Working with big amounts of information? You know the desperate moment when you realize that you need something that you deleted a long time ago. This is the topic of this post : How to do a deleted file recovery. 1st lets start with some general data recovery tips, valid for all type of data devices, PC’s, Mac’s, phones.
Use cloud storage. For most regular users, cloud storage services represent the most reliable way how to protect themselves against data loss. Providers of these services are commonly located on the other side of the planet, and they use sophisticated backup systems at their storage facilities, resulting in multiple degrees of redundancy. Best of all, services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive have free plans with generous storage limits, which are more than enough for text documents.
If this works, use the working Mac to make copies of the files you need most (photos, documents, etc.). Once you’ve done that, you’re free to wipe or repair the disk, hopefully getting that original laptop working again. To do this, restart the computer and hold down CMD+R until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe. From MacOS Utilities, select Disk Utility. Pick the topmost drive on the left, and select First Aid or Repair. If it works, this will solve lots of issues, including a wonky drive.
Is the drive making no sounds on being connected or accessed? If the drive isn’t making any clicking or other sounds at all, it isn’t spinning at all. That is a clear indication of an issue with the drive’s PCB (the green circuit board attached to the bottom of the drive). In such a case, you’ll need to replace the PCB with a matching one from another matching hard drive.
If Your Drive Isn’t Spinning Up At All : This is the one instance where you have a relatively good chance of resurrecting your drive if you’re prepared to put in some time and effort. If the drive does absolutely nothing when you apply power to it (no noises at all), it is 99% a PCB problem. With older drives, you could sometimes find a matching PCB from another matching drive, swap it over, and voila. However, on new drives, technology and architecture have changed and each drive contains microcode unique to the drive it’s attached to. Simply swapping the PCB with a matching, working equivalent has almost no chance of working and can be outright dangerous to your data.
Older laptops that were constructed with traditional hard drives were fairly simple to pop open and fix. You could unscrew a few screws holding the case together, and then plug into the drive via a universal SATA port to retrieve the data. Opening the actual drive itself is not without risk, or advisable, as dust could and will enter the drive, causing contamination and potentially additional damage during the process. For example, older drives would be subject to something called stiction, and sometimes became ‘stuck’, whereby the head and actuator were locked or stuck and the motor failed to spin, causing the hard drive platters to spin improperly. One trick that had some reported success involved placing a hard drive in the freezer, which would cause the metal to contract and become unstuck, at least long enough to offload the data.
Data recovery service is not a bad idea when you want to recover lost data. But this kind of solution is very expensive and time-consuming. Moreover, other people will see your recovered files and information. The best solution for recovering lost files from WD Elements portable hard drive is file recovery software. Powerful file recovery software can let you easily and safely recover lost WD Elements data on your own. With file recovery software, you can conveniently recover lost files from WD Elements portable hard drive by yourself. Read extra info on Recover lost data from WD external hard drive.