In case of accidental deletion of files, formatting of the disk, or errors in operation hard drive need to remember:
Deleting files and emptying the Recycle Bin does not directly delete data on the hard drive. The reason for this is a rather long process of complete removal. Therefore, in order to speed up the deletion of files, they came up with such an “invisible storage” of documents. If another document is written in place of the deleted document, it will be permanently deleted. Therefore, if possible, of course, we do not perform any operations of copying, deleting and moving data.
Now we will just deal with the third point.
It should also be noted that disk recovery is a rather lengthy operation. So it pays to be patient. During recovery, it is not recommended to perform any actions with files on the disk (copying, deleting, moving). Such actions can only spoil everything. If your OS is installed on the disk that you want to restore, then the best option will write the program to a USB flash drive or disk and boot through them, and not through Windows.
In this article, I would like to provide a list of programs for recovering data from a hard drive. These programs can be said to be universal and suitable for data recovery not only from hard drives, but also with SSD, SD memory cards and USB flash drives.
Supported file systems: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HPFS, Linux Ext2, Ext3, ReiserFS, Linux Swap
Description:
The Acronis Recovery Expert utility is part of the software package
Acronis Disk Director 11 Advanced Workstation. Provides high-quality recovery of deleted or damaged hard disk partitions. If you want to be ready to perform recovery in case of unexpected data loss, then Acronis Recovery Expert is a must for you.
The program is paid, but for ordinary users it is possible to use trial version. Download the program from the link below.
The main features of the program:
Supported file systems: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5
Description:
A handy program for recovering partitions of your disk. Supports a large number of file systems. It allows you not only to perform recovery, but you can even say to extend the life of your disk. The program can be run both from under Windows and from under DOS by writing the program to a disk or a USB flash drive.
The program also allows you to restore individual files, however, it is mainly used to restore entire disk partitions. If the data on the disk was damaged by the Active Partition Recovery Pro will allow you to restore them.
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Supported OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10
Description:
The program specializes in the recovery of bad sectors of the hard drive. Working window programs - command line. Quite out of date, but this utility can help in situations where using other programs did not help.
The program is quite easy to use, but before using it, it will not be superfluous to study the specifics of its work and the functions of the program.
Screenshot:
Supported file systems: FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS
Description:
A program for recovering hard disk partitions and individual files. The program will help in case of accidental deletion of data or formatting, works with existing partitions, corrupted and inaccessible disk partitions, allowing you to restore them.
The advantage is the support of various drives: SD memory cards, flash drives and hard drives. Working in the program is quite convenient, it is carried out as in manual mode, and in wizard mode, with which you can step by step configure data recovery.
The trial version can be downloaded from the official website of the developer.
Screenshot:
Supported OS: Windows 2000, XP, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1/10
Description:
Program for recovering data from flash drives, hard drives, USB drives. Supports almost all OS Windows families and can work with a large number of file systems.
Features of R-Studio
Screenshot:
Supported OS: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1/10
Description:
Excellent data recovery software. Recovers FAT and NTFS partitions.
ZAR works in read-only mode and does not make any changes to the recovered disk. This avoids the risk of further partition corruption.
Screenshot:
Problems with hard drives occur quite often, many users do not know what to do about it. Therefore, in most cases, the average user gives the hard drive to service center where specialists repair it for a fee. But as practice shows, to solve most problems with hard drive you can do it yourself completely free of charge, it is enough to know what programs exist for repairing a hard drive, what they are responsible for and how to work with them.
To start repairing a hard drive using specialized programs and utilities, you first need to understand the reasons for its failure. There are several classic failures, namely:
— Violation of the structure in the file concept
- Defect or damage to hard drive files
- Crash and program errors
— Disappearance of information and files
To solve all these problems, the most popular programs and utilities are used:
— Viktoria
– Other
Regenerator is a fairly powerful and powerful program that allows you to find errors in hard disk and restore it. Basically, it acts on damaged areas where failures occurred and tries to restore damaged registries and areas. The program does not restore information that has been deleted or lost, it works to repair damaged areas.
