Windows 8 External hdd data loss

Kaleido

New Member
Hello All,

I seem to have encountered a strange problem with my external hdd (Transcend Storejet 1.5TB).

For some reason the volume label changed to the label of another external hdd (same type).

That's not really a problem but a large number of folders and files disappeared.

I've tried running Testdisk, but it doesn't seem to locate the old folders, only the ones that are still visible.

Also, when I tried to enter a folder from the root, I had to use administator rights to get permission to enter the folder.

Another annoying thing is the constant reminder the recycle bin on S:\ is corrupted.

I'm running Windows 8 Pro 64-bit. Been using both external hdd without any problems the last 3-4 months.

Not sure what I did wrong, I'm usually very careful not to disconnect them without checking for data transfer or anything.

Any ideas on how I could recover the lost folders/files?

Thanks for your help!
 
Disconnect both external hard drives without performing any operation on either. Connect the problem drive to another working computer that is free from trojan/malware and see if it detects it easily as like other removable storage devices.

Moreover, directly press 'window' button + 'R' and type 'diskmgmt.msc' into the run text box and hit enter. Keep your spy eye on the problem drive status. If it shows healthy, then everything is running perfectly and all you need is to recover data without formatting/erasing/deleting the drive.

Try the recovery program suggested by Mike and see if Recuva shows and recover the desired files. If not, try few other professional recovery program that may charge you fees but bring benefits to the table:

Recovermyfiles
Runtime
Stellar Phoenix Partition Recovery

Don't hesitate to asks if the problem still persists.:up:
 
Dear Mike and Oliver,

Thank you for your replies!

I tried connecting the faulty drive to another computer, but it had the same result.
disk management said it was a healthy drive...

I've tried the program Diskdigger (bought a license for batch processing) and was able to recover many files, but most of them incomplete.

Unfortunately for me, many of the files were moviefiles, so in most cases I'm missing a bit at the ending which isn't a big problem in most cases.

I'm happy I could recover the important personal files, anything else is replaceable.

Still curious as to what could have set this sudden data loss in motion...

Thanks for your advice!

Sebastian
 
Hi Sebastian,

Glad to know that you've found your precious data. Failing external HDD would be the most possible cause behind the situation you've faced. I'd still recommend to run a hard drive health status check to confirm about weather or not the drive is failing. You can use Seagate seatools for this that is free and offers easy to use HD check wizard.

You should learn a lesson from it, that is to keep backup of all your important files and folders and distribute them over cloud. Though, such drastic situations may not take place all the time but it's highly recommended.

Forum moderator can mark this thread as solved!!:wave:
 
I ever had a similar problem all of files in my external hard drive were lost, and I just wanted to recover some photos from it. And I search for the data loss reason and the solution for data recovery for a long time. Finally, I just found a good tool in cnet dowsload, the tool named Tenorshare Data Recovery Pro, I think you can try it: Recover lost data from external hard drive.
http://download.cnet.com/Tenorshare-Data-Recovery-Professional/3000-2242_4-75811363.html
 
Hello Jaydencool,

Thank you for your input.

I have since my last post dug around some different options and finally found the program File Scavenger Pro and was able to recover ALL my files.

Pretty impressed with the result, so I would recommend it to anyone :)
 
A big problem with external drives is people frequently don't remove them properly. Using cables longer than the one supplied and connecting through a hub can cause problems because many PCs have barely adequate power supplies and the drives are quite sensitive to voltage.
Joe
 
Hello Jaydencool,

Thank you for your input.

I have since my last post dug around some different options and finally found the program File Scavenger Pro and was able to recover ALL my files.

Pretty impressed with the result, so I would recommend it to anyone :)
You are welcome! I am happy to know you have solved your problem!
 
Up to 95% of deleted files can be recovered even after emptying Trash.but if you keep doing wrong things such as the read-write operation, the probability of file recovery will decrease to 20%~50%.so God bless u.
 
Data Recovery software proves to be an optimum tool to recover lost or accidentally deleted files and folders from file systems. The tool, Data Recovery is suitable for repairing corrupt FAT and NTFS file systems. Using this software it is possible to recover data from external hard drive partitions, formatted or re-formatted hard disk, corrupt Windows registry and even from damaged hard disk.
 
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