How to Recover a Hard Drive That Won’t Boot? Solved
Overview: How to recover a hard drive that won’t boot If these are some of the questions looming in your mind, then you are at the correct place. There are a plethora of reasons why your external hard drive won’t boot; some of them will be discussed later in this article. First, let’s focus on the methods by which we can recover data from laptop hard drive that won’t boot Windows 11, 10, 8, or 7, which is our main concern.
What do you Mean by Boot Disk Failure?
A disk loading error is an error that can prevent Windows from loading correctly on your computer. This error may be caused by a problem with your software or hardware. This can also happen if there is a CD on the drive when the system boots. Now that you understand why a disk fails to boot, let’s look at some ways to fix a corrupted hard drive that won’t boot.
Symptoms that Indicate a Hard Drive Won’t Boot
Hard drives cannot last forever and can lose data due to mechanical or other failures. Each type of external hard drive has its own signs or symptoms that indicate physical or logical failure.
Common symptoms of physical hard drive failure
- Overheating.
- Unwanted noise.
- Blue screen error.
- device cannot boot.
- Data cannot be accessed due to bad sectors.
Common symptoms of logical hard drive failure
- Frequent error messages when using the system.
- Files and folders are missing or corrupted.
- File or folder names have been changed.
- The operating system won’t boot.
Read More: How to Fix Corrupted Hard Drive?
Can You Recover Data From a Hard Drive That Won’t Boot?
Yes, in many cases you can recover your files even if your computer no longer boots. A hard drive that won’t boot does not mean that your data is permanently lost. If your drive is still detected by the BIOS or Windows Recovery Environment then there is a good chance to recover your important files.
However you should avoid reinstalling Windows, formatting the drive or running repair tools before recovering your important data. These actions may overwrite all your existing files and will reduce chances of data recovery.
Why Won’t My Hard Drive Boot?
Now that you know how to fix hard drive won’t boot issue, let’s discuss why your hard drive won’t boot. Hard drives are fragile computer accessories and can easily stop booting for various reasons. Below are
- Power Supply Issues: If the data and power cables are damaged, corroded, or have broken pins, your hard drive may not boot or turn on. At this point, it is easier to replace the power cable, data cable, and related interfaces than to reconnect the data and power cables of the hard drive.
- Incorrect Boot Order: If the boot order is not changed after migrating the system to a new hard drive, the BIOS boot order will not find the new boot drive, and the hard drive will not boot.
- Bad Hard Drive: A bad hard drive that is logically or physically damaged will cause the system to fail to boot. In this case, you will need to send it to a professional repair shop. To avoid data loss due to this cause, it is recommended that you back up your data regularly.
- Bad Sectors or Corrupted Boot Files: If your hard drive has bad sectors, or a virus has entered the drive and corrupted the boot files, a boot problem will also occur.
- Incomplete operating system update: If you do not update your hard drive drivers on time, a hard drive will not boot problem may also occur. In this case, you can just update your hard drive drivers to the latest version.
First Identify What Type of Boot Problem You Have
| Problem | Recovery Chance | What You Should Do |
|---|---|---|
| Hard drive is detected in BIOS | High | Recover your files before repairing Windows |
| Windows does not boot | High | Try Startup Repair or recover data first |
| Blue Screen during startup | High | Check system files and recover important data |
| Hard drive makes clicking noise | Low | Stop using drive and seek professional help |
| Hard drive is not detected anywhere | Depends | Check cables, port, or hardware condition |
Things You Should NOT Do!!
When your hard drive refuses to boot well you should avoid making quick changes that may cause permanent data loss.
Do not:
- Format the hard drive.
- Reinstall Windows immediately.
- Save new files on the affected drive.
- Run CHKDSK before recovering important files.
- And create new partitions on the drive.
If your data is valuable you must recover it first and repair drive afterward.
Technique to Recover a Hard Drive that Won’t Boot
Here we will discuss two solutions to get rid of all these issues.
1: Solve “Disk Failure Issue” in Window
Is there a startup disk failure in Windows 10? In this section, we will discuss three ways to solve the problem of external hard drives not booting in Windows 10.
Let me see!
Recover Important Files Before Repairing Windows
Many users immediately try Startup Repair, CHKDSK or they reinstall Windows to fix boot problems. Although these methods may repair Windows but they can also make data recovery more difficult if something goes wrong.
