinstalling

A damaged or corrupted device driver may lead to an inaccessible hard drive. Reinstalling the device driver can be a feasible way to recover files from external hard disk.

Step 1. Start Device Manager by pressing Win+R and typing devmgmt.msc in the dialog box.

Step 2. Locate your external hard disk in Disk Devices, right-click on it, and select Uninstall device.

Step 3. Restart your PC, plug in the external hard drive, and wait for it to install automatically. Then you can check if the lost files are back or not.

Method 2. Recover data from external hard drive via Windows File Recovery

If the device driver on your PC runs in good condition, you can also try a Microsoft official utility: Windows File Recovery. This tool is quite useful for users who have command-related expertise.

It can recover deleted office/media/compressed files from internal/external hard drives. Refer to the guide to learn how to use Windows File Recovery.

Unfortunately, it is a command-line application without a GUI, which is pretty unfriendly for ordinary users. If you need an easier tool, check the next method.

To use this tool, check out your File System first. Go to This PC > right-click on the external drive that contains the deleted files> click Properties.

In addition, you need to use recovery mode and switches to get back your files. To decide which mode to use, refer to this table.

switches are used to filter the scanning range, thus can save the scanning time.

Step 1. Go to Microsoft Store, and Get Windows File Recovery.

Step 2. Start Windows File Recovery, and input the recovery command. The command template goes like this:

winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]

For example, if you need to recover deleted pdf files from F: drive (the external hard drive) to D: drive, then the command will be like:

winfr F: D: /regular /n *.pdf

Step 3. When the recovery process is finished, a recovery folder will be created in the destination you have chosen. When meeting any errors, refer to the Windows File Recovery tutorial to get help and fix them.

Then you have conducted external hard disk data recovery.

How to recover files from external hard drive Windows 10 easier and faster?

Commands are way too difficult for an ordinary user without knowledge about command lines and syntax. For this group of people, how to achieve external hard disk data recovery easier and quicker?

There is no doubt that seeking help from a professional Windows data recovery tool will be the best answer to this question. Here we will recommend MyRecover.

This useful tool can assist users to scan deleted and missing files at a very high speed and a high recovery rate, which is trustworthy and convenient.

Step 1. Install and run MyRecover > select a partition where data got lost > Start Scan.

Step 2.  While scanning, you could sort the detected files by Type, Size, Date modified, etc., to narrow the scanned result.

Step 3. Select the data you need > Recover x files.

It will be a simple task to recover permanently deleted files from hard drives using this application.

To sum up

Choose any one of the 4 ways to recover files from external hard drive windows 10 & Mac according to your specific situation.

If you are seeking help to recover external hard drive partitions, get help from the detailed tutorial.

Unfortunately, no one is foolproof and infallible, to keep your precious data from being lost in the future, users are highly recommended to form a good habit of backing up files regularly.

Here you may utilize AOMEI Backupper to help you protect your precious data.

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