• Recovering hard drives from any condition. How to recover a hard drive and all the information on it

    Restoring a hard drive should mean correcting violations from the data located there so that they can be read and saved to a working drive. Even if the device has no visible or audible physical damage, repairing the equipment itself is not practical.

    The cost of physically repairing a hard drive can easily be several times higher than the cost of purchasing a new analogue. This is a product of mass demand and production; in electronics factories, these same drives are churned out at the rate of a million every minute.

    And finding a specialist who would willingly take on repairing the physical part of the media would be a serious problem. Of course, in every entrance there are craftsmen who, with the help of pliers and half a liter in their hands and a long-unwashed vest on their chest, take on the restoration of anything, even promising to put the Progress spacecraft into orbit. But, you understand, such Lefties do not give guarantees, even for their own condition in half an hour. If Lefty asks for “milk” because the repair process is harmful, don’t be too lazy to run to the nearest supermarket. You can give money to Lefty only after your Progress really starts sending signals from orbit: “Beep-beep-beep.” Having received the fee before the start, the designer will immediately refuel properly and your HDD will no longer fly anywhere.

    HDD Regenegator

    If the problem is the unreadability or invisibility of some parts of the device, but the drive itself does not yet make painful sounds such as squeaking or whistling, much can be done to improve its health using publicly available software. For example – HDD Regenegator or MHDD.

    The computer's hard drive is perhaps the most vulnerable part of the entire system, since it uses mechanical components. This means that if you store any data on your HDD that is dear to you as memory, it is best to back it up regularly.

    There are many free programs available to automate backups.

    • Automatic backup of specified folders and files at specified periods of time.
    • Automatically save all changes when Windows shuts down.
    • Automatic backup to external drives or cloud storage.

    If you have organized all this, you can forever forget such an unpleasant phrase as “hard drive recovery.”

    The HDD Regenegator software package is used by professional service providers, including for tasks other than regenerating data on disks. For example, creating installation flash drives.

    This is where the recovery process should begin. First, look through all the stored files and folders that are still readable and copy everything you need to an external drive, because there is something wrong with the hard drives. As if there were no failures when rewriting data to a CD.

    After this, you need to create a bootable USB flash drive using the HDD Regenegator program. If you have several drives installed in the system unit? Theoretically, you can create a boot disk to run Windows from a backup HDD.

    The advantage of the HDD Regenegator program is that it does not work at the level of the existing file system, but below, in the DOS environment and even lower levels of data recording. This is complete shamanism - a binary and octal coding system.

    HDD Regenerator installation process:



    Therefore, unlike most recovery programs, HDD Regenegator can actually recover inaccessible information. While other programs simply delete, glue or degauss unreadable tracks and sectors.

    If necessary, you can run HDD Regenegator in the environment of the Windows operating system itself. The recovery program's interface is intuitive, each button contains a detailed explanation of the function and recommendations in which cases you need to click here.

    After creating a bootable USB flash drive, you need to make changes in the BIOS settings, otherwise the computer will primarily load Windows from the hard drive. As soon as the computer is turned on, a short warning will appear. What you need to press Del to enter the CMOS settings. Click and the BIOS settings interface will appear. So you need to find the order in which connected drives are selected when loading the operating system and assign the flash drive as the very first one. Then press F10 and confirm saving the change.

    Recovery process

    Before running the HDD Regenegator program, you must disable absolutely all running applications. However, if you forget something during the process, the smart program will pause its work and remind you of the necessary actions. You can pause HDD Regenegator by pressing the one hundred key. It is strongly not recommended, since incomplete scanning and recovery processes can harm the data on the disk.

    If the malfunction of the hard drive is significant, then the entire recovery process may take several hours. At times it will seem like the system is frozen and the recovery program is not working. This is okay, this is how it should be in difficult cases.

    Often, personal computer users encounter hard drive problems that affect the operation of the system. The main causes of hard drive failure are: bad sectors in HD D and faulty file system. In this material we will describe in detail HDD problem fixing process, and also describe methods for recovering information on hard drives, if it is faulty or completely out of order. I would also like to note that problems associated with the hard drive need to be given special attention. For example, if the HDD becomes completely faulty, then you are unlikely to be able to recover information from it. That is, all your documents, personal videos and photographs, as well as other files may be lost forever.