1. Launch the application and select a disk to work with.
2. In the dos window, select the type of scan and press the enter button.
After all the steps, we finish scanning and repairing the disk surface, we look at the results.
According to experts - HDD Regenerator in DOS mode, it can completely restore the hard drive by means of magnetizing the surface of the hard drive. This solves most disk corruption problems.
Download HDD Regenerator- http://www.softportal.com/software-17886-hdd-regenerator.html
Viktoria is a well-known program that is very high quality and, most importantly, quickly copes with many errors, system losses and sector failures in the HDD. The program works in two variations:
- In DOS mode
— In the window application of the operating room Windows systems
In any variation, the program does an excellent job with a large number of errors, resuscitating lost files and restoring bad sectors.
To work in the program you need:
1. Run the program and select the failed drive.
2. On the special smart tab, view disk information.
3. After receiving the information, go to the test tab and test all areas of the disk by default. The type of test should be - Verify.
4. Analyze the received errors, which are marked in red (these are failures and non-working sectors).
5. Hide non-working and bad sectors using the Remap mode.
Download Victoria- http://www.softportal.com/software-40873-victoria.html
This program is a great helper when repairing a hard drive. Acronis Recovery Expert is quite easy to use, has a user-friendly interface and runs like a normal application. In addition, it can create a special bootable media that plays files when the hard drive is not working properly. Also this program supports a huge number system files and large hard drives.
To work in the program you need:
1. Run the program.
2. Select the operating and recovery mode (manual or automatic).
3. Select a deleted and damaged partition.
4. Select a method for searching for deleted partitions (fast and full).
5. Restore the partition and repair the disk.
Download Acronis Recovery Expert- http://soft.mydiv.net/win/download-Acronis-Recovery-Expert.html
In addition to these programs, there are still quite a few other applications and utilities that also help fix problem areas of the hard drive and solve many problems with it. Of course, the first solution for small problems with a hard drive is ScanDisk, but for more serious ones, these are already such giants as HDD Regenerator or Viktoria. These programs can definitely help you fix your hard drive, and you won't need any wizards.
Naturally, accidental and intentional deletion of files destroys information previously recorded on the information that can be restored using special utilities. But you can also find cases of quick or complete formatting of hard drives, when data is believed to be permanently deleted, not to mention damage to the hard drives themselves. What to do in this case? This is where programs for recovering hard drives come to the rescue. You can download mostly simple utilities for free. However, even they help, as they say, bring the disc to life. Consider the most popular, including both free and paid utilities.
Before considering the main topic, let's make a small digression into the theoretical part and see how information is deleted. In Windows systems, there are two ways: deleting to the Recycle Bin and without it. In the first case, the files are simply moved to the area reserved on the hard drive, so restoring them from the Recycle Bin is as easy as shelling pears.
In the second case, it occurs when the first character in the name is changed to unreadable ($). If during the work in the clusters where such a file is located, the overwriting was not performed, it is also possible to restore the information.
The situation is worse with quick or full formatting of disks and partitions, as well as with situations when the hard drive begins to “crumble” or simply undergoes physical damage. Many users mistakenly believe that it is impossible to recover files in this case, they say, only professional experts can do it. Nothing like this! If you use, for example, the same programs for recovering Seagate Barracuda hard drives, with which many problems were observed at one time, any, even an unprepared user, can carry out such a process. And it is absolutely elementary.
In the case of a quick formatting of the hard drive, the partition tables are overwritten, and with a full format, the disk surface is also checked, followed by the correction of bad sectors. At the same time, we are not talking about factory low-level formatting at all.
This is what allows many developers to create programs for recovering hard drives, which, as it were, perform the reverse process. This gives the same recovery effect. But first things first.
As for the most famous utilities today, an approximate list might look like this:
Naturally, it is impossible to give a complete list, since today such software products hundreds can be found. But let's dwell on the above utilities in a little more detail.
