How to Recover Data from a Seagate External Hard Drive?

Common Data Loss Scenarios for Seagate Drives

Data loss can happen at any time, even with reliable storage options like Seagate external hard drives. Here are some of the most common reasons for data loss:

★ Accidental Deletion
Whether deliberate or not, one of the primary reasons why data is lost on storage devices is file deletion.
★ Malware and Viruses
Malware and viruses pose a significant threat to the integrity of storage devices, which may potentially corrupt or remove important data.
★ System Crashes
A sudden crash can damage the drive’s file system, making it hard or impossible to access the saved data.
★ Physical Damage
Physical damage to Seagate external hard drives can impair their ability to function properly and prevent access to your crucial data.

If you encounter any one of the issues mentioned above, take it easy! In this guide, we’ll explore different ways to recover data from Seagate external hard drives on Windows. Continue reading to select the one that best suits your needs.

Precautions Before Attempting Data Recovery

Here are some proactive measures you should take before you try to recover data from Seagate portable hard drives:

► Stop Using Your Drive:

If you lose data on your hard drive, you need to stop using it immediately so that new data doesn't overwrite the lost data. If the hard drive is still attached to your computer, eject it off safely.

► Examine Your Drive Carefully:

After taking the hard drive out, thoroughly inspect it for any indications of physical damage. In general, it will be challenging to get back data from a hard drive that has been severely damaged. It is advised to seek help from a professional hard drive recovery or repair service.

► Backup Existing Data:

You can back up the data on the hard drive to another storage device or a cloud storage service before you try to recover it. This way, you won't lose any more data by chance.

How to Recover Data from Seagate External Hard Drives?

It can be upsetting to lose important data from a Seagate external hard drive, but there are a few good ways to get it back. This part offers three practical methods to do that.

Method 1. Use Software to Recover Seagate External Hard Drive

Professional recovery software is often the first thing that comes to mind when people need to recover data from Seagate external hard drives. Although there are many options, AOMEI FastRecovery stands out as an excellent choice for simplifying the recovery process. It allows users to retrieve various types of deleted or corrupted files from a wide range of storage devices, including external and internal hard drives, PCs, USB drives, and more.

★Key Features:

Restore data from complex data loss situations such as OS reinstallations, virus attack, or system crashes.

Recover various file types, including documents, audio, video, pictures, and more.

Support a variety of external hard drive brands, including Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, and more.

Compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Windows Server.

Free Download
Windows PCs & Servers

100% Secure

Follow these steps to recover data from a Seagate external hard drive using AOMEI FastRecovery:

Step 1: Connect your Seagate external hard drive to your PC first. Launch AOMEI FastRecovery, and choose the external hard drive.

Step 2: Scan your drive to find the deleted or lost data. It offers Quick Scan and Deep Scan, supporting thoroughly scanning your storage devices to find lost data.

Step 3: All missing files will be shown once the scan is finished. Kindly choose the specific files and then click Recover.

Step 4: Specify a path for these files and wait for the process to complete.

Method 2. Recover Seagate External Hard Drive Data Using Drive Manager

Seagate provides a number of tools to help you effectively handle your external hard drive. One of these tools is Drive Manager, which can restore lost data as long as the auto-backup option is turned on. Follow these steps to use Drive Manager to recover data from a Seagate external hard drive:

Step 1: Go to the Seagate website and install Drive Manager.

Step 2: Connect your Seagate external hard drive to your PC, then launch the tool.

Step 3: Next, click Backup and then backed-up data. Choose the files you want to restore.

Step 4: Select Search from the list of choices to continue the recovery process. 

Step 5: Choose the files that you want to restore, and then click Restore > OK.

Step 6: Type in the password to start the restore process.

Method 3. Recover Data from Seagate External Hard Drive via Command Prompt

Additionally, you can also recover data from Seagate external hard drives by using command lines. The attrib command is used to display, set, or remove file attributes such as read-only, hidden, system, and archive. On the other hand, the chkdsk command checks hard drives or other disk drives for errors and attempts to repair them if possible. Here’s how to recover data from a Seagate external hard drive via CMD:

Step 1: Connect your Seagate external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2: Press Windows + S and type CMD; then select Run as administrator.

Step 3: Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d F:\*.* and press Enter. (Replace F with the letter of your Seagate external hard drive.)

Step 4: Type chkdsk g: /f /r /x and hit Enter. (Replace g with the letter of your Seagate external hard drive.)

Step 5: Close the CMD window and check if your data has been restored. 

Best Practices for Handling Seagate External Hard Drives  

Proper handling of your Seagate external hard drive is essential for ensuring its longevity and protecting your data. Follow these tips to maintain their performance and prevent data loss:

♦ Prevent physical harm to your Seagate external hard drive from impacts, drops, and exposure to the elements.
♦ To avoid data corruption from abrupt disconnections, always eject the drive through your operating system.
♦ When saving data, keep in mind to leave at least 10–20% of the drive's space free to prevent overloading problems.
♦ Update your drivers regularly to keep your Seagate external hard drive operating at peak efficiency and compatibility.

FAQs

Q1: How can I recover data from a formatted Seagate external hard drive?

It is possible to recover data from a Seagate external hard drive that has been formatted. AOMEI FastRecovery, a professional data recovery tool, can help you retrieve deleted or missing data on Windows PCs with ease.

Q2: What should I do if my Seagate drive keeps disconnecting during recovery?

If your Seagate external hard drive keeps disconnecting during the recovery process, you need to repair your drive first. Check if the USB cable works properly or try the drive in a different port or on a different computer. If the problem still exists, consider using tools like CHKDSK to check and repair logical mistakes.

Q3: What are the success rates of data recovery from Seagate external hard drives?

The success rate of data recovery from Seagate external hard drives depends on various factors, such as loss reasons, drive condition, or time since data loss. When you find out you've lost data, you need to act quickly to avoid overwriting it and improve your chances of recovering it.

Conclusion

Data loss on Seagate external hard drives is inevitable during regular tasks. How can I recover data from a Seagate external hard drive? This article outlines the measures you should take when facing data loss and how to restore your data effectively.

Tools like Drive Manager and CMD might be useful for simple recovery situations, but they can't do much else. For more complex data loss situations, it is strongly advised to employ a professional data recovery solution like AOMEI FastRecovery.