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19 June 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Master how to recover deleted files from external hard drive. Understand deletion causes, restoration techniques, and storage device repair.



Table of contents

table iconI. The reasons why the files on the external hard disk or USB disk are deleted
table iconII. Use Renee Undeleter to recover deleted files in external hard disk or USB disk
table iconIII. Repair method of external hard disk and USB disk
recover deleted files from external hard drive

I. The reasons why the files on the external hard disk or USB disk are deleted

1. Accidental deletion or virus infection

Accidental deletion is a common cause of data loss. To prevent this, regularly clean up your external hard disk and USB stick. Viruses can also delete files automatically. Connect the external hard disk to your computer and use anti-virus software to scan and remove viruses.

2. external hard disk or USB disk failure

When a external hard disk or USB stick fails, files may be deleted. This often happens with devices that are old or of poor quality. Check the repair method in the third part and try to fix it.
Common reasons for file deletion from external hard disks or USB flash drives include user error and hardware issues. After data loss, avoid storing new data to prevent overwriting, which makes recovery impossible. Use data recovery tools promptly to restore deleted files.

II. Use Renee Undeleter to recover deleted files in external hard disk or USB disk

1. What is Renee Undeleter?

Renee Undeleter is designed to restore various data files. Whether you’ve accidentally deleted files, emptied the recycle bin, or formatted a disk/storage, this tool can retrieve the lost data. It includes four modules: Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan, Whole Disk Scan, and Image Creation, addressing all data loss problems comprehensively.
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Easy to use Recover data by 3 steps;

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan;

Supported file types Image, video, audio, text, email and so on;

Image creation Create a partition image to read and back up data;

Supported devices SD card, SDHC, SDXC, USB flash drive, hard disk and computer.

Easy to use Recover data by 3 steps;

Multiple scan modes Fast partition/whole partition/whole disk scan;

Supported devices SD card/USB/hard disk.

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2. How to use Renee Undeleter to recover deleted files in external hard disk and USB disk?

Step 1: Connect the external hard disk and USB stick to the computer, download and install Renee Undeleter, and select (Whole Partition Scan).
Note: Do not install on the disk that needs to restore data, so as not to cause data overwriting.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter to recover deleted video from sd card
Data Recovery Function:

  • Fast Partition Scan – Quickly retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
  • Whole Partition Scan – Recover files from inaccessible or formatted partitions.
  • Whole Disk Scan – Analyze partition information and fully scan the entire disk.
  • Image Creation – Create an image of a partition to back up its current state.
Step 2: Select the external hard disk or USB stick partition where the files were deleted, and click Next. Wait patiently during the file scanning process, which varies by partition size.
Renee Undeleter Whole Partition Scan
Step 3: Once the scan is complete, double-click the file to preview it. Select the file you want to recover and click the Recover button to save it to another disk.
preview and select the files to recover in renee undeleter
After recovering deleted files from a external hard disk or USB stick, you can further repair the device using the following methods.

III. Repair method of external hard disk and USB disk

1. Check the system file error of the external hard disk or USB disk

Use the Windows file system error-checking function to check and repair external hard disks or USB sticks. Steps:
Step 1: Connect the external hard disk/USB disk to the Windows computer.
Step 2: Open File Explorer, right-click the external hard disk or USB stick, select Properties > Tools, and click Check in the “Error checking” section.
select properties
check disk
Step 3: Click (Scan and Repair Drive). If errors are found, the computer may need to be restarted to repair the file system.
scan drive

2. Format the external hard disk or USB disk

Formatting a portable hard drive or USB flash drive can resolve many issues. If the device isn’t visible in the PC file explorer, right-click the Start menu, select Disk Management, and format the drive. Steps are as follows:
Step 1: Connect the external hard disk/USB stick to the computer. Copy all data to another disk for backup. If there are many files, you can use professional data backup software.
Step 2: Open File Explorer, right-click on the external hard drive or USB flash drive, and select (Format).
format the hard disk
Step 3: In the format window, select the appropriate file system: FAT32, NTFS, or exFAT. For Windows systems, NTFS is recommended.
Step 4: Click (Start) to format the external hard disk or USB flash drive.
format the hard disk

3. Use Chkdsk to repair damaged external hard disk or USB disk

If the external hard disk or USB stick is not physically damaged and the computer can recognize it, use the Chkdsk tool to repair logical errors. Note: Back up important files before proceeding. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Connect the external hard disk/USB disk to the computer.
Step 2: Once connected, search for cmd in the computer’s search box, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
run as administrator
Step 3: In the command prompt window, enter chkdsk H: /f (H: is the drive letter of the external hard disk, /f is the repair parameter), and press Enter. The repair process duration depends on the damage severity and storage size. Exit Command Prompt when the repair is complete.
TipsIf this command does not repair the external hard disk/USB stick, try chkdsk H: /r. The /r parameter finds bad sectors and restores readable information, including the functionality of /f with added physical disk error analysis.