Recover lost files from WD Elements portable hard drive

Working with huge amounts of information? You know the panic moment when you realize that you need something that you deleted a long time ago. This is the topic of this article : Deleted file recovery. First lets start with some general data recovery tips, valid for all type of data devices, PC’s, Mac’s, phones.

Have a data recovery program ready for use. When your hard drive goes bad and you lose valuable files and documents, it’s time to turn on your favorite data recovery software solution and recover everything back from the bad hard drive. We highly recommended Disk Drill for Windows and Mac OS X. The main advantages of Disk Drill are its ease of use, support for more than 200 file formats and all common storage devices, including iOS and Android smartphone and tablets.

If this works, use the working Mac to make copies of the files you need most (photos, documents, etc.). Once you’ve done that, you’re free to wipe or repair the disk, hopefully getting that original laptop working again. To do this, restart the computer and hold down CMD+R until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe. From MacOS Utilities, select Disk Utility. Pick the topmost drive on the left, and select First Aid or Repair. If it works, this will solve lots of issues, including a wonky drive.

So what should you immediately do if you find yourself in such a situation one day? While screaming might sound justified, there are a few things you can try out before thinking of running to a hard drive service center. And what are those few things? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out. Starting with the basics – there are 2 ways a hard drive can be damaged. Yes, this is required. You need to understand what kind of damage has struck your hard drive in order to know how to deal with it.

When dealing with a software data loss, the first and most important thing to keep in mind is not to work with the drive in question. Every second that the drive is connected to a running system is a second that you lose your chances at recovery. Your operating system is reading and writing to your drive constantly, whether you’re actively doing something or not. Now that your system is seeing the deleted data as ‘free space’ it will happily overwrite this area-along with your chances of recovery.

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.

Do Your Data Recovery is the tool that you need to use in order to get all your files recovered, and you only need a few clicks to do it. One thing to considerate: If you want to recover all your data, do not save any new data on it, because it will reduces the chance of success. See more details at Deleted file recovery.