External hard drives are prone to all sorts of data loss scenarios, from being impacted to coffee spills. So if your hard drive is not working, follow these simple steps.

Check the power supply. Does the unit spin and sound normal? Clicking or scratching indicates a catastrophic failure. Do not try to eject the media and turn it off, just turn off the power and find a specialist. Portable external drives are particularly prone to power supply issues, and often the USB connector simply doesn’t provide enough power. A new connector usually fixes these problems.

Are the USB connectors OK? Try a different cable. If the female connection is damaged or looks particularly worn, the outer cart may need to be replaced. Assuming the external enclosure does not use hardware encryption, proprietary authentication, or logical sector size manipulation, a replacement hard drive enclosure will often render the drive serviceable. These are inexpensive and available online or at most computer stores. When you replace the cabinet, be sure to handle the internal drive properly.

Does the operating system prompt you to format or initialize the drive? If so, don’t allow it. This will create a new file system potentially destroying your data. Overwritten files are lost forever.

If the drive is mounting but the files are missing or corrupted, you may have a problem with your file system. Data recovery software is often the answer, but do your research. They are not all the same. Determine what file formats you are trying to recover and make sure you get the right software.

The easiest way to recover lost data is to use a quality data recovery software program. You have to search for the best program online. There are many of them for sale. You should never try to use the free types without license keys as they lack vital features. Your computer can even be attacked when you use free recovery software. It may be infected with viruses. You should only use go for a quality data recovery program that requires a valid license key. You can easily locate the best type by making the proper queries. You can consult a reliable computer repairer when looking for the right program.

When you manage to get the best data recovery software, you have to do everything that you are doing on your system. It will then continue to download the program and will also install it according to the given instructions. It is important that you study how to use the program after installing it. In most cases, the software comes with good features that will help you locate your lost data.

Actually, when you delete data from your system by mistake, it goes to the recycle bin. You can easily recover the data by opening the recycle bin and then right-clicking on the deleted file. Just hit the “restore” button to get it back. However, you may run into trouble when you empty the recycle bin suddenly. You may no longer be able to see the deleted data in the recycle bin. You do not need to panic as you can still recover the data. All you need is to use the data recovery software that you have installed on your system.

Data recovery software has a way to search for lost data on your system hard drive. All you need is to give the correct command. It will take some time to scan your system for missing files. After the scanning process, the software will display the list of deleted data. Just click on the file you want to restore.

To be successful in using data recovery software, you need to make sure that you get it from a reputable source. You should also take the time to study how the software works. If you are confused, you can consult a data recovery expert for help.