How to remove folders from your hard drive. How to retrieve data from a disk if Windows crashes

For many users, the data stored on the hard drive is much more important than the device itself. If the device fails or was carelessly formatted, you can extract important information from it (documents, photographs, videos) using special software.

To restore data, you can use an emergency bootable USB flash drive or connect the faulty HDD to another computer. In general, the methods do not differ in their effectiveness, but are suitable for use in different situations. Next, we will look at how to recover data from damaged hard drive.

Method 1: Zero Assumption Recovery

Professional software for recovering information from damaged HDDs. The program can be installed on Windows operating systems and supports work with long names files, Cyrillic. Recovery instructions:

1. Download and install ZAR on your computer. It is advisable that the software is not loaded onto the damaged disk (on which scanning is planned).
2. Disable antivirus programs and close other applications. This will help reduce system load and increase scanning speed.
3. In the main window, click on the button "Data Recovery for Windows and Linux" so that the program finds all disks and removable storage media connected to the computer.



4. Select the HDD or USB flash drive from the list (which you plan to access) and click "Next".



5. The scanning process will begin. As soon as the utility finishes its work, the screen will display the directories and individual files available for recovery.



6. Check the box next to the folders you want and click "Next" to overwrite the information.



7. An additional window will open where you can configure file recording settings.
8. In field "Destination" specify the path to the folder in which the information will be written.



9. After that click "Start copying the selected files" to start transferring data.

As soon as the program finishes working, the files can be freely used and rewritten to USB drives. Unlike other similar software, ZAR restores all data while maintaining the same directory structure.

Method 2: EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

The trial version of the program is available for free download from the official website. The product is suitable for recovering data from damaged HDDs and then rewriting them to other media or Flash drives. Procedure:

1. Install the program on the computer from which you plan to recover files. To avoid data loss, do not download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard onto a damaged drive.
2. Select a location to search for files on the faulty HDD. If you need to recover information from a stationary disk, select it from the list at the top of the program.



3. You can optionally enter a specific directory path. To do this, click on the block “ Specify a location" and using the button "Browse" select the desired folder. After that click "OK".



4. Click on the button "Scan" to start searching for files on the damaged media.



5. The results will be displayed on home page programs. Check the box next to the folders you want to return and click "Recover".



6. Specify the location on your computer where you plan to create a folder for the information found, and click "OK".

Method 3: R-Studio

Suitable for recovering information from any damaged media (flash drives, SD cards, hard drives). The program is a professional type and can be used on computers with operating Windows system. Operating instructions:

1. Download and install R-Studio on your computer. Connect a non-working HDD or other storage medium and run the program.
2. In the main R-Studio window, select required device and on the toolbar click "Scan".



3. An additional window will appear. Select a scan area if you want to check a specific area of ​​the disk. Additionally, specify the desired type of scanning (simple, detailed, quick). After that, click on the button "Scanning".



4. Information about the operation will be displayed on the right side of the program. Here you can monitor your progress and approximately the remaining time.



5. When the scan is completed, additional partitions will appear on the left side of R-Studio, next to the disk that was analyzed. Inscription "Recognized" means that the program was able to find the files.



6. Click on a section to view the contents of the found documents.

   

   Tick ​​the required files and in the menu "File" select "Restore marked".



7. Specify the path to the folder where you plan to make a copy of the found files and click "Yes" to start copying.

After this, files can be freely opened and transferred to other logical drives and removable media. If you plan to scan a large HDD, the process may take more than an hour.

If HDD has failed, it is still possible to recover information from it. To do this, use special software and conduct a full system scan. To avoid data loss, try not to save found files to a faulty HDD, but use other devices for this purpose.

Has your laptop suddenly crashed? You can't boot Windows, or even run a recovery system from a CD. It is possible that the laptop is so damaged that it is impossible to boot Windows. What to do in such a situation to restore necessary files?

There are two possible solutions this problem and we will look at both. The first thing you need to do is remove the hard drive from the laptop. While this may seem like a daunting task, it is actually a fairly simple process. At the bottom of your laptop you can see a plastic case that covers your hard drive and RAM. Some laptop models have icons showing where the hard drive and memory slot cover are located. The hard drive is usually located under a large rectangular cover.

Open the cover using a Phillips screwdriver. Typically the cover is held in place by 1-2 screws. Once you lift the lid you will see a 2.5 inch portable hard drive. The hard drive is connected to motherboard through 2.5 IDE or SATA interface. Open all the mounting screws that hold the hard drive and simply pull it out of the connectors.