    Reading SMART readings from the hard drive

    If files are not copied on your computer, programs freeze after opening, then a possible reason for this may be faulty HDD. Typically this operating system behavior is due to with bad sectors in the hard drive. To be sure that the problem is related to bad sectors of the HDD and not to malware, the first step is to confirm this guess. If the situation described above is observed on your computer, we will install the utility on it CrystalDiskInfo. This utility describes the status of all hard drives installed on your computer. You can download CrystalDiskInfo from its official website http://crystalmark.info. The utility supports Windows OS, from XP to Windows 10.

    To check information about the hard drive, the utility uses self-diagnosis technology SMART. SMART technology is used on all manufactured HDDs. Below is an example of checking SMART readings using the CrystalDiskInfo utility in the hard drive WD1200JS. From this window you can see that the program has detected its status as " Fine" - this means that this hard drive is in perfect order and you should not worry about it.

    In the following image in the SMART readings, the CrystalDiskInfo utility detected the status of the screw with the message " Anxiety" This message means that the hard drive already has bad sectors or is overheating.

    If you see the message " Bad", then this will mean that all the bad sectors on the hard drive have been reassigned and soon it will be completely covered.

    In both cases, when the program detected messages " Anxiety" And " Bad", you should make a backup copy of all data on your computer, since the screw will soon become unusable.

    One solution that can temporarily fix your screw is the utility Victoria. This utility can do REMAP BAD sectors, that is, it will reassign bad sectors to backup ones. In the next section we will describe in detail the process of REMAP BAD sectors using the Victoria utility.

    Recovering a hard drive using the Victoria program

    Utility Victoria created by a Belarusian programmer and distributed free of charge. You can download the utility on its official website hdd-911.com. The Victoria utility is distributed in two versions for Windows and DOS. In our case, we will download the Windows version. After launching the Victoria utility on Windows, we will be taken to such a window.

    To fix the hard drive, we need to go to the “Tests” tab. On this tab we are interested in the area with the radio buttons Ignore, Erase, Remap and Restore, as well as the Start button. To fix it, we need to select the Remap radio button and click Start.

    After these steps, the Victoria program will begin the process of repairing sectors, which can take quite a long time.

    After reassigning the sectors, Victoria may be able to restore the bad sectors, and the CrystalDiskInfo utility will display the value “Good”. But a magical fix may not happen, since the reserve sectors may simply be absent and Victoria will not be able to help. In this case, there is only one way out - do a complete HDD replacement. In addition to screw treatment, Victoria also provides checking readings SMART on the “ tab SMART».

    I would like to note that all operations that you perform using Victoria are done at your own peril and risk. Using the utility, an inexperienced user can damage the hard drive and also deprive it of warranty service.

    Fixing file system problems on your hard drive

    Many users on Windows computers often experience problems related to file system errors NTFS. File system problems occur due to malicious utilities and various software. Also, file system problems most often occur due to inexperience the PC user himself. For example, incorrect handling of the utility Acronis Disk Director. To solve this problem, Windows itself will help us. Windows provides file system repair tool. To fix the file system on a specific partition, you need to go to its properties. In our case, this is the system partition of the Windows 10 operating system. To run the fix, we need to go to the “ Service».

    On this tab there is a button Check that we will click.

    After this action, a window will appear in which you need to confirm our actions.

    After confirming the action, Windows will scan this partition.

    After scanning, the system will display a message with the results of scanning the partition for errors.

    Using this method, many users restored the operating system to normal operation without having to reinstall it. If the problems lie in the HDD itself, then no amount of checking the disk or reinstalling the OS will help in this case. The only option in this case is that you can resort to the Victoria utility or completely replace the screw with a new one, while reinstalling Windows.

    Recovering disks using Acronis True Image 2016

    The software is the ideal tool to create a full backup all local partitions, including the system one. This feature is used by many administrators around the world. The created backup of local disks can be restored in a very short time. For example, if the system is infected with a virus or the HDD is broken, in this case you will restore all OS disks in a short period of time. You can find Acronis True Image 2016 on its official website www.acronis.com. By launching the program in question, we will be taken to such a window.

    First of all, we will show our readers how you can create a backup copy of local Acronis True Image 2016 partitions. On the first tab “Backup” you can see that the entire computer is selected for backup. That is, a complete backup of all local partitions, including the system one, will be carried out. In the next block you need to select a backup location. In our case, this is local drive E. After selecting the type of backup data and where to save it, click the Create a copy button located in the lower right corner.