If we consider the most popular programs for recovering hard drives and disk partitions, of course, the leadership belongs to one of the most powerful utilities of our time called Victoria HDD, developed by Sergey Kazansky.
The program has five levels of hard drive testing, is able to identify and display failed areas, fix errors, plot surface conditions, measure performance, etc. The operating modes also look interesting. The application can be launched in normal graphical shell, or you can use a somewhat unusual DOS mode. By the way, it is with such a check that the most powerful effect is achieved.
These two programs for recovering hard drives from a flash drive work just fine and are very similar to each other. They can even be used as portable versions.
The main advantage of these utilities is that they support almost all file systems known today and are able to recover data on any type of media, including even formatted or damaged memory cards.
This utility among all programs is relatively new. It is designed specifically to restore bad sectors and, as the developers themselves say, even to resuscitate the surface of the hard drive.
Applied here latest technology the so-called magnetization reversal, which allows you to completely restore the hard drive and the information that was previously recorded on it. It works, however, only in DOS mode, which causes some bewilderment for many. In addition, the technology itself looks almost unrealistic, because some do not imagine how it is possible to remagnetize the surface programmatically. Nevertheless, everyone who has come across it expresses only admiration - the application is able to revive even completely “dead” disks.
Before us are two representatives of the family of HDD recovery utilities. The peculiarity of these applications is that they support a large number of file systems and hard drives.
In addition, they provide a mode of creation bootable media, with which you can fix many problems if it is impossible to start the operating system from a problematic hard drive.
True, the first utility is paid, the second is not. But the second application is also interesting because it can be run from both DOS and Windows.
Another USB device or memory card and the information stored on them is interesting because it can work with all types of virtual partitions. It goes without saying that data can be recovered even after a full format.
But the most important thing is that the program can work both in manual mode and in the "Wizard" mode, which allows any user to use automation of the entire recovery process.
Finally, another small and fairly simple application, abbreviated as ZAR. This program is intended mainly for recovering FAT and NTFS file systems, although it can also be used for Linux. For users of Windows systems, it is the best fit.
But it is worth considering here that this case we are talking exclusively about the recovery of information (even from bad sectors). At the same time, the program does not make any corrections on the hard disk itself after the analysis.
Of course, only the most basic programs were considered here. When choosing a program, one should be guided by the situation itself, that is, choose which operation should be applied (information recovery or troubleshooting on the hard drive itself), and only then make a decision about using this or that utility.
Often users personal computers encounter hard disk problems that affect system performance. The main causes of hard drive failure are: bad sectors in HD D and bad file system. In this article, we will describe a detailed HDD troubleshooting process, and also describe information recovery methods hard drives if it is defective or completely out of order. I would also like to note that problems that are associated with the hard drive should be given special attention. For example, if the HDD becomes completely faulty, then you are unlikely to be able to recover information from it. That is, all your documents, personal videos and photos, and other files may be permanently lost.
If files are not copied on your computer, programs freeze after opening, then possible cause this may be bad HDD. Typically, this behavior of the operating system is due to with bad sectors in the hard drive. To be sure that the problem is related to broken HDD sectors, not with malware The first step is to confirm this conjecture. If the situation described above is observed on the computer, we will install the utility on it CrystalDiskInfo. This utility describes the status of all hard drives installed on your computer. You can download CrystalDiskInfo from its official website http://crystalmark.info. The utility supports Windows operating systems from XP to Windows 10.
To check information about the hard drive, the utility uses self-diagnosis technology SMART. SMART technology is used on all manufactured HDDs. Below is an example of checking SMART readings using the CrystalDiskInfo utility in a hard drive WD1200JS. From this window, you can see that the program has detected its status as " Fine" - this means that this hard drive is in perfect order and you should not worry about it.
In the following image in the SMART readout, CrystalDiskInfo utility detected the status of the screw with the message " Anxiety". This message means that the hard drive already has bad sectors or it is overheating.
If you see the message " bad”, then this will mean that all bad sectors have been reassigned on the hard drive and soon it will completely shut down.
