Even though uncommon, some users have reported that their hard drive has deleted data on its own. The situation is that the data is not available in the Recycle bin or anywhere else and has been completely removed. This brings us to the question of what happened. This post will guide you on this situation and the resolution when the Hard drive wiped itself!
The possible causes why this could happen are:
- An accidental Windows Format or Reset may have erased the partition.
- A mechanical failure or SSD wear can cause sudden data loss.
- Some malware or file system corruption can make data appear gone.
- Sometimes a drive isn’t detected properly due to loose cables or ports.
Read: Hard Drive Failure, Recovery, Repair, Causes, Prevention, Maintenance
Hard drive wiped itself! What do I do?
The first thing you should do is stop using the drive; i.e., do not copy anything into it. Next, restart your computer and see if the drive and the data get deleted by any chance. If there is no difference, boot into BIOS, reset BIOS settings and see.
Here are some other things you could try:
- Run CHKDSK using the following command
chkdsk <volume> /f /r - You could reseat the SATA/Power cables if it’s a desktop; for laptops, ensure the drive is properly seated.
- Run the OEM tools like Seagate SeaTools, WD Data Lifeguard, etc to test drive health.
- Use a Windows installation USB or Linux live USB to check if partitions are visible.
- See if you can connect the hard disk to another machine and if you can detect the data.
Read: Free software to Monitor & Check Hard Disk Health for potential failure
Use Data Recovery software
If nothing helps, you should try using data recovery software to see if you can recover your data.
There is a strong chance that the hard drive is failing. Either some parts of the internal discs have stopped working as they should, or the storage device’s head is not working as expected. Since some of the solutions we have offered include formatting the drive and even replacing it, we recommend using Data Recovery software to save whatever data you can recover.
Also, the best way is not to install the software on the drive but to connect it to another PC and then recover the data. It will ensure that the HDD has minimal impact on the rest of the hardware.
All the best!
View video: A Hard Disks Click of Death Anthem
Can a wiped hard drive be recovered?
If the hard drive is not deep-formatted and used to store something else, you can recover data using any recovery software. You need to start the recovery process as soon as possible and not use the drive for anything else. It will increase your chance of recovering data, but nothing is 100%.
Related: Hard Disk Partition not showing up in Windows
How to determine my drive data has been erased successfully?
You can either use recovery software to check if the file can be recovered, or use the WinHex Editor to check if the sectors are filled with all ones and zeros, but not in any other combination.
Read: Why did my hard disk fail or crash so fast & for no apparent reason?
