How to recover Files , Photos etc from.my old HDD


Barnaby44 said:
Hello, just an update as since my last post family business & real life issues have taken over for a little while.
Click to expand...
no rush.... take as long as you want. We'll still be here should you need us.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 10Intel i840016GBNVIDIA GeForce GT710
    OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel i8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME Z370-P
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT710
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar D2X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SE2417HGXF Full HD Gaming Monitor, 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung V-NAND SSD 860EVO
    Other spinning HDDs
    PSU
    Xilence XP420
    Cooling
    PSU fan and stock CPU fan
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avira free

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 on VMware (Release, Beta and Dev)
    Operating System
    Windows 11 on VMware (Release, Beta and Dev)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
If the HDD is in working condition and readable then you can easily recover the data from your hard dive
Buy and data recovery software that supports your computer OS
Install and do a deep scan the whole drive it, but you need a more space than your HDD becoz it will have more files
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

10256 GB
OS
10
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
2018
Memory
256 GB
Screen Resolution
15.6
Since the first time, decades ago, when a friend asked me if I could get the data off of his old HD, I've been outboarding HD's to my main PC, on long drive cables, to recover data or test run HD's.
It looks something like this:
External HD.JPG
In this old pic, I was cloning one HD to another HD. I don't even put the side cover on my PC, because I'm in to it so often.
This is NOT a gaming PC....It's a Working PC. So, I have it set up to WORK!
I use this same type of setup for recovering files from a HD, or for Formatting a drive, or for restoring a drive with a program like Spinrite 6.
HD's have gotten so cheap, I don't spend the time working on them like I used to.
I've been a computer tech for 42 years now, and many things have changed in that time.
A docking station is another way to connect a HD to a PC via a USB cable. (SATA cables are just a lot faster)

Cheers mates,
TM :cool:
 
Bree said:
There will probably be some folders that you don't have permissions to look inside. If so, then you can take ownership of the folder and give your account permission.

www.tenforums.com

Change Owner of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key in Windows 10

How to Change Owner of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key in Windows 10 and Windows 11
www.tenforums.com www.tenforums.com

www.tenforums.com

Change Permissions of Objects for Users and Groups in Windows 10

Change Permissions of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key for Users and Groups in Windows 10
www.tenforums.com www.tenforums.com
Click to expand...
There's @Bree ! :)

I'm having this folder permissions issue too. Pain in the...

I slaved an older Win 10 sys drive that i partitioned for media / dev stuff, so that's why i needed it attached of course.
But this method throws errors for me unfortunately.
Does anyone you know of any 3rd party apps perhaps that are more wizard-y and effective for this? Maybe a partition manager? Windows tends to be pretty unforgiving when it comes to folder / file ownership / permissions. It's not a huge deal. I'm just tired of my meta data not updating ( #Plex media server) as even admin privs won't write to some files.
:(
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 22631.3447Intel(R) N100 800 MHz16 GBIntel UHD Graphics: 8086-4E61
OS
Windows 11 Pro 22631.3447
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Trycoo
CPU
Intel(R) N100 800 MHz
Motherboard
WI-6
Memory
16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel UHD Graphics: 8086-4E61
Sound Card
USB Audio Device
Monitor(s) Displays
HP E241i
Screen Resolution
1920x1200
Other Info
http://speccy.piriform.com/results/NwxSjHiPVH0y4XLSt8D2NvS
ajaxStardust said:
Does anyone you know of any 3rd party apps perhaps that are more wizard-y and effective for this?
Click to expand...
I find TreeSize Free useful for this. When run as administrator it has full access to a drive. You can use it like a file manager to see and copy any files or folders, regardless of permissions.

I prefer to use the Portable Apps version that does not require an install.

TreeSize Free Portable | PortableApps.com

Every hard disk is too small if you just wait long enough. TreeSize Free tells you where precious disk space has gone. TreeSize Free shows you the size of and drive or folder, including its subfolders. Expand folders in an Explorer-like fashion and see the size of every subfolder. All results...
portableapps.com portableapps.com
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
The best and the cheapest way to recover data from corrupted or unresponsive hard drive is by using a data recovery software. There are many data recovery software options easily available online which helps the user to recover their lost or deleted data. However, I personally recommend you to try Stellar Data Recovery Professional Software as it is one of the most advanced and easy to use data recovery software that enables the user to recover their lost or deleted data from corrupted or accidentally formatted drives or even from lost partitions of the drive.
You can check the video below:
You can also check out the below blog to know the best possible ways on “How to Recover Files from a Corrupt or Unresponsive Drive?”
Hope it will help.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

10256 GB
OS
10
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
2018
Memory
256 GB
Screen Resolution
15.6
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