How to recover data from an external hard drive that does not work

Of course, if this has happened to you, the first thing you should know is if your external hard drive is under warranty or not. If you are, go to the store, and they are responsible for obtaining your data. If it is not, then you can try it yourself.

What problem could be causing it?

Identifying the problem would be the first step in order to know how to proceed correctly. In many cases it can be a connectivity problem. The so-called USB / Thunderbolt bridge may not work correctly. One thing you should always do is try it with a different USB cable, to make sure the problem doesn't fall on the cable. It may sound absurd, but if the problem is one of connectivity, the solution is very simple.

Steps to follow

If we have tried another USB cable and it still does not work, we already know that the problem does not lie there. We go to the next step in order to solve the problem. Let's open the hard drive case. Remove the external hard drive casing. It is better to be careful, but "nothing" happens if you break it. As long as the hard drive is still intact there is no problem about it.

Once you have done this, check that the connector inside is well connected to the hard drive. It can be a source of the problem if it is not. If the problem is in the connector inside, we recommend trying a different connector. You can generally find them very cheap online.

If the problem is still not resolved, it is because the problem is actually on the hard drive. It is damaged, and that is somewhat more complicated terrain. Now is the time to use some program to try to recover the data stored in it. What programs can we use?

There are quite a few data recovery programs available today. Surely you know some like Recuva, TestDisk or FireSalvage. They are quite simple programs that can help us recover data from the external hard drive without too much effort. For more expert users, another option to consider are Linux distros specialized in file recovery. They are more complex, but effective.

Recommended hard drive enclosure

We leave you a small TOP of the best cases you can buy.

Salcar case for external 2.5 "hard drives with high speed USB 3.0 for SATA III Specified Model Full aluminum case for optimal cooling brushed aluminum optics including UASP Mode (Black) 11.99 EUR TooQ TQE-3527B - Disk Case Hard 3.5 "HDD, (SATA I / II / III, USB 3.0), Aluminum, LED indicator, Black Color, 350 grs. Aluminum case compatible with 3.5 "SATA I, II and III hard drives; USB 3.0 connection with cable included 15.75 EUR External USB 3.0 case for PCI Express M.2 and NGFF M.2 SSD drives. USB 3.0 to NGFF adapter M.2 SALCAR Aluminum USB 3.0 Offline Cloning Docking Station for 2.5 "and 3.5" SATA HDD / SSD (Black) 29.99 EUR

Remember that there are always specialized companies to recover your hard drive, they take it apart, but the prices are exorbitant. For a company it may be worth it, but you have to assess whether it really pays off and is worth it. We always recommend making copies in the cloud or on a physical NAS at home.

We hope that in this way you can recover the data from your external hard drive. What method do you use in such a situation?