When accidental deletion files, disk formatting, or errors in work hard disk you need to remember:

• By means of the OS itself, it will not be possible to recover the data, so we use programs for rebuilding hard third-party disc;
• We try, if possible, not to use the disk from which we need to recover data at all.

Deleting files and emptying the recycle bin does not directly delete data on the hard drive. The reason for this is a rather lengthy process. complete removal... Therefore, in order to speed up the deletion of files, they came up with such "invisible storage" of documents. If another document is written in place of the deleted document, it will already be irrevocably deleted. Therefore, whenever possible, of course, we do not perform any operations of copying, deleting or moving data.

• We are looking for a program that suits our requirements.

Now we are just going to deal with the third point.

It should also be noted that disk recovery is a rather lengthy operation. So be patient. During recovery, it is not recommended to perform any actions with files on the disk (copy, delete, move). Such actions can only spoil everything. If your OS is installed on the disk that you want to recover, 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 give a list of programs for data recovery with hard disk... These programs can be said to be universal and are suitable for data recovery not only with 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:

Utility Acronis Recovery Expert is part of the software package
Acronis Disk Director 11 Advanced Workstation. Provides quality restoration 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.

The program is paid, but for ordinary users there is an opportunity to use trial version... Download the program from the link below.

The main features of the program:

1. Support for a large number of file system formats;
2. Ability to run the utility from bootable disks and flash drives in case of impossibility to boot operating system;
3. Simple and intuitive clear interface v Windows style XP;
4. Supports hard drives larger than 180 GB.

Active Partition Recovery Pro

Supported file systems: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5

Description:

Convenient program for recovering your disk partitions. Supports a large number of file systems. Allows you not only to perform recovery, but you can even say to extend the life of your disk. The program can be run from both Windows and DOS by writing the program to disk or to a USB flash drive.

The program also allows you to perform recovery individual files however it is mainly used to recover entire disk partitions. If the data on the disk has been damaged by a virus, Active Partition Recovery Pro will allow you to recover it.
Screenshot:

HDD Regenerator

Supported OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7/8/10

Description:

The program specializes specifically in recovering bad sectors of the hard drive. Working window programs - command line. Quite not modern, but this utility can help in situations where using other programs did not help.

The program is quite easy to use, however, before using it, it will not be superfluous to study the specifics of its work and the functions of the program.

Screenshot:

Hetman Partition Recovery

Supported file systems: FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS

Description:

A program for recovering hard disk partitions and individual files. The program will help with accidental deletion of data or formatting, works with existing partitions, damaged and inaccessible disk partitions allowing you to restore them.

The advantage is support various drives: SD memory cards, flash drives and hard drives. The work in the program is quite convenient, it is carried out as in manual mode, and in the wizard mode, with which you can step by step you can configure data recovery.

The trial version can be downloaded from the developer's official website.

Screenshot:

R-Studio

Supported OS: Windows 2000, XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 / 8.1 / 10

Description:

A program for recovering data from flash drives, hard drives, USB drives... Supports almost all OS Windows family and can work with big amount file systems.

Features of R-Studio

• File system support: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, NTFS5, HFS / HFS +, UFS1 / UFS2, Ext2 / Ext3 / Ext4 FS;
• Creation of an image of the entire recovered disk for further work with it;
• Data recovery after disk formatting, accidental file deletion;
• The ability to save data to network drive or other media.

Screenshot:

Zero Assumption Recovery

Supported OS: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 / 8.1 / 10

Description:

An excellent program for data recovery. Recovers FAT and NTFS partitions.

ZAR is read-only and does not make any changes to the disk being recovered. This avoids the risk of further damage to the partition.

Screenshot:

Despite tangible progress, thanks to which computer technology becomes more and more powerful and reliable, the issue of data safety on the hard drive is more relevant than ever. After all, the volumes stored on such drives grow very quickly, and it even happens that it is not immediately possible to detect the loss.

Therefore, it is important to learn how to identify the first signs malfunctioning hard disk to make copies of important data in a timely manner, complete an important project or avoid computer downtime by purchasing a new disk in advance. Well, if you have waited for a breakdown, then you should know how to restore a hard drive while preserving important information.

How to recognize the problem

External signs by which you can determine the malfunction of a hard drive are very obvious, because from work of this element the stability of the entire system depends.

• clicks are heard during power-on, Windows does not load, the monitor does not show anything;
• Windows stopped starting, error messages are displayed;
• during operation, the computer regularly freezes, errors appear when saving files, etc.;
• copying, deleting, saving files is extremely slow, while periodically the process freezes and then continues;
• gone required files or folder, an error message is displayed when trying to open documents.