In both cases, when the program found the messages " Anxiety" And " bad", you should do backup all data on the computer, as soon the screw will become unusable.
One solution that can temporarily fix your screw is the utility Victoria. This utility can do REMAP BAD sectors, that is, it will reassign bad sectors to backup ones. In the next section, we will describe in detail the process of REMAP BAD sectors using the Victoria utility.
Utility Victoria created by a Belarusian programmer and distributed free of charge. You can download the utility on its official website hdd-911.com. The Victoria utility is distributed in two versions for Windows and DOS. In our case, we will download the Windows version. After running the Victoria utility on Windows, we will get into such a window.
To fix the hard drive, we need to go to the "Tests" tab. On this tab, we are interested in the area with the radio buttons Ignore , Erase , Remap and Restore , as well as the button Start . To fix it, we need to select the Remap radio button and click Start.
After these steps, the Victoria program will begin the process of correcting sectors, which can take quite a long time.
After reassigning the sectors, Victoria may be able to restore the bad sectors, and the CrystalDiskInfo utility will display the value "Good". But the magic fix may not happen, as the reserve sectors may simply be missing and Victoria will not be able to help. In this case, there is only one way out - do a complete HDD replacement. In addition to screw treatment, Victoria also provides verification of testimony SMART tab SMART».
I would like to note that all the operations that you perform with the help of Victoria, you do at your own peril and risk. Using the utility, an inexperienced user can damage the hard drive, as well as deprive it of warranty service.
Many users on Windows computers often experience problems related to file system errors NTFS. File system problems are caused by malicious utilities and various software . Also, most often problems in the file system occur out of inexperience the PC user. For example, improper handling of the utility Acronis Disk Manager. To solve this problem, Windows itself will help us. Windows provides file system fixer. In order to fix file system on a specific section, you need to go to its properties. In our case, this system partition operating system Windows 10. To run the fix, we need to go to the tab " Service».
This tab has a Check button which we will click.
After this action, a window will appear in which you need to confirm our actions.
After confirming the action, Windows will scan this partition.
After scanning, the system will display a message with the results of scanning the partition for errors.
Using this method, many users have restored their operating system to normal without having to reinstall it. If the problems lie in the HDD itself, then no disk check and reinstallation of the OS will help in this case. The only option in this case is that you can resort to the Victoria utility or do a complete replacement of the screw with a new one, while reinstalling Windows.
The software is the perfect tool to create a full backup all local partitions, including the system one. This opportunity is used by many administrators around the world. The created backup of local disks can be restored in a very a short time. For example, if the system has been infected with a virus or the HDD is broken, in this case you will restore all OS disks in a short period of time. You can find Acronis True Image 2016 on its official website www.acronis.com. By running the program in question, we will get into such a window.
First of all, we will show our readers how to back up local partitions of Acronis True Image 2016. On the first tab "Backup", you can see that the entire computer is selected for backup. That is, a full backup of all local partitions, including the system partition, will be carried out. In the next block, you need to select a location for the backup. In our case, this is the local disk E. After choosing the type of backup data and where to save it, click the button Create a copylocated in the lower right corner.
Depending on the amount of data to be saved, the time to create a backup will depend.
Having completed backup, we will describe the process of restoring a computer. For this we need to create boot disk or an Acronis True Image 2016 flash drive. You can do this by going to the " TOOLS/BOOT DRIVE WIZARD". Below is a wizard that should open.
In this wizard, we will select the first item and continue. In the window that appears, select where we will save the boot drive: into the image or to a flash drive.
After saving the boot drive, the wizard will display a final window.
By creating a bootable flash drive or optical disc with Acronis True Image 2016, you can start data recovery. To do this, download from bootable flash drive when starting the computer. After booting from the boot drive, we get to the Acronis True Image 2016 menu. We select the first item in this menu, after which we get to the main Acronis True Image window.
In the program window, go to the "" tab and find the backup copy of the entire system that we previously created.
