Recuva can't detect my failed hard drive

[100indecisions]

I have a Windows 10 PC, and I upgraded all its major parts within the last year or so. Currently, Windows is running off an SSD, and I was using my original HDD as a storage drive because it was much bigger. For some reason I didn't realize the HDD was old enough to start failing, and of course that's what happened, which I also didn't realize until the drive had already failed and become completely inaccessible. Since Windows is on the SSD, I can boot just fine, and I have backups of my most important files, but there are still a lot of files on the failed drive that I'd really like to recover if at all possible. Currently, the failed drive shows up in Disk Management as an uninitialized drive but it's not accessible in any other way.

I first tried to clone the failed drive with Macrium Reflect Free, which couldn't detect it at all, and then AOMEI Backupper, which detected it but showed it as unreadable because it was uninitialized. So far, Recuva hasn't been able to recognize the drive either because it's not accessible through Windows--it shows up as something like \\.\HarddiskVolume8 and I get an error that Recuva "failed to determine file system type". Given that the disk is at least presenting as uninitialized and unformatted, that makes sense, but as I understand it, initializing the failed drive will also reformat it and wipe any data that might still be there. It sounds like Recuva might be able to get something off it after I've reformatted the drive, but I don't want to do that if there's something else I can try first.

So...is there something else I can try first to recover my data, without initializing the failed drive? Or should I assume at this point that all I can really do is initialize and format the failed drive and hope Recuva is able to recover at least some of my files afterward?

[Guest johnccleaner]

Unfortunately, that's correct - basically, if Windows can't detect the drive, detect its partition type, and properly mount it in the file system with a drive letter, Recuva can't touch it.

You're right that formatting the drive might allow data to be recovered; the format process will very likely damage some of the data that you might try to recover, however. If you do decide to go that route, take a look over here: https://support.piriform.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048890271 for some info on how to set Recuva to look for the data afterwards.

It might be safest to let a data recovery service look over the drive for you, though, as that would be the safest (if more costly) option, and would be most likely to recover the data intact.

[100indecisions]

1 hour ago, johnccleaner said:

It might be safest to let a data recovery service look over the drive for you, though, as that would be the safest (if more costly) option, and would be most likely to recover the data intact.

Thanks! I'm pretty sure what I lost was basically 6 months of sporadic game screenshots and some temporarily free ebooks, so it's all stuff I'd like to get back but it wouldn't be worth it to me to spend very much. Offhand, do you happen to know of any recovery services or software that would have a decent shot at recovering my files without costing more than...I don't know, $30 or so?

[Guest johnccleaner]

Sadly, I don't; data recovery services are typically rather expensive, and truth be told, I don't think I'd trust a service at the price point you list with anything that I own! 

(I'm very, very, very thankful that I've not personally had need for a data recovery service yet, so I also can't give any personal recommendations.)

I guess in that case, formatting the drive (if the drive is working well enough for that process to complete) isn't too big of a deal; you might well lose some data, but not something that you wouldn't be able to live without, so... it is worth a shot, anyway. I just try to follow the principles of 'all data is precious' and 'do no harm' when it's not my own data.

[Andavari]

If you Quick Format then Windows won't wipe the drive clean, meaning you'll have a better chance of recovering the data yourself using freeware tools like Recuva, etc.

[100indecisions]

7 hours ago, Andavari said:

If you Quick Format then Windows won't wipe the drive clean, meaning you'll have a better chance of recovering the data yourself using freeware tools like Recuva, etc.

Oh that's really good to know, thanks!

[Andavari]

Do note my stating of Windows won't wipe the drive clean simply means that Windows won't secure overwrite the data when doing a Quick Format, that's what will give you a "possible chance to get some of your data back", but doing any formatting can be destructive.