All these signs, of course, may indicate a malfunction of other PC components, but still the hard drive is considered the most important, because it is on it that all user data is stored.

How to understand if data recovery is possible?

When the user is faced with the already fait accompli that trouble has occurred with the most important component of the computer, the first obvious question is how to restore files hard disk. Let's look at the options for solving the problem.

Determining how to restore a hard drive, and whether it is real at all, will only help its testing, which is carried out as standard means, built into Windows, and with the help of specialized programs.

In the first case, it is necessary for Windows itself to boot, which is not always possible, because if a hard drive breaks down, it becomes inaccessible along with other files and folders. Easier when the problem is related to breakage second hard a disk that is not bootable, but is used exclusively for storing various data.

One of the most common verification options is as follows - you need to disconnect the hard drive from the computer, after disconnecting all cables and unscrewing the mounting bolts, and connect it to another known working computer as a second drive. In this case, it is easy to check whether the necessary information on it is intact (you can also immediately copy it to another medium).

The second verification option is a little more complicated, but only because it requires the user to prepare a bootable CD in advance. Although it can be recorded on another computer, if necessary, because such components are usually universal, they are not tied to a specific system. With such testing, for example, it is easier to find a solution to the question of how to recover a deleted hard drive.

In any case, when even an outdated version of Windows or another program that allows you to view the contents of disks is running on your computer, you can already make sure whether folders are readable, whether files are copied from a faulty drive.

It is worth noting that if you master the technique of working with internal drives system unit, then the user will no longer have a problem in how to restore external hard disk. The question, it turns out, is not so difficult. It will also show you how to recover your laptop hard drive.

Testing programs

There are many utilities for checking the health of hard drives, and some offer not only identifying errors and breakdowns, but also fixing some of them that can still be eliminated. For this reason, all programs are usually divided into several categories.

• Utilities for checking the surface of hard drives and fixing problem sectors. For example, HDD Scan or HDD Regenerator.
• Programs for checking the logical structure of the drive and fixing any identified problems. For example, Norton Disk Doctor.

There are no completely universal programs, although software developers try to create them. The fact is that the procedure for recovering hard disk sectors, files and folders requires specific knowledge, which requires appropriate specialists. Therefore, the most powerful and effective programs do not have any universal capabilities, but work with one or two functions.

Well, when you have a proven hard drive, how to recover data, there should be no question, tk. special programs are also used for this.

HDD Scan

The most accessible for an ordinary user are such utilities that work under Windows control... They have a clear and familiar interface that completely repeats other user programs.

The only drawback of such products is that they can be used only when the faulty hard drive is connected as a second drive. Although no one excludes the possibility of downloading a special Windows versions from a CD, where you can run all the familiar programs, including for checking the disc.

One of the most common programs is HDD Scan. Its functionality is limited to obtaining information about state of tough disk.

• Three modes of checking the drive surface: "read", "erase", "check".
• Reading SMART information from memory hard a disk that contains all hardware errors that have occurred at least once during operation.

In addition, the program determines the exact disk model, volume and firmware version that the hard disk is running under. But, unfortunately, such software does not know how to restore partitions hard disk, so if they are damaged, then it will not work to check the surface.

HDD Regenerator

This program has the usual Windows interface and contains a set of functions for checking and repairing the hard disk surface, in particular:

To start checking the drive, after starting the program, select the required disk and click on the "Start process" button. You may receive a warning that you need to close all programs that use the scanned disk. We must agree with this and wait until the end of the check. The program is able to correct errors in automatic mode.

It is worth noting that before restoring a hard drive, you should try to copy the data that is still available for reading to other media. But if they are completely unreadable, then there is nothing left but to restore the sectors of the hard disk.

Hard drive data recovery software

Programs for recovering data from a hard drive are, for some unknown reason, considered difficult for an ordinary user. But this is absolutely not the case, most of them have a familiar Windows interface and a Russian-language menu. It is enough just to carefully study the proposed points, and even an unprepared user will be able to restore everything that is still available for this.

Programs can be divided into two main categories:

• those that search for deleted files, for example, Undelete;
• those that search for files all over hard disk, for example, ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery).

The functionality of programs of the second type usually includes the search for deleted files, so that they turn out to be more universal, which does not in the least affect the efficiency of their work, because all lost files, be it manual deletion or accidental loss due to a software failure, are searched according to the same algorithm.

ZAR

The ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery) program is considered to be quite advanced in its capabilities. For example, this is one of the first data recovery utilities that understands Russian characters in the names of files and folders.

