Working with large amounts of information? You know the desperate moment when you realize that you need some files that you deleted a long time ago. This is the subject of this post : Recover permanently deleted files. First lets start with some general data recovery tips, valid for all type of data devices, PC’s, Mac’s, phones.
Don’t forget to back up your files. As life coaches like to say, there’s something positive about every negative thing that happens to us. When your USB flash drive suddenly disconnects from your computer or your operating system starts to insist on checking your SD card, it may be a blessing in disguise. These early warning signs give you a chance to properly back up your files, if you haven’t done so already. We can probably all agree they are much better alternative to a sudden, irreparable failure.
Your hard drive is like a car in many ways. You know how it performs, how it sounds, how it looks, and how long it takes to get from point A to point B on a daily basis. If something begins to feel askew with your car, you typically can sense it happening and can tell the end is nigh. The same thing goes for your computer’s hard drive. That being said, make sure to routinely back up your hard drive, especially if you repeatedly experience the symptoms below.
While magnetic hard drives (platter based) are more susceptible to this kind of failure, it may happen to some SSDs too. A mechanical failure is when there is something physically wrong with the drive. Wear and tear over years of continued usage, mishandling or dropping the hard disk, breaking or short-circuits in internal parts can be reasons behind such damage.
If Your Drives Spins Ups and Is Detected by Your Computer, But Hangs When You Try to Access It: This usually means that the magnetic media is degraded. Basically, there are a large amount of bad sectors that the drive is trying to read, failing to do so, and hanging. This is a common problem that occurs over time and can be worked around, but only with professional data recovery equipment, more specifically a hard imager. If you look at the SMART values of the drive you’ll notice and large amount of reallocated sectors to confirm your suspicions. If the data is important then send it off to the pros.
Before you bring out the heavy guns, make sure that it’s not a connectivity problem. First, swap USB cables and ports to rule them out. Still no dice? Now, check if it’s a problem with the external drive’s enclosure itself. Eject the external USB drive from your computer, and if it’s powered by an adapter, unplug it from the wall outlet. It’s highly recommended that you ground yourself with an anti-static wristband before attempting this to avoid injuring yourself or damaging your drive further. Next, crack its case open then check the physical cables that connect the hard drive to your USB output. Note: The connections can either be IDE (wider connectors) or SATA (small connectors). Check for any loose cables and make sure that they’re firmly connected.
DoYourData can help you easily recover deleted, formatted or lost files from WD Elements portable hard drive including WD Elements 500GB, WD Elements 750GB, WD Elements 1TB, WD Elements 1.5TB, WD Elements 2TB etc. DoYourData also can recover lost data from other kind of devices, such as hard drive, USB drive, Memory card, SD card etc. Read more details on Recover lost files from WD Elements portable hard drive.