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How to Recover Files from a Hard Drive that Won’t Boot Windows 10? Precise Solution

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Published By Nilesh Kumar
Debasish Pramanik
Approved By Debasish Pramanik
Published On May 29th, 2024
Reading Time 6 Minutes Reading
Category Data Recovery

How to recover a hard drive that won't boot

Ever encountered your system screen saying that “Your PC ran into a problem” like this? Well, this image is a clear indication of an “inaccessible boot device,” which means your Windows 10 operating system is unable to boot the drive. If you are looking for how to recover files from a hard drive that won’t boot Windows 10, 8, 7, or 11, then this blog has complete step-by-step guidelines to provide a solution from scratch.

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Reasons That Make Hard Drive Unbootable

Various reasons can be blamed for making a hard drive unbootable. Check out which one can be the culprit in your case.

Reason Explanation
Incorrect BIOS Boot Order BIOS follows the boot order to run the bootable device. So if you have selected any other device instead of a hard drive, then whenever the PC tries to boot, it will send you an error message.
Damaged Data Cables If the data cable isn’t correctly plugged in, then the power supply gets interrupted while booting and interrupts the process. Also, data cables get wear and tear over time, which damages their ability to work properly.
Physical Damage to Hard Drive Read/write errors, power outages, and virus attacks can damage the hard drive and make it inaccessible. Check the drive for errors and scan the viruses for proper functioning.
Motherboard Failures Faulty capacitors, loose cable obstructing power supply, corrupted CPU, or memory fail to provide the proper condition to boot a drive.
Corrupted Partition Table A corrupted MBR won’t allow the drive to boot. MBR is the section that holds information about the disk, is located in the boot sector, and defines the disk partition.
Software Failure Read/write errors, power outages, and virus attacks can damage the hard drive and make it inaccessible. Check the drive for errors and scan the viruses for proper functioning.

Solution 1: Recover Data from Laptop Hard Drive that Won’t Boot – Manually

How to retrieve data from a laptop that won’t boot? Another way is to manually retrieve the required data from the hard drive. Follow these procedures and you will know how it works..

Step 1: Turn off your computer and remove the battery. Next, unplug your desktop or laptop from the outlet.

Step 2: When you find a hard drive that won’t boot, disconnect the hard drive cable. Then open the lid and take it out of the box.

Step 3: Connect the hard drive to a running PC using an external hard drive enclosure.

Step 4: Reboot the new computer with the stock operating system on the primary drive. You will then be able to read and access data on your hard drive.

Step 5: Copy files from your non-bootable hard drive to your new drive.

Solution 2: Recover Files from A Hard Drive That Won’t Boot; Alternatively

If the above method does not fully answer your question on how to get files from a laptop that won’t turn on, don’t worry because we’re not done yet. There is another method to efficiently retrieve files from a non-bootable hard drive, which is called EmailDoctor Hard Drive Data Recovery Tool to recover deleted files from external hard drive Fast and Advanced, which combines many interesting features to ensure the most efficient data recovery. It is available for Windows and scans deleted data and recovers it in minutes.

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What you will need

  • Hard drive (from which you want to recover the files)
  • USB hard drive case/closure (to attach to the system)
  • Windows operating system
  • BIOS boot order (choose Hard drive as first preference)
  • Hard Drive Recovery utility (Demo Version)
    (Do not choose the unbootable drive to download and install hard drive recovery utility.)

Also Read: How to Recover Data from Formatted Hard Drive?

Tips and Tricks  for Booting your Hard Drive

The saying “prevention is better than cure” should be embedded in the hearts of every computer user. It takes effort to keep your computer safe and your hard drive in good condition. To make sure your drive doesn’t suffer from such problems (requiring you to Google how to get files off a hard drive that won’t boot), follow these basic tips that will make your life easier and your hard drive safer and healthier.

  1. Be careful when surfing the Internet, as it is a major source of viruses. Install an antivirus program on your computer to protect against threats.
  2. If you hear a clicking or grinding sound from your hard drive, stop all operations immediately.
  3. Back up your data often because disasters can happen at any time.
  4. Make sure the unit is stored securely to prevent physical damage. Excessive heat and humidity can damage hard drives, so proper precautions should be taken when storing them.
  5. Update your drivers regularly to avoid unexpected issues.
  6. Check hard drive connections regularly. Replace old or exposed cables or peripherals as soon as you find them.

Concluding Thoughts

An unbootable drive is the outcome of serious technical and logical issues. How to recover files from a hard drive that won’t boot Windows 10 is a question asked by users who own Windows 10 and are struggling to recover deleted pictures from computers. This blog counts all the reasons and provides a detailed solution to resolve recover data from laptop hard drive that won’t boot issue.

Commonly Asked Questions by Users

Q: How do I recover a hard drive that won’t boot?

  1. Download hard drive recovery software
  2. Select the hard drive partition where the data will be lost.
  3. Click the Scan tab and wait for it to complete scanning.
  4. Preview the data recovered from the hard drive in the software panel.
  5. Select the required data or save complete data

Q: How do I recover files from a non-booting external hard drive?

When recovering files from an external hard drive, you usually use an external hard drive enclosure or professional data recovery software such as Automatic Solution.

Q: How to restart a computer that won’t start?

  1. Restart your computer.
  2. Insert a Windows installation disc and boot from it.
  3. Select Recover your computer.
  4. Click Troubleshoot.
  5. Hit Reset this PC.
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By Nilesh Kumar

As a Chief Technical Writer, I know the technical issues faced by home and professional users. So, I decided to share all my knowledge via this blog. I love to help you with challenges while dealing with technical jargon.