The main features of this program are impressive:

• support for all known file systems (FAT, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS);
• recovery of hard disk partitions;
• support for Russian and just long file names;
• compressed disk support;
• can rebuild RAID arrays.

All of this set of options is easy to use. The start-up procedure consists of selecting desired disk and clicking the Next button. At the end of the search for files, it will be enough to select the ones you really need and specify the folder into which to copy the recovered files.

The main thing is to stock up on additional hard disk and patience, because this program has been running for a long time (large drives can be processed for several hours). The second disk is needed because the files are restored by copying, which avoids writing to the damaged disk and increases the chances of saving other files.

Despite certain requirements, the program perfectly solves the question of how to recover hard disk partitions. That is why it is so popular. In addition, the utility allows you to solve the problem of how to repair the external hard drive.

Is it possible to return data without special programs?

To recover both the hard drives themselves and the information from them, enough utilities have already been developed, but they all have some drawback. So, for example, easy-to-use programs with familiar interface usually paid, which will require some purchase costs license key... Demo versions or programs with a small set of features are distributed free of charge.

Another variant. Powerful and efficient programs require specific knowledge from the user. For example, working with the command line, knowing the entire structure of data storage on disk, etc. But still, the recovery procedure will be carried out by the program itself.

You simply cannot do something manually because of the banal ignorance of how to do it. And you won't be able to find documentation on the Internet either. After all, software development is a business, and no one will agree to simply give away recovery technologies for free for free use.

The only option when you can get by with the means of the operating system itself is when you removed the hard drive from the list of drivers. How do I restore it? It can be done with a simple reboot. The driver is automatically found and the disc reappears.

Common myths about data recovery and loss

In practice, there are quite interesting, even funny myths, which, nevertheless, are quite tenacious, and thanks to the Internet they spread from one user to many others.

Of the most enduring myths, the following can be noted:

• If the hard drive begins to click and make other incomprehensible sounds, you need to tap it lightly with a screwdriver or other light instrument.

In fact, these components should not be subjected to any shock loads, especially when they already have problems. Any extraneous sound inside its case means, unfortunately, that the service track is out of order, which is needed for self-adjustment and accurate operation of the read head. Most often, for recovery, you will have to contact service center where special equipment is available to circumvent this problem. You can't do anything at home.

• It is necessary in a clean room, where there is no dust, to disassemble the hard drive and remove all the debris that gets under the head, which interferes with reading the data.

In fact, this is absolutely impossible to do! There is always dust at home, even if you cannot see it, and it is very dangerous for the surface of magnetic disks. The distance between the head and the surface of the disk is very small, and even a piece that is not noticeable at first glance will lead to scratches and complete damage to the drive.

• There are "machines" that restore hard drives after any breakdowns.

In fact, there is equipment that allows you to read data from damaged disks, but its operation requires compliance with certain requirements and conditions, for example, the electronics of the drive must be in good working order, the surface of the disks must be without scratches, etc. recycling. So there should be no controversy about how to recover a damaged hard drive. This issue has been resolved. The task here is completely different - how to restore information hard disk.

• You can recover lost data in any situation using free programs.

Actually free utilities work only with the simplest cases, since an effective algorithm has a developer who will not just give away the results of his work. Most often, the simplest programs allow you to restore only recently deleted files, and serious failures require the use of professional software tools.

How to prevent the problem?

In terms of protecting hard drives from damage, manufacturers have created a lot different technologies... Some are better, others are worse. At the very least, hard drives in laptops can easily withstand work while driving and carrying a computer around the house from room to room.

But what this critical component has never learned to withstand is falls, especially when it is on. Shock loads are the most common cause of failure, so there is only one answer to the question of how to protect a hard drive from failure. It is necessary to protect it from impacts and strong shaking. And you don't have to puzzle over how to recover your hard drive.

In other cases, various technologies are quite effective and capable of recovering all lost data.

Naturally, accidental and deliberate deletion of files destroys previously recorded 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 deleted irrevocably, not to mention damage to the hard drives themselves. What to do in this case? This is where hard drive recovery programs come to the rescue. Most of the simplest utilities can be downloaded for free. However, even they help, as they say, bring the disc to life. Consider the most popular, including both freeware and paid utilities.

How does the process of deleting files from the hard drive work?

Before considering the main topic, let's make a small digression into the theoretical part and see how information is removed. On Windows systems, there are two ways: deleting to the Trash 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, the information can also be restored.

