By Whitson Gordon
If you have important data trapped on a computer that’s not working, there are ways to recover it. You should already have a backup, but here’s what you can do in an emergency.
Troubleshooting a computer that won’t start is frustrating, but the panic of losing your data is far worse. If you can’t get your computer to boot and don’t have a backup, don’t freak out just yet; you have a few options. There’s always a possibility the hard drive is corrupted or dead, in which case data recovery is going to be costly or impossible, but in many cases, the computer may not boot for other reasons: A failing power supply, a corrupted boot sector, or any other number of quirks that leave your photos, documents, and other files intact.
If that data is still salvageable, there are two primary ways I recommend retrieving that data. One requires a little software know-how, while the other requires a little hardware finesse. Both methods will require an external drive to copy the data onto, which can be used to store your files while the computer gets repaired or replaced. Don’t fret if you aren’t super experienced; you can handle this as long as you follow the instructions closely.
Boot From a USB Drive
It’s possible your computer’s hardware is still in good working order but can’t boot into Windows. Maybe the bootloader is corrupted, or a driver issue is giving you a black screen. If the computer still works, though, you can use it to boot into a different environment that can (hopefully) access the data. If you’re using a Windows PC, create a bootable USB drive with Windows on it to browse your drive.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)
Grab another PC and a USB drive with at least 16GB of space. Go to Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool website and download the installation media for Windows 10 or Windows 11. Run the downloaded .exe file and select Create installation media, then choose ISO file when prompted and save the file onto the drive.
(Credit: Whitson Gordon)
Now, download the third-party utility Rufus and start it up. Select your USB drive under Device, the Windows ISO under Boot Selection, and Windows To Go under Image Option. Click Start, and wait for the process to finish. You can see more details here. When it’s done, reboot your computer.
(Credit: Whitson Gordon)
At the startup screen, you’ll need to press a key on your keyboard to enter the boot menu—it should say on-screen which key. For example, my computer has me press F11. At the boot menu, I can choose my USB drive to boot into its Windows environment. If that doesn’t work, you can enter the BIOS setup—usually by pressing Delete or F2 at startup. Look for the “Boot Order” section and move the USB drive to the top of the list. If all goes well, the computer will boot into a fresh Windows environment from that USB drive.
Open File Explorer, and your storage drive should appear there, with all data intact (provided the drive isn’t corrupted). Note that if the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, you’ll need the recovery key in order to access the data—without it, your files are likely gone forever. Once you see the data, just plug in a different external drive and drag all the important files to it. From there, you can safely reset Windows or troubleshoot boot problems without worrying about your precious data. Mac users can create a recovery drive that can be used to boot into macOS from an external source.
Remove the Hard Drive and Try It In Another Device
If your computer won’t turn on at all, you won’t be able to boot from a USB drive. You can, however, remove the hard drive from the computer and plug it into another working machine to access the data. To do this, you’ll need a SATA-to-USB cable, docking station, or external hard drive enclosure—plus a screwdriver and whatever other tools are necessary to open your PC. For laptops that use an M.2 drive instead of a standard 2.5-inch drive, you’ll need a SATA M.2-to-USB adapter, or an NVMe M.2-to-USB adapter. You may need to look up the specs of the laptop to see what drive it uses.
StarTech.com SATA to USB Cable (Credit: StarTech.com)
Finding the right adapter is, honestly, the most difficult part of this process. Amazon listings should say which types of drives it’s compatible with, and you can look up a disassembly video for your specific computer to see if the hard drive matches the shape of the enclosure. Opening a PC seems scary, but it’s actually easier than you might think.
We can’t guide you through the process on every machine, but you can usually search your laptop’s model number to find disassembly instructions. It almost always involves unscrewing a few screws on the bottom of the laptop and removing the bottom case, which should grant access to the drive. In some laptops (including all modern Macs), the storage is soldered onto the motherboard, in which case you’re out of luck and will have to try the method above or send it in for repairs. If you’re opening a desktop, it’s even easier, since you can just slide off the side panel and remove the drive from its cage—a screwdriver may not even be necessary.
With the drive removed, plug it into the USB adapter and put that into the USB port of a working computer. (Since Mac and PCs use different formats, you’d want a computer of the same platform—so if the drive is coming from a PC, don’t plug it into a Mac.) With any luck, the drive should pop up in File Explorer or Finder. You can then select the files you need (or all the files, just to be safe) and drag them onto an external drive. Once they’re safely backed up, you can go about repairing or replacing the computer, then drag those files back when it’s up and running again.
Want to Avoid This Problem? Back Up Your Data
Hopefully, this experience has demonstrated the importance of backups. You’ve heard it time and time again, and I know it’s easy to put off, but don’t. You can clone your data drive to create a one-to-one copy of all the data. Windows allows you to create an image file or set up a recovery drive. Mac users can create a backup using Time Machine or the macOS Recovery utility (Apple silicon or Intel). And don’t forget to check up on your drive’s health. Set up a backup program today and forget about it—the peace of mind is priceless, and you’ll never have to experience that moment of panic ever again.
Source : Pc Mag
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