The next thing to do is determine the type of hard drive. This can be done using the image below, it shows the difference between IDE and SATA drives.

Once you have determined the type of your hard drive, you can recover data using one of two methods:

1. You can connect your laptop hard drive to USB external enclosure"pocket" as shown below. These adapters are available for both IDE and SATA interfaces. They cost about 80-100 UAH. This is the easiest way to recover data like a laptop hard drive will work like external usb drive . Just insert the hard drive into the adapter case and connect it to any USB port on another computer. The drive will be detected as a regular drive. Open "My Computer" in Windows and you will see familiar partitions on the disk that you had in your laptop. Just copy the necessary files or folders from your laptop’s hard drive to your computer’s hard drive. This completes the recovery of your data.

USB to SATA 2.5 adapter

2. This method assumes that you have access to a desktop PC that has an IDE or SATA interface. If your laptop has hard drive with SATA interface, then it can be connected directly to the SATA connector of the computer. SATA connector for data transfer and power connector, exactly the same as on a laptop and system unit.

Recovering data from a portable drive is very simple procedure how to connect a flash drive to a computer.

Recovering files from HDD IDE 2.5

If your laptop has a 2.5" hard drive with an IDE interface, you will need a special cable to convert the 2.5" IDE to a 3.5" connection.

Adapter ide 2.5 to 3.5

Connect the 2.5 IDE side of the cable to the hard drive from the laptop and the 3.5 side to a free one IDE connector on the computer. Once the hard drive from the laptop is connected to the computer's motherboard, you can turn on the PC and you will see that a new hard drive has been detected. After that, this disk can be viewed and all data can be transferred to another partition.

For most users, the data stored on the HDD drive is more valuable than the component itself. Therefore, if the device was damaged or accidentally formatted, the owner often worries about the lost information, and not about the drive itself. However, do not panic, because extracting information from a faulty hard drive using special software is quite simple.

How to avoid losing data from a non-working hard drive?

If the hard drive is broken, it is impossible to remove files from it, or the information is completely lost, in no case do unnecessary fraud. There is no need to try to reinstall the OS or try to run a wide variety of programs of unknown origin. There is a list of rules, following which you will at least not aggravate an already difficult situation:

1. Keep HDD usage to a minimum.
2. Do not attempt to run antivirus programs, diagnostic programs, or other utilities.
3. If it is possible to get the remaining files from your hard drive, then do so and move them to another medium.

The best option in this situation is to turn off the PC and boot the system exclusively from an external drive.

If you have another computer, then you can create rescue media to boot from it for backup or connect the faulty disk to it as an additional one.

If the drive contains important data, then it is useful to initially write programs onto a flash drive that will help in such cases download information from the hard drive of a broken computer or laptop.

To avoid such breakdowns, it is necessary at least sometimes.

Corruption of user data

Easy enough to pull out deleted files, if the hard drive was simply formatted, and after that nothing was written to it. If, when connecting the drive to another PC, it is detected by the system, then no difficulties should arise.

To extract data we will need a special application ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery). This utility is one of the best among software of such kind.

The only thing you need to remember is that the program should be installed in a HDD partition from which copying will not be carried out.

Otherwise, the likelihood that you will be able to remove the information will decrease sharply. It is best not to touch the broken hard drive at all and boot from another hard drive, or connect the damaged component to another computer.

Zero Assumption Recovery

To extract information from a laptop hard drive using the ZAR program, you should follow the following algorithm:

ZAR is an effective, yet quite easy-to-learn program that will help you recover most of your lost data. The main difference between this utility and similar software is that it retains the same file structure.

If the computer does not work and the system does not start

If the hard drive has been formatted entirely or it has completely failed and Windows does not boot, then in this situation we will need another method - booting from an emergency drive. To do this, you need to create in advance boot disk.

The best solution in this situation is Hiren's Boot CD is a free ISO image containing whole line programs with which you can restore the system and the necessary files. For a 500MB image you can use a CD or DVD media, flash drives or external hard drives in order to extract data from a broken hard drive onto them.

To deploy the image we will need the incredibly popular UltraISO application. It is known in narrow circles due to the fact that it can function perfectly with both optical and any other storage devices (flash drives, HDD).

To create a Hiren's BootCD boot disk we need:

In just a couple of minutes, the flash drive and bootable Hiren’s BootCD will be successfully created.