The situation is worse with fast or full formatting disks and partitions, as well as with situations when the hard drive begins to "crumble" or is simply exposed physical damage... Many users mistakenly believe that it is impossible to restore 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 there were many problems at one time, anyone, even an unprepared user, can carry out such a process. Moreover, it is completely elementary.

Programs for recovering hard drives after formatting: can it be done?

In the case of a quick formatting of the hard drive, the partition tables are overwritten, and with a complete 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 opposite process. This gives the very effect of restoration. But first things first.

The best hard drive recovery programs

As for the most famous utilities today, an example list might look like this:

• Victoria HDD;
• R.Saver and R-Studio;
• HDD Regenerator;
• Acronis Recovery Expert and Active Partition Recovery Pro;
• Hetman Partition Recovery;
• Zero Assumption Recovery.

Naturally, it is impossible to give a complete list, since today such software products you can find hundreds. But let's dwell on the above utilities in more detail.

Victoria HDD

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 testing the hard drive, it is capable of identifying and displaying bad areas, fixing errors, plotting surface condition graphs, measuring performance, etc. The operating modes also look interesting. The application can be run in a regular graphical shell, or you can use a somewhat unusual DOS mode. By the way, it is with such a test that the most powerful effect is achieved.

R.Saver and R-Studio

These two programs for recovering hard drives from a USB 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 capable of recovering data on any type of media, including even formatted or damaged memory cards.

HDD Regenerator

This utility is relatively new among all programs. It is designed specifically to restore bad sectors and, as the developers themselves say, even to reanimate the surface of the hard drive.

It applies 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 the surface magnetization reversal can be programmed. Nevertheless, everyone who came across it, express only admiration - the application is able to reanimate even completely "dead" disks.

Acronis Recovery Expert and Active Partition Recovery Pro

Before us are two representatives of the family of utilities for HDD recovery. The peculiarity of these applications is that they support a large number of file systems and hard drives.

In addition, they provide a mode for creating bootable media, with which you can fix many problems if the operating system cannot start from the 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.

Hetman Partition Recovery

Another USB device or memory stick and 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 full formatting.

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 automate the entire recovery process.

Zero Assumption Recovery

Finally, another small and fairly simple application, abbreviated as ZAR. This program is intended primarily for recovering FAT and NTFS file systems, although it can be used for Linux as well. For users of Windows systems, it is perfect.

But here it is worth considering that in this case we are talking exclusively about restoring information (even from bad sectors). In this case, the program on the hard disk itself does not make any corrections after analysis.

Conclusion

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 (restoring information or eliminating failures on the hard drive itself), and only then make a decision about using this or that utility.

It is often possible to recover a laptop hard drive even in case of severe damage. The only exceptions are defects such as abnormal operation of the engine or head unit, that is, a purely mechanical failure of the device. Next, we will tell you how to independently cure the HDD and eliminate the malfunctions associated with the failure. file system or the appearance of defects on the working surface of the disc.

Troubleshooting HDD file system failure

One of the most common problems that a hard drive can get at any time is a file system failure. He finds himself unable to open the partition, the appearance of a message that the drive is not formatted and it is necessary to carry out this process. If you open the properties of the hard drive, you will find that the information is supposedly not contained on it.

In the event of a file system failure, the hard disk can be easily repaired in most cases using standard utility CHKDSK. You can work with it directly from the operating environment:

1. In the "This PC" folder, select the system partition and right-click on it.
2. In the window that appears, open the "Service" tab.
3. A utility is available here that checks the hard drive for errors. Click "Check" and install desired parameters so that the program can cure all found errors in automatic mode.

It is even easier to launch the same application directly from command line... This is done as follows:

1. Open the Run command utility (Win + R) and enter the line cmd.
2. In the command line window, write chkdsk c: / f. The letter "c" here denotes a system partition. If it is designated differently in your case, change the command accordingly.

Examination system partition utility is possible only after rebooting the system, about which the program will notify you in advance.

How to recover a logical HDD partition and all its data

Logical partitions are better to heal third party applications one of which is RS Partition Recovery. The main window is divided into parts here:

• on the left are all physical drives and logical partitions of the system;
• in the central part, the dimensions of the drives are indicated, information about their filling is also provided;
• directly selected files are displayed on the right, and even hidden data is visible here.

Recovering information from a disk using RS Partition Recovery is performed in the following sequence:

1. Open the wizard carrying out the recovery by clicking on the "Wizard" or "Wizard" button.
2. In the window that opens, specify the physical drive or partition that you want to recover.
3. Click "Next", after which the application will offer to indicate the type of analysis of the selected section. Check out quick scan or full analysis.

