"I dropped my HDD. I tried to plug it into a computer, but it doesn’t read at all. How can I recover data from a damaged hard drive?" Hard drives or external hard disks are a useful tool to back up and store files, documents, tablets, media files, and more. If your hard drive is damaged and inaccessible, stop using it and check the physical issues. To get your data back, follow our proven methods and concrete guide.

Part 1: A Quick Way to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive

If you don’t have a backup, Apeaksoft Data Recovery is a good option to get data from a damaged hard drive. It is able to scan your hard drive even if it is damaged, crashed, or formatted. Then, you can recover your files and data quickly.

How to Retrieve Data from a Broken Hard Drive

Step 1. Scan your hard drive
Download and install the hard drive recovery tool on your computer, and start it. Connect the damaged hard drive to your computer. Then, go to the USB / SD Card Recovery tab, and click the Scan Disk button.

Step 2. Preview your data
Once the quick scan finishes, you can check the data on your hard drive by type and path. Moreover, you can quickly locate specific files with the Filter feature.

Step 3. Hard drive recovery
Select the files you want to recover, and click the Recover button. Then, select an output folder, and click OK to confirm it. You can recover data even if you've ever wiped the hard drive.

Part 2: How to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive by File History

Once you turn on the backup feature on your PC, you can get data on a damaged hard drive from a File History Backup. This way works for the damaged hard drive or sectors on internal hard disks.

Step 1. Locate the damaged hard drive in a File Explorer, and right-click on it.

Step 2. Choose Properties and go to the Previous Version tab.

Step 3. Click the Arrow button next to the Open button, and choose File History.

Step 4. Select the data you want to retrieve, and click the Restore button.

Part 3: How to Recover Data from a Damaged Hard Drive via OneDrive Backup

If you are using a Microsoft account on your PC and have set up OneDrive, it may hold a copy of the damaged hard drive. That gives you a chance to get data recovery from a broken hard drive.

Step 1. Go to onedrive.live.com in a browser, and log in to your Microsoft account.

Step 2. Head to My files from the left panel, and view the backup files.

Step 3. Select the files you want to retrieve, and click the Download button.

Step 4. Save the archive file to another hard drive.

Part 4: How to Fix Damaged Sectors on a Hard Drive

Can you fix damaged sectors on the hard drive? Yes. The built-in CheckDisk and Error checking features on PCs allow you to repair damaged hard drives, including logical errors, file system, and disk structure. Remember that this feature may lead to file loss.

How to Repair a Damaged External Hard Disk via CheckDisk

Step 1. Insert the external hard disk into your PC.

Step 2. Right-click the Start menu and select Windows PowerShell or Terminal.

Step 3. Type in chkdsk /f /r D:. Replace D: with the letter of your damaged hard drive.

Step 4. Press the Enter key on your keyboard.

Step 5. When it is done, re-access the damaged hard drive to check if it works again.

Step 6. Then, you can recover the lost data.

How to Fix a Damaged Sector on a Hard Drive by Error Checking

Step 1. Run a File Explorer and locate the hard drive.

Step 2. Right-click on it and choose Properties.

Step 3. Switch to the Tools tab, and click the Check button under Error checking to begin scanning errors and repair damaged external hard drive.

Step 4. Wait for the process to complete, and regain access to the damaged sector.

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