Drive stopped working — first steps
The drive isn't showing up in the system, it's making strange noises, or it's suddenly asking to be formatted? In this situation, what matters most is what you DON'T do in the first few minutes.
What to do right away
Stop using it
Don't save new files to it, don't copy anything, don't open documents stored on it. Every extra operation on a failing drive raises the risk that data which could still be recovered disappears for good.
Don't keep restarting the computer
Rebooting over and over hoping "it'll work this time" is just another attempt to read a failing drive — and each attempt can make things worse, especially if the problem is mechanical.
Note what's actually happening
Pay attention to and remember the exact symptoms — is the drive clicking, beeping, disappearing and reappearing in the system, or is the computer asking to "format the drive"? These details help a lot whoever ends up trying to recover the data.
Don't install data recovery software yourself
If the data on the drive matters, don't download or run any "repair" or recovery tools on your own. The wrong tool, or the right tool used incorrectly, can permanently destroy what could otherwise still be recovered.
Report the issue as soon as possible
Set the drive aside — if it was connected over USB, just unplug it — and get in touch with