Mark the last point immediately, without removing the checkmarks opposite the lines below. In this case, the following information will be processed:

1. All files created in NTFS, that is, information managed by Windows, will be identified.
2. FAT data will also be determined. This type of formatting is common for removable media, but laptop hard drives can also contain such files. Linux, for example, works with this system.
3. The last point of deep analysis will recognize all files regardless of the file system.

It is recommended to restore disk or partition data by using these three filters at once so that no information is lost. All that remains is to run the analysis and restore the found data. Along the way, it will be possible to cure the logical partition, any information in the future is written to it without restrictions.

How to get rid of bad sectors on laptop HDD

With constant failures and freezes of the laptop, there is a possibility that the hard disk has a large number of bad sectors. You can get rid of them using the Victoria utility. Although this application runs under a loaded operating system, it is usually impossible to cure disk bad sectors in this mode. From under Windows, the hard drive can only be tested, but getting rid of bad sectors is possible only in DOS mode.

A free ISO image of the utility can be obtained directly from the official website. After creation boot disk start HDD recovery:

1. Start Victoria from the created boot disk. Remember to disable Secure Boot if your laptop uses new BIOS UEFI.
2. After the selection menu appears, wait a couple of seconds, after which you will be redirected to the boot options menu, where select the item marked with the second number.
   
   
3. In the next window, tell the system to download Victoria in the version for mobile computers.
   
   
4. In the application window that opens, press "P" to select the hard drive you want to work with.
   
   
5. In the window for selecting the HDD port, click on the last item Ext. PCI ATA / SATA.
   
   
6. Check the drive, press Enter, then F9. In the introspection window that opens, you can see the status of the disk. The 5th line indicates the number of blocks that have been reassigned to the still available spare sectors. The number of the latter is limited - when they run out, information in the bad sectors begins to be lost. The number highlighted in red indicates that the hard disk is in poor condition - it needs to be treated.
   
   
7. Press F4, in the menu that opens, leave the three initial points unchanged. The fourth item "Ignore Bad Blocks" can also be left unchanged if you just need to test the state of the disk. To treat bad sectors, this item must be replaced with BB = Advanced Remap.
   
   

In the latter case, the program will try to write to Bad-blocks. If this succeeds, the sector will be deleted from the number of bad sectors, which means its successful treatment. If the write fails, the bad sector will be permanently replaced by the spare.

Rebuilding hard drives means bringing the drives into a state that allows them to be read necessary information. We do not deal with repairs in cases where data recovery is not required.

Recovering hard drives with unreadable sectors

As a rule, if the disk is not periodically checked for bad blocks, their appearance is manifested in reading errors, the disappearance of folder files. May appear as unformatted or disappear logical drives, the operating system stops loading.
Recovery of hard disks in the presence of unreadable sectors is carried out using the software and hardware complex. This complex allows you to work with disks in technological modes, to carry out multiple reading of sectors and reading ignoring the control-cyclic code. With the help of these operations, in many cases, it is possible to read information from a significant part of the bad sectors.
In the case when unreadable sectors ended up in the area where the partition table or the service information of the file system is located, a preliminary copying to a working medium is required. Then, data recovery proceeds in the same way as in the case of a working hard disk.

Recovery of hard drives in case of violations in ROM or service area

The drive is not detected in the BIOS or is detected incorrectly. Can make uncharacteristic sounds, "knock". There are times when the carrier is detected correctly, but with further boot BIOS gives an error message.
Hard disk recovery, in this case, consists in recovering data from the service area of ​​the HDD or ROM. These works are carried out at the stand, in technological modes of storage. After that, data recovery takes place as usual.

Recovering hard drives with a faulty controller

In this case, in most cases, the disk knocks, or is not detected in the BIOS.
Hard drive rebuilding work mainly consists of replacing or repairing the controller. Sometimes a flashing of the disk's firmware is also required. After repair, data recovery occurs as from a working drive.

Recovery of hard drives in case of faults in the containment area

This type of malfunction most often causes a knocking or grinding noise in the HDA. Exceptions are “sticking heads” and “wedge” of the engine, in this case the disc does not spin up. The drive is not detected or may be detected by the BIOS.
In case of failure of one or several magnetic heads, or a switch (it is also located in the HDA), to restore the hard disk, it is required to open the HDA and replace the magnetic head unit together with the switch.
In case of "sticking", the containment area is opened and the "heads" are removed to the parking area. Engine jamming is eliminated by repairing it or replacing "pancakes" on a serviceable drive.
After that, data recovery is performed on the complex