When a PC becomes unbootable, the biggest concern is the risk of losing all your data. If those files are important, the consequences can be devastating. If you are in such a situation, this article will help you. Here, I will show you how to recover data from an unbootable hard drive in Windows 11/10.
Recover data from an unbootable hard drive in Windows 11
We will show you the following two ways to recover your data from an unbootable hard drive in Windows 11/10.
- Using the Command Prompt
- Using UI in Windows Recovery Environment
Since your laptop has become unbootable, you need to use a bootable USB flash drive with Windows installation media to enter Windows Recovery Environment. Windows Recovery Environment provides an interface to access your hard drive, so you can copy all your important files to an external storage device. There is no need to install Windows.
To create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows installation media, you need a working computer. You can use a third-party tool, Rufus, or Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool for this purpose.
Creating a bootable USB flash drive requires formatting, which erases all data on it. Therefore, before proceeding, back up all your data from the USB flash drive.
After creating a bootable USB flash drive with Windows installation media, insert it into the USB port of your unbootable PC. Your PC will automatically detect the bootable USB flash drive. If it doesn’t, change the boot order in BIOS. Use the right BIOS key to enter BIOS.
Let’s start.
1] Using the Command Prompt
The first method for recovering data from an unbootable hard drive is to use the Command Prompt. On the Windows installation screen, click Repair your computer on the bottom left side. Do not click Install Now. You will enter Windows Recovery Environment. Now, click Advanced Options > Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands and hit Enter after typing each command.
diskpart list volume
The commands above will show you all disk partitions with their drive letters. Those without the drive letter do not contain your data. Therefore, you need to focus only on disk volumes that have drive letters. Look at the drive letters and size. The hard disk volumes, each with a GB size, contain your data. Note down the drive letter for each such disk volume.
Now, exit Diskpart by typing exit. Now, the next step is to confirm the drive volume that contains your data. For this, you have to use the dir command. Check all the disk volumes. Start with any one volume, let’s say, C in my case.
Now, change the directory to C by using the following command:
C:
After that, type the following command and press Enter.
dir
The command above lists all files and folders in the directory. To recover your data, use the xcopy command as follows:
xcopy "folder name" "complete path" /s /e /h /i /c /y
For example, if you want to copy all the files inside the New folder to the external storage device, the command will be as follows:
xcopy "New folder" "G:\Backup Folder" /s /e /h /i /c /y
The above command will automatically create a folder named Backup Folder on the removable storage drive G and copy all the files from the New folder to it.
The /s /e /h /i /c /y parameters are used with the xcopy command to ensure that all files and subfolders are copied and no files are left behind.
Repeat the above process to copy all your data to the external storage device.
2] Using UI in Windows Recovery Environment
This method is easier than the one above, but it does not show a progress bar while copying your files. Launch the Command Prompt in Windows Recovery Environment using the method explained above.
Now, type the following command and press Enter.
notepad.exe
This will launch Notepad in Windows Recovery Environment. Go to File > Open, or press the Ctrl + O keys. This will open the File Explorer in the Recovery Environment. Now, you can easily view and copy your data to the external storage device. Navigate to This PC and then open all the folders one by one. If you do not view all your files, select All Files in the Files of Type drop-down. Now, select all your files, right-click, and select Copy.
After copying all your files, open the external storage device and navigate to the location where you want to paste these copied files. Open the targeted folder, right-click, and select Paste. Since the progress bar is not shown in Windows Recovery Environment, you have to refresh your screen. After refreshing your screen, you will see how many of your files are copies. Right-click and select Refresh. Keep refreshing your screen from time to time until all your files are copied.
Repeat the steps to copy all your data to the external storage device.
That’s it. I hope this helps.
What are the common causes of Unbootable Drives?
Bootloader damage, MBR/GPT issues, corrupted system files, failed Windows Updates, Malware infection, Disk errors or bad sectors or Hardware failure are some of the common causes for unbootable drives.
How to recover data from a non-booting operating system?
To recover data from a non-booting operating system, first create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows installation media. Then, use that USB flash drive to boot into Windows Recovery Environment. Now, you can copy all your files to an external storage device.
How to recover data from the hard disk in Windows 11?
To recover your deleted files from the hard drive, you can use data recovery software. Many free data recovery programs are available, but their free versions always have limitations. Therefore, it is always best practice to back up your data to an external storage device.
Read next: AOMEI Backupper Standard: Free backup software for Windows.