We save all important information (documents, videos, photos)

Since Windows is not able to boot on its own, we boot from the Hiren’s BootCD flash drive. But first you need to change the BIOS settings or select the appropriate option at startup. After the image of the damaged device is created, you can remove the data using one of the recovery utilities: Partition Recovey, Recuva, PhotoRescue, etc. Recovering data using them is no different from the example of working with the ZAR utility, which was described earlier.

Now you know how to retrieve information from a damaged hard drive of a laptop or computer, and you can independently restore all lost files without any difficulties.

Another method is discussed in this video

The hard drive is one of the main components of a PC, because it stores all the information and operating system files that enable it to run.

Sometimes a HDD can fail, which can make the data stored on it inaccessible. In this case, it is too early to despair - often it is still possible to restore them. In this article, we will look at the causes of mechanical and logical problems with hard drives and the process of repairing them.

Mechanical problems

Mechanical or physical problems with the HDD arise due to damage or failure of some of its components. Let's look at some of them.

Photo: personal computer hard drive

The appearance of damaged hard disk sectors

This is one of the common problems that arises due to the appearance of “bad” sectors.

• errors that appear when working with some files;
• increased HDD loading time;
• the appearance of a grinding noise when the disk operates.

This problem is not critical. Its solution uses specialized utilities, for example: HDDScan - to determine the presence of bad sectors, HDD Regenerator - to restore their functionality.

PCB fault

This problem occurs if there is a problem with the power supply to the drive. It is quite easy to determine - the hard drive either does not start or produces characteristic knocking sounds. Such a failure may be caused by an incorrect connection of the HDD to the PC.

In this situation you need:

• check the correctness of the connection;
• replace the board;
• repair it.

Important! For replacement or repair printed circuit board You will most likely need professional help.

Problems with the magnetic head unit

This problem is quite serious.

Its “symptoms” are:

• unstable operation of the hard drive;
• the appearance of characteristic knocks and clicks.

A malfunction of the BMG can lead to data loss, so repairing this component must be carried out especially carefully. The solution to the problem is to replace the block, which it is advisable to entrust to professionals.

Logic problems

The second group of malfunctions are software failures that lead to certain errors. Read more about the most common ones below.

Formatting a disk drive

One of the most common problems of this kind. If formatting occurs accidentally or as a result of a failure, all previously recorded data disappears from the HDD. You can return them using special software.

Important! After formatting, it is necessary to ensure complete isolation of the hard drive. When new data is written to it, the previous files will be completely lost.

Hard drive boot block failure

In this case, it becomes impossible to start the installed operating system. The error occurs during serious OS failures, as well as as a result of exposure to viruses. This problem is not very serious and the data can be recovered.

Video: Failed hard drive

Preparing to recover data from a damaged hard drive

If logical (software) failures occur, when the files on the hard drive remain in a state suitable for recovery, you can begin the process of “curing” and saving them. Before using the programs designed for this, you need to prepare the hard drive for connection to another PC, because installing and using them on a damaged device will not work.

Using an External Hard Drive Pocket

A hard drive pocket is a special device that allows you to connect it and run it using another PC.

Note! Pockets are available for different HDD models, so before purchasing, make sure it is fully compatible with your device.

The hard drive connection process will look like this:

Connecting the hard drive to the computer system unit

You can also start recovering data from a damaged hard drive by connecting it directly to system unit working computer. If you are using a laptop hard drive, you will need a special adapter, which can be purchased in specialized stores.

• go into the BIOS by holding down the “Del” key when starting the system (may differ for different models);
• find the section “Standard CMOS Settings” or “IDE Config”;
• when setting up disks in “master” and “slave” modes, set all options to the “auto-detection” position;
• save the changes and reboot the system.

1. after the restart, go to “My Computer”, where a new device should be detected;
2. view, copy or restore files.

R-Studio program

When the problematic hard drive is connected and detected by another computer, you can begin to restore data on it.

We will look at this process using the R-Studio utility as an example:

Once the data is available again and saved, the faulty disk can either be formatted and a new one installed on it. operating system, or (if there are serious problems) send it in for repair.

Now you know that if problems arise with your hard drive and files on it are unavailable, it is too early to sound the alarm. Depending on the severity of the problem, the data can be rescued on your own or with the help of a professional.

Unfortunately, modern technology is not yet eternal and tends to unexpectedly fail. It is especially unpleasant when this equipment is a laptop with a lot of necessary information. However, there are ways to retrieve this information - provided that its storage, that is, the hard drive, is not damaged. And this can be done in several ways.

If a hard drive removed from a non-working laptop is not detected on other devices, it is most likely damaged. In this case, only a qualified specialist can obtain information from it.