[Easy Methods] How to Restore Portable Hard Drive in Simple 4 Ways

External hard drives offer undeniable convenience. They let us take around tons of data, share with different gadgets, and set up easily. But, here's the thing - we rely on them often and don't often think about how fragile they are once they meet any unexpected accident.

So, can you get back files from one if something goes wrong? Yes! Even if you accidentally delete stuff, format the drive, or it gets damaged, there's hope. Modern computer systems might not show you those files, but they're still there in the background. You can bring them back with special software.

4 easy ways on how to restore portable hard drive

Depending on user preferences and skills, it's advisable to try options such as Windows Backup, Command Prompt (CMD), System File Checker, and a convenient tool.

Method 1: Do portable hard drive data recovery via Windows Backup

Windows Backup, which is a part of the Microsoft Windows operating system, allows users to create backups of their data. It is not typically enabled by default. Users need to set up and configure backups in advance to their portable hard drive. If you encounter data loss or issues with your portable hard drive, you can use these backups to restore your data and system to a previous state.

Step 1: Go to Control Panel > System and Security, then select Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Click "Restore my files" to get back permanently deleted files. Alternatively, you can choose "Restore all users' files" to recover lost data.

Step 2: Search for your deleted files or use "Browse for files" or "Browse for folders" to find them. Then, click "Next". Remember that "Browse for files" shows individual deleted files, while "Browse for folders" shows folders with deleted files.

Step 3: Choose where you want to save the recovered files, either the original location or a new one in the backup. Click "Restore" to recover deleted files from the external hard drive.

Method 2: Recover deleted files from portable hard drive with CMD

CMD is a common way to solve many computer issues. But it is best suited for users who are comfortable with command-line interfaces. Making mistakes in CMD can lead to additional data loss.

Step 1: Plug your external hard drive into your computer. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2: Type chkdsk G: /f and press Enter. Replace G: with the drive letter of your external hard drive.

Step 3: If asked to run chkdsk at the next system restart, type 'Y'.

Step 4: Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:*.* and press Enter. Replace G: with the drive letter of your external hard drive.

Method 3: Run System File Checker to fix corrupted files on portable hard drive

SFC, which stands for System File Checker, is a valuable utility provided by Microsoft Windows. It empowers users to conduct disk scans, identifying and repairing system files that may be missing or damaged.

▌For Windows 11/10/8.1/8:

Step 1: Make sure your external hard disk is detected. Open CMD with administrator privileges.

Step 2: Type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter.

Step 3: Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

Step 4: Type exit and press Enter to close the window.

▌For Windows 7/Vista:

Step 1: Ensure your external hard drive is connected. Open CMD with administrator privileges.

Step 2: Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

Step 3: Type exit and press Enter to close the window.

Method 4. Use AOMEI Partition Assistant to easily restore portable hard drive data

If you don't have a backup routine in place or are not comfortable with command-line operations, it's a good time to consider using a helpful tool. AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is a leading and powerful data recovery solution.

It features a user-friendly interface and provides clear guidance suitable for users of all skill levels. With its robust recovery capabilities, it can retrieve lost data from various storage devices, including SSDs, HDDs, USB drives, SD cards, and more. In terms of data types, this software can recover documents, videos, audio files, emails, and over 200 other file formats. Whether you've experienced accidental deletions or system crashes, it can easily assist you in recovering your lost data.

Step 1. Open the installed AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, press the "Recover" > “Recover Data” button from the top pane.

Step 2. Select the drive where the deleted files are stored and click “Start Scan”.

Step 3. After the scan finishes, all deleted files will be displayed on this interface. Click the target files you want to restore and hit “Recover file”.

Step 4. Choose a path to store the recovered files.

Step 5. Wait until the recovery is completed, and click OK to exit it.

To sum up

The 4 methods on how to restore portable hard drive will be helpful. To save time and make it easy to recover lost data, you can directly choose AOMEI Partition Assistant.

It is far more than a data recovery tool, you can also use to extend drive space, clone disk for backup, or rebuild MBR to fix boot issues. If you are Windows Server users, the Server Edition can also be chosen.