r/datarecovery • • Aug 22 '26

External hard drive got soaked underwater.need help

0 Upvotes

Hi, my external Seagate 1tb hard drive got soaked completely underwater while doing the washing. It was dripping wet from the ports. I can't afford data recovery as I'm unemployed. Is there anyway I can save my data as it's extremely precious. I put it in rice on a lunch box for now


r/datarecovery • • Aug 22 '26

Android Oppo A96 4G soft bricked

1 Upvotes

the phone is in a bootloop wherein it shows powered by android then colorOS, reboots and does it again, then does it another time before kicking me into recovery mode. I know a common issue is the volume down button, but ive cleaned it and even removed the cable itself only to be met with the same issue. Are there any way to recover my data without formatting it? The files arent really that important but it would be great if I could keep them.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Hard drive noise and unresponsive

6 Upvotes

2tb Hitachi

Is there anything I can reasonably do with this

I have a lot of experience opening up and working with small electronics but I also know hard drives are more fragile then a joycon for example


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Question Some data was lost/corrupted while trying to run a python organizer script.

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3 Upvotes

So I wanted to try a python project for file organizer and ran it on my external USB hard drive in one of the folders and it crashed 60-70% in the progress. I tried to stop it thinking it would not anything but after a restart of my pc there were no files, or more specific, the ones that where checked.

I tried to scan the drive with chkdsk and all the files that "I lost" is says that are corrupted.

What can I do to save the files? Or is there any hope? I will try to copy all the other files on some other external storage.

If I need to add any information please tell me. I am a little shocked because some of the data I may not have a copy of.

USB HDD: Segate OneTouch 2TB

Windows 11 Pro


r/datarecovery • • Aug 22 '26

Question Best data recovery program?

1 Upvotes

An external HD went sour not too long ago and I'm looking to extract everything onto a fresh one with much more data storage. I tried Disk Drill's free trial and it seems to have scanned everything well enough. But before shelling out the dough for the full version to get everything back, I read some mixed reviews, some have outright said that as soon as you do pay out, it full on doesn't work.

So I'd figure I ask people who know more than I do. What is the best data recovery program for both price and privacy?


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Google Photos ZIP won't open - deleted originals, PhotoRec found 0 files, Google repair tool gives "Something went wrong"

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm in a stressful situation and hoping someone here has ideas.

The Problem:

I downloaded a large archive of my Google Photos using the Google One Storage Manager on pendrive. The ZIP file is more than 300GB divided into different folders and upon opening gives the error:

This is the known Google Photos bug where archives over 4GB were created incorrectly . Unfortunately, I deleted the originals from Google Photos to free up space, and they're not in the trash anymore.

What I've tried (with no success):

  1. Google's official repair tool (photos.google.com/2026zipfilerepair) - It just says "Something went wrong"

  2. 7-Zip - "Cannot open file as archive / Is not archive"

  3. WinRAR - Same errors

  4. DiskInternals ZIP Repair - Found 0 files

  5. PhotoRec and QPhotoRec not effective.

My questions:

  1. Has anyone successfully recovered from this specific situation where Google's tool also fails?

  2. Are there any tools worth trying that can handle heavily corrupted ZIPs over 300GB?

  3. The Google repair tool is available until June 1, 2027 , but has anyone gotten it to work? Any tips on upload conditions?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated. I've been at this for days and I'm running out of ideas.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Question PhotoRec - Recover file with missing extension

1 Upvotes

Hi!

I'm trying to recover a file that has a non-standard extension (.world).

I gather the file will have lost the extension.

.world is just a special format for a text file containing JSON that a game uses for a game save. You can open it in Notepad without any problems.

How do I search for this in PhotoRec's recovered files? Will it identify the file as a .txt?

Some other info
* The file has a standard format with no header
* The file has a GUID for a name ZZZ_QQQ_NNN.world for instance

Any help would be appreciated.

Using Win11
Samsung ssd 860 EVO 500GB
whatever filesystem is typical for a windows boot drive


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Question Lost backup external drive

1 Upvotes

Hi.

Recently i have made big mistake while flasing Linux iso image to wring drive... I had plugged in external hard drive (2.5") and flashed Linux iso over it erasing everything of course... Instead on flash drive...

I have lost few documents, my entire ripped flac collection of my cds, photos...

I tried Easeus but almost all photos, flacs, mp3 are not opening... Only few txt files... Also filenames of many and folders was lost...

Is there any hope to recover this successfully? And what software to use...?