Now to restore system disk with Windows and local drives, press the button Disk Recovery.
In the wizard that appears, select the item " Recover disks and partitions and continue.
In the next window, select all local drives and continue the wizard.
In paragraphs " Destination» for the first and second disks, select the original HDD. If there are many hard drives installed in the system, then be careful not to mix up the screws. In the final window, click the Proceed button.
The backup recovery time depends on the size and speed of the HDD. In our case, it took 10 minutes.
The example shows how easy it is to back up an entire computer, so if you master software package Acronis True Image 2016, then you can easily restore its performance in cases where the system is infected or the hard drive is broken. Also, after mastering the program, you will not have questions about how to recover data from a hard drive.
There are cases when reinstalling Windows or when using Acronis software, users mistakenly erase all information from the hard drive. If you have exactly this situation, then you should not be upset, since all the information can be restore. A free utility will help us with this task. Recuva. You can download the utility on its official website www.piriform.com. After starting the utility, the user enters the wizard, which will help you restore all the data. Below is the sequential work of the wizard.
The example shows that data recovery using Recuva is a fairly simple process and almost any PC user can handle it.
From this article it can be emphasized that hard recovery the task is not very simple, but depending on the situation, even an ordinary PC user can handle it. I would also like to advise laptop owners to handle it as carefully as possible. For example, if the laptop is dropped or subjected to a strong impact, it may damage the HDD. In addition, if you yourself have identified a problematic screw, then do not be afraid to open the laptop case yourself or desktop computer, since replacing the HDD is a fairly simple task. And we, in turn, hope that our material will be useful to our readers and will allow you to restore your hard drive.
HDD(HDD, HDD, hard drive) is one of the most unreliable components of a computer. It can easily be "killed" by a power surge or excessively large voltage ripples on the +12 V line (poor-quality power supplies sin this). Slowly disable the drive and vibration, if it is not rigidly fixed in the case. Turning the disc over during operation can cause the spindle head to move and, as a result, break the disc. Such fragility of the hard drive is due to its internal design. In addition, like any product, a hard drive has a certain service life. Modern models have a service life of 5 years or more (depending on the quality of assembly and components). With hardware problems, restoring a hard drive is often impossible, or possible, but for a short time, which will help delay the purchase of a new device a little.
Hard drive software problems are also annoying for the user and can lead to the loss of important data, but they are not so dangerous for the device itself. Restoring a hard drive in this case guarantees its long and stable operation if the hard drive does not have hardware problems. How to restore a hard drive? Through the use of specialized software! This process is quite simple and can be carried out even by a layman at home.
Before you start hard disk recovery, you need to install the following software:
The smallest organizational unit of the main memory of a hard drive, available to the user, is a sector. The sector size of modern drives is 4-8 kB. Their number is measured in hundreds of millions and even billions. Each hard drive has a certain number of "spare" sectors (~10% of the volume). In case of malfunctions of the “main” sectors, the hard disk marks one of the “spare” sectors with the number of the sector that is faulty and the hard drive continues normal operation. The hard drive performs all these actions on its own, without user intervention. However, various errors may appear in the operation of this system, and then it is necessary to do manual recovery hard drive.
Let's figure out how to restore a hard drive. This requires the following steps:
In some cases, only the DOS version of HDD Regenerator will be able to restore the hard drive. If it was not possible to restore the hard drive using Windows versions program, it is worth trying to do it from under DOS.
If the hard disk has run out of spare sectors, and the detected “broken” sectors cannot be cured by software, then it will not be possible to restore the hard disk.
The problem of how to repair a hard drive that has hardware problems and does not fit the above software recovery relevant for many users. In this case, you have to "cut" disk space, cutting off “broken” sectors in AOMEI Partition Assistant. Several such divisions may be needed, areas with “broken” sectors can be hidden in the same program so that files are not written there by mistake. This "recovery" of the hard drive will only help for a short time. As a result, the HDD will be divided into n number of partitions, some of which (with defective clusters) will be marked as hidden. 
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