How to Recover Deleted Files from External Hard Drive | Quick Guide

How to recover deleted files from external hard drive? This post will share with you a reliable tool to effectively recover data from external hard drives.

Posted by @Irene December 17, 2024 Updated By @Irene August 13, 2024

User case: how to recover deleted files from external hard drive after formatting?

 

I got curious what format does and formatted the whole external hard disk drive, I was shocked that all the files were deleted and so I started searching youtube and Google on what apps to recover files, I found Filmora Recoverit and used it to recover, I successfully recovered probably only 20+ files, it took 2 days because the files were large. And then after those 2 days I recovered 20+ files that were small, it took 1 day. And then again, I was recovering files and it was a lot and also had a huge size, so I just let it do its thing for maybe 2 days and 3 nights. And I double click on my hard disk drive it wouldn't open, but I saw all my files were recovered in the "Quick Access" I double clicked again and it wouldn't open again, maybe it is broken or corrupted, I don't know, please help me because there are old memories and pictures of me and my family being in other countries and also my dad's important works. There are more than 200GB or even more worth of files in the external disk drive, the full drive is 1tb. Pls help us on how we can recover our files. Thx

- Question from Microsoft Community

Many people use external hard drives to store their data because they are portable and easy to use. If you accidentally delete files stored on one, or even format it, you may need a powerful data recovery software like AOMEI FastRecovery. Such a tool allows you to recover a large number of files within minutes, and most importantly, with a high success rate in restoring lost data.

Why do you need external hard drive data recovery software?

Besides common reasons like accidental deletion and formatting, other situations can also lead to data loss on an external hard drive. Traditional methods like using CMD or File History may not be effective due to the complete causes of data loss. To prevent further loss from overwriting or errors, it's better to use reliable external hard drive software to ensure safety and a high success rate. If you are curious about can overwritten data be recovered, you can click to read.

Data loss from viruses, system crashes, or reinstalling the OS: Viruses, operating system crashes, or reinstalling the OS can cause data loss on an external hard drive.
Inaccessibility due to a RAW file system: If an external hard drive changes to a RAW file system, it becomes inaccessible and needs recovery.
Drive is visible but shows no data: Sometimes, an external hard drive is detected by Windows but shows no files, which means recovery is needed.
Unrecognized USB drive: When a USB external hard drive isn't recognized, data recovery is necessary.

The best external hard drive recovery software: AOMEI FastRecovery

How do I recover deleted files from external hard drives? When we need to restore data from an external hard drive, it will go more smoothly if we use the best data recovery tool. Based on comments from users, expert reviews, and our in-depth analysis, AOMEI FastRecovery stands out as a strong contender to be the official software for making it easier to get data off of external drives. The many functions of this program have made it very popular because it can:

Recover data that has been deleted, formatted, or lost from an external hard drive.
Restore data from complex data loss scenarios like damaged by viruses, system crashes, OS reinstallations, or when the file system becomes RAW.
Recover a variety of file types, like photos, videos, audio, emails, documents, and more than 200 types.
No brand limitations. It supports different external hard drive brands, including Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, and more.

Out of these beneficial features, AOMEI FastRecovery can be an effective assistant for recovering files from external hard drives.  You can free download it and follow our guide to learn how to recover deleted files from external hard drives.

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Here's a step-by-step guide to utilizing this valuable external hard drive file recovery software:

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

Conclusion

Using external hard drive data recovery software like AOMEI FastRecovery makes it easy to get back files that you have deleted or lost from an external hard drive. AOMEI FastRecovery stands out from other data recovery tools on the market because it has features that are both useful and reliable. Don't be afraid to use this great tool to get your files back by following the steps above.