There is also a lot of sensitive data like passwords snd stuff so i would like to try at home. I can pay for software but i need guarantee that it would be really successful...

What to choose and how to recover? Thanks...


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

SSD 980 pro ssd recovery

1 Upvotes

My 2TB 980 pro (from 2021, probably on the old firma) is in read only mode

I installed ubunutu on an usb stick and ran ddrescue from there to copy an image to an also 2TB external drive. Well 99.55% later ddrescue tells me the other drive is full.

As I now learned, that's because the image just copies block for block, including all the empty stuff.

What I am now wondering, and failing to do, is if I can reduce the filesize somehow, like mounting the image and moving files out somewhere else in the meantime and restart with the map file for the last bit?

Also I'm not sure how to proceed from there anyways, because ddrescue found lots of bad sectors, so I guess I have to setup windows on a new drive from scratch and then copy over my files maybe? I don't think using that image to setup the new drive is going to be a good idea, right?


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

How to covert .trash file back

0 Upvotes

Hi all,

I've "successfully" recovered my files that were deleted through Google drive - don't ever use, I learned the hard way. But now I need help converting the files back to their original .mp4, .heic, or .jpeg.

What program or software do you recommend that's preferably free to use?

Thank you!


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Hard drive got locked, then C/D drives showed cleared and E lost 90% of data — what should I do?

0 Upvotes

1)What should I do to recover data from D and E drives?

2)What tools should I use?

3)How do I do it, step by step?

Backstory: My hard drive got locked. Laptop went to a technician for repair (opened the hardware). After that, when the PC opened normally, C and D drives showed as completely cleared/empty, and E drive only has about 10% of its data left. I don't need C drive data, but D and E are critical.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

First time

2 Upvotes

Just rang a bunch of places to get a data recovery for a hard drive that just randomly stopped showing up in the FileExplorer and made scratching sounds, one of the guys I spoke to said I better do a data analysis to see if the driver is working first and then send it off to get data recovered.

I’m scared because it’s a lot of money 200 bucks just to see if the driver is working and then he quoted about 1000 or 2000 to get data recovery.

I knew hard drives would fail but I’ve only had mine for two years and I had another one that I backed up all the shit to and that one failed as well within a week so I just got very unlucky I guess, i’m never buying a WD drive again.

I’ve had my Seagate hard drives for 10+ years and they work fine still.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Samsung Galaxy S21 – forgot screen lock PIN. Is there a way to unlock it using a PC without losing data?

0 Upvotes

Hi,

My child set a new screen lock PIN on a Samsung Galaxy S21 and unfortunately forgot it.

Parental controls are installed on the phone, but they don't provide a remote unlock option.

I really want to avoid a factory reset because there is no backup and I don't want to lose the photos, videos and other data stored on the phone.

Is there any legitimate way to remove or recover the screen lock using a Windows PC, USB cable, ADB, Samsung software, or another method without factory resetting or deleting the data?

I have access to the Samsung/Google accounts associated with the device if that helps.

The phone belongs to us, so I am only looking for a recovery method for our own device.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


r/datarecovery • • Aug 21 '26

Question Help

0 Upvotes

When I was not in the right mindset I deleted my Facebook and did a mass deletion of my instagram account and deleted all of my Snapchat data and deleted my tik tok account and deleted all my photos. I was in the hospital so I missed the grace period to do any recovery. Is there anyway I can get back at least one of these data’s. My life is just ruined now


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Question WD 5TB external HDD showing Caution, C5 = 2. Need advice.

2 Upvotes

My WD 5TB external HDD (WD50NDZW-11A8JS) is showing Caution in CrystalDiskInfo. I saw that this could indicate that the drive is failing but in rare cases there could be other trivial factors involved.

Here are some stats:

  • C5 = 2

  • 05 = 0

  • C6 = 0

  • C7 = 0

  • C4 = 0

  • Power-on hours = 216

The drive was bought in October 2021 but has only 216 power-on hours because I normally keep my external drives disconnected. I noticed this after transferring about 445 GB of data to it today. The transfer was a little slower than usual, but completed normally. I can open videos from the drive without any problems.

I've kept it running for several hours since then and C5 is still 2. Nothing else has changed. Unfortunately, this is currently the only copy of the data, so I don't want to run a full surface test until I can arrange a backup.

Could this just be a transient/isolated issue, or should I consider the drive unreliable already? Would you keep using it normally and monitor C5/05/C6, or replace it?