If your documents, photos, videos or work files are important then recover them before making any repairs. A professional recovery solution can scan your drive and restore accessible files without modifying the original data. Once your files are safe now you can continue with Windows repair methods without worrying about data loss.
2: Changing the BIOS Boot Process
The first option is to check the system boot order.
- Reboot your system.
- Now open BIOS. If you don’t know how to open the BIOS, you can use the following keys: Esc, Del, F10, F2, F8 or F12. It will appear first on the screen or before the Windows logo appears. You can use the command button to open it.
- Then go to the Home tab.
- Now you need to change the order and put the hard drive in the first option.
- Save these settings.
- Finally, restart your computer.
3: Remove Newly Installed Equipment and check Data Cables and Jumpers
Check the HDD cable
If you have just added new hardware, follow these instructions:
- First, consider removing the recently added hardware.
- Next, restart your computer system and check if the issue persists.
- Now check your hard drive again to see where Windows is installed.
- Finally, check your hard drives and reboot your system.
4: Run Chkdsk
If you are using Windows 7, 8 or 10, follow these steps:
- Insert the Windows disc into your computer and boot from it.
- Now click on “Repair your computer” after selecting your language, time and input keyboard.
- Pick the Windows installation drive (usually C:\) and click Next.
4. When you see System Recovery Options on the screen, select Command Prompt.
5. Type the command chkdsk C: /f and press Enter.
5: Enable Windows Computer Recovery Option
If you are unable to boot from this hard drive even after setting the boot order correctly, it may be caused by a damaged operating system or system drive. In this case, you can rely on Windows Computer Recovery to restore your operating system. Let’s see how to use this:
- Connect the bootable installation media to your computer and boot your computer from it.
- In the Settings window, click Next, select Repair your computer, and click Troubleshoot to enter the Advanced Options window.
- Use Startup Repair to fix hard drive boot problems. If this doesn’t solve the problem, you can try performing a system restore.
- The system is back
Recovering Lost Data and Files Due to Disk Boot Failure
Despite your best efforts, you may be worried about data loss if you are unable to resolve the “hard drive won’t boot” problem. In this case, you need to use Recommend, a Hard Disk Data Recovery Tool. This application can help you recover data from laptop hard drive that won’t boot. It is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, etc.
Even with this utility to recover deleted files from partitioned hard drive, after the recovery process is complete, the original layout and information are also preserved. Pre-requisites before proceeding with the process of recover files from hard drive that won’t boot.
What Affects Recovery Success?
The success of your file recovery depends on the condition of your hard drive. Some situations offer you a higher recovery chance than others. Recovery is usually more successful when:
- Your drive is still detected by the computer.
- Files have not been overwritten.
- Hard drives have only logical corruption.
- You stop using the drive immediately after the problem appears.
Recovery may become more difficult if drive has severe physical damage or continues making unusual clicking sounds.
Wrapping Up
In this article, the different reasons why the hard drive won’t boot Windows 10 or 11 have been shared. The user cannot access Windows when the hard drive becomes unbootable, as Windows is stored there. Therefore, a professional method to easily recover a hard drive that won’t boot has also been discussed.
Common Hard Drive Boot Error Messages
If your computer shows one of the following messages you can check them below then it simply indicates startup or boot problem.
- Operating System Not Found – Windows cannot locate the operating system.
- No Boot Device Found – The computer cannot find a bootable drive.
- BOOTMGR is Missing – Windows boot files are damaged or missing.
- INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE – Windows cannot access system drive during startup.
- Disk Boot Failure – Computer cannot load Windows from the selected drive.
These above mentioned errors do not always mean your files are lost. In many cases your data can still be recovered before repairing the system.
FAQS
Q: How to fix a corrupted hard drive that won’t boot?
As a result of the disk boot error, you can fix the disk boot error in Windows 10 by changing the BIOS boot order, repairing the damaged disk, rebuilding the MBR, and removing the recently used. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Uninstall the latest update, restart your computer and check how the process works.
Step 2: Check the cables and jumpers on the Windows system drive.
Q: Why won’t my hard drive start?
It is very likely that the disk will not start due to damage. If the disk is found but cannot be used, the partition table is probably corrupted. However, if the disk is not visible, especially on a Linux machine, the disk may be damaged.