    Depending on the amount of data being saved, the time it takes to create a backup will depend.

    Having completed the backup, we will describe the process of restoring the computer. To do this, we need to create a boot disk or flash drive for Acronis True Image 2016. This can be done by going to the “ TOOLS/BOOTABLE DRIVE CREATION WIZARD" Below is the wizard that should open.

    In this wizard, we will select the first option and continue. In the window that appears, select where we will save the boot drive: into the image or to a flash drive.

    After saving the boot drive, the wizard will display a final window.

    Having created a bootable USB flash drive or optical disk with Acronis True Image 2016, you can begin data recovery. To do this, we will boot from the bootable USB flash drive when the computer starts. After booting from the boot drive, we find ourselves in the Acronis True Image 2016 menu. Select the first item in this menu, after which we find ourselves in the main Acronis True Image window.

    In the program window, go to the “” tab and find the backup copy of the entire system we previously created.

    Now, to restore the system disk with Windows and local disks, click the button Disk recovery.

    In the wizard that appears, select the item “ Recover disks and partitions" and continue.

    In the next window, select all local disks and continue the wizard.

    In paragraphs " Destination"For the first and second disks, select the original HDDs. If there are many hard drives installed in the system, be careful not to mix up the screws. In the final window, click the Proceed button.

    The backup recovery time depends on the size and speed of the HDD. In our case it took 10 minutes.

    The example shows how easy it is to make a backup copy of your entire computer, so if you master the Acronis True Image 2016 software package, you can easily restore its functionality in cases where the system is infected or the hard drive is broken. Also, after mastering the program, you will not have questions about how to recover data from a hard drive.

    Data recovery using Recuva

    There are times when, when reinstalling Windows or using Acronis software, users mistakenly erase all information from the hard drive. If this is exactly the situation you have, then you shouldn’t be upset, since all the information can be found restore. A free utility will help us with this task. Recuva. You can download the utility on its official website www.piriform.com. After launching the utility, the user is taken to a wizard that will help you restore all your data. Below is the sequential work of the master.

    The example shows that data recovery using Recuva is a fairly simple process and almost any PC user can handle it.

    Let's sum it up

    From this article it can be emphasized that restoring a hard drive is not a very simple task, but depending on the situation, even an ordinary PC user can cope with it. I would also like to advise laptop owners to handle it as carefully as possible. For example, if the laptop is dropped or receives a strong impact, the HDD may be damaged. In addition, if you yourself have identified a problematic screw, then do not be afraid to open the case of a laptop or desktop computer yourself, since replacing the HDD is a fairly simple task. And we, in turn, hope that our material will be useful to our readers and will allow you to restore your hard drive.

    Video on the topic

    We will tell you about a simple way to recover damaged sectors using the HDD Regenerator program from Windows 10 and previous versions.

    This version of HDD Regenerator can recover bad sectors (bad blocks) from Windows of any version and bit depth. The program makes it possible to work with several hard drives simultaneously, as well as with portable USB drives.

    Recovering a hard drive using HDD Regenerator

    Attention: Connect drives that need to be restored only after loading the Windows operating system and do not use them while the program is running.

    The first thing you need to do is HDD Regenerator, run the program as an administrator and, by clicking on the “Regeneration” menu, select “Start Process under Windows” from the list (run from Windows)

    If the program asks you to switch to “IDE mode” and reboots, then click the “No” button, since your Windows system may not start in IDE mode.

    Then a new window will appear with a text menu for the HDD Regenerator program. Using the number keys we will select the necessary actions. Select 2. “Normal scan” and press “Enter”

    In the next window we are asked to select the operating mode of the program. We are interested in “Scan and repair” (scan and restore). To do this, select item 1 and press “Enter”.

    In the next window, select “Start Sector 0” (start scanning from the very beginning of the disk), press 1 and then “Enter”.

    After these steps, the disk scanning and recovery process will begin. Red letter " B"The damaged sectors will be marked with a green letter " R“Recovered sectors will be marked, and sectors with a read or write delay will be marked with a white letter “D”.

    After scanning, you will be shown a window with the results of the work: the number of damaged and restored sectors, as well as sectors with delays.

    Important:p Take care of uninterrupted power supply to the computer on which you will restore data.

    HDD Regenerator is excellent at recovering bad sectors on hard drives, but we strongly recommend that you save all valuable information from the recovered hard drive and do not use it in the future, since it may fail at any time.

    The official website of the program is located.

    Before you restore your hard drive, make sure that there is no important information on it. For example, consider WD or Seagate devices. If they have surface defects, even reading data often impairs their performance, so folders and files often become inaccessible after recovery. To save data, it is first customary to make a sector-by-sector image of the HDD with a special program.

    It is better to run applications for troubleshooting from another computer, connecting the damaged hard drive as a backup, or booting from a recovery flash drive.

    Working with HDDScan

    A modern hard drive is a very reliable device, so if there has been no fall, the likelihood that the disk is physically damaged is extremely low. Diagnostic utilities, when checking a hard drive, mistake sectors with an incorrectly written checksum for bad blocks. This often occurs due to a drop in power supply while recording to a HDD, USB drive from Seagate, WD, etc., or generally due to poor quality of power supply. But it can be treated even though the disk behaves as if it were dead. Let's run HDDScan first in testing mode to determine the number of bad sectors:

    1. In the main program window, click the New Task button, it calls up the remaining available commands;
    2. Select the Suface Tests command;
    3. In the new window, select the Read test method, which leaves all user data intact;
    4. Click Add Test to run a hard drive test.

    The wait may be long - small 250 GB USB drives from WD, Seagate will take about 45 minutes to test. The scanning progress can be observed in the Test Manager window if you double-click to open RD-Read.

    At the end of testing, you can see all the bad sectors found on the computer’s HDD. They are marked in red and blue. If there are any, most likely their structure is logical and they can be cured at home.

    Let us repeat that the process will be accompanied by complete erasure of all information from Seagate. Therefore, if you have not yet saved important data to an external USB drive, now is the time to start doing so so that new deleted data does not appear on the device.

    A sector with such defects is unreadable and can only be restored by forced writing of zeros. This is possible in Erase operating mode. HDDScan completely fills the Seagate disk sector-by-sector with zeros, reads the information and compares it with the checksum. If after this there are no errors when accessing the bad sector, then WD restores functionality and the system will again be able to fully use it if all deleted data is then written to the drive. This mode is launched in exactly the same way:

    1. The Suface Test window opens;
    2. The Erase method is selected;
    3. The scan is started using the Add Test button.

    After this, with a high probability, all logical sectors on the device will be able to be cured of reading errors at home, and folders with information can be safely stored on the device. Physically damaged media as a result of a fall cannot be repaired by any program.

    Using advanced features of Victoria

    Many people believe that this free application is the best utility for resuscitating WD and Seagate HDDs that have deleted sectors. Therefore, it’s worth figuring out how to carry out the hard drive recovery process using Victoria. It can be run from Windows, but in this case the likelihood of successfully treating bad sectors is greatly reduced.

    This mode is more suitable for testing a hard drive. But if you run Victoria from a bootable USB flash drive or disk, then it will most likely be able to restore or extend the life of even a completely dead Seagate HDD. In addition, a flash drive is very convenient for working with a laptop if it has stopped booting due to bad sectors.

    The program for Windows and for installation on a USB flash drive can be downloaded from the developer’s website. An ISO image can be deployed to a flash drive using the UltraISO utility.

    Testing the hard drive using Victoria

    How to fix bad sectors using Victoria

    The WD and Seagate hard drive recovery application works most effectively in DOS mode, so it is best to boot the device from a previously created bootable USB flash drive with this program.

    Before doing this, be sure to change the BIOS configuration accordingly, or use the laptop boot menu to select the flash drive as the boot device.

    After this:

    1. The program is loaded from the flash drive, for which in the start window select Victoria Russian for Desktop;
    2. In the main program window, select the desired disk by pressing the Latin P and moving with the up and down keys;
    3. Confirm the selection of HDD with the Enter key;
    4. Next, enter the hard drive number (in the program it is called the channel number).

    Press F4 to set scan settings:

    • Start LBA and End LBA set the start and end addresses of the scan (if the location of bad sectors is unknown, you can leave these settings unchanged);
    • “Linear reading” is the next item by default, this scanning setting should not be changed either;
    • Ignore Bad Blocks - this item is only suitable for testing, since it does not affect bad blocks, but to cure the hard drive, select the BB = Advanced REMAP item.
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