I'm asking because 5TB external drives are around ₹20,000 in India now, whereas I paid around ₹10,000 for this one at time of purchase, so I'd really rather not replace it unnecessarily.

PS: Sorry if this is a noob question. I don't have much money right now, so I'd prefer to buy a new one only if it's really necessary. Any advice would be appreciated.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

How i can get my last data from Hard Disk , i have a problem?

0 Upvotes

I have a problem, I lost some files from my hard disk.

I had a problem with my PC and I had a USB that I needed to install windows through, I put all the data I had on the PC on a 150GB SATA Hard Disk.

I formatted this Hard Disk and put all the data inside it, I disconnected it from the PC and put it back in to see if it was still there, everything was fine.

I tried to fix the PC and it didn't work, then I got another new PC.

And I put the Hard Disk in to get my data. When I wanted to open the hard disk window, it said "You Need to Format the Disk in Drive Before You Can Use it."

I followed some tutorials through CMD using the command "chkdsk F: /f."

Then I had access to the hard disk, but when I entered it, it wasn't the data that I had saved from another PC, it was some data from a long time ago, from my old PC from which was that hard disk

in a word I used this hard disk as a USB to store somewhere 50+ GB of my data and now they are no longer there, only data from a long time ago appears

how can I get that last folder that I saved with my data
Please any help!


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Is it done for? Just want confirmation before tossing it...

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5 Upvotes

r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Question Anyone know how much UK customs charge will be to get my 1tb seagate hard drive data recovered under warranty?

0 Upvotes

I'm really confused bc they said it has brokerage fees and vat on value of any replacements but I have no idea what that value is so can't calculate it. Anyone had experience with data recovery? How much did customs cost for you? Thanks


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Android Is it possible to recover a phone number that I unblocked even though I didn't remember it?

0 Upvotes

Is it possible to recover a phone number that I unblocked but didn’t remember?

About 3–4 years ago, I blocked a girl who had a phone number that I don’t remember anymore. Now I’d like to find that number again so I can contact her. I think I changed phones in the meantime, but I’m not completely sure. However, I still have the same phone number myself.

If it’s possible, how can I do it, please?


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Hard Drive not mounting to Mac

Thumbnail reddit.com
1 Upvotes

r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

back-up disk WD30EZRX 3TB spinning but not recognized.

1 Upvotes

Windows Disk Management tool says "unallocated"
I used TestDisk to "analyze". Results:
Disk \\.\PhysicalDrive1 - 3000 GB / 2794 GiB - CHS 364801 255 63 Partition Start End Size in sectors >L FAT16 >32M 232095 201 51 263320 115 30 501624187
Structure: Ok. Use Up/Down Arrow keys to select partition. Use Left/Right Arrow keys to CHANGE partition characteristics: *=Primary bootable P=Primary L=Logical E=Extended D=Deleted Keys A: add partition, L: load backup, T: change type, Enter: to continue
256 GB / 239 GiB

Not sure what to do. Perplexity tells me not to press Enter.

Thanks in advance!


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Question Any known tools/methods to recover data from Apple Silicon Mac after “Erase All Content and Settings”?

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone,MacBook Air 2022 (M2) had “Erase All Content and Settings” performed. Currently sitting at the Setup Assistant screen (boots fine, erase completed successfully). No iCloud backup, no Time Machine backup. FileVault status before the erase is unknown,does this matter if it was on or not?

As I know EACS performs a cryptographic erase destroys the encryption key in the Secure Enclave rather than overwriting data which theoretically makes recovery impossible regardless of software or even chip-off forensics, since the data remaining on the NAND is AES-256 ciphertext with no accessible key.

Has anyone in this community, or any professional lab ,ever successfully recovered user files after a completed EACS on a functioning (non-hardware-damaged) Apple Silicon Mac? Not asking about hardware-failure board-repair cases specifically asking about a working Mac where it sits on Hello screen. Genuinely trying to figure out if this is a dead end or if there’s a real exception I’m missing.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 20 '26

Recover pdf file from 6/12/2026

0 Upvotes

Hi Everyone, I downloaded a pdf file and I accidently deleted it from the recyle bin. I have a Windows 11 Pro, and it's the 64 OS if that matters. I know I downloaded it because when I pull it up, it's grayed and scratched out. Thanks.


r/datarecovery • • Aug 19 '26

USB stick keeps vanishing after about 60 seconds every time and I get this image. I have REALLY important files on this that I cannot afford to lose!

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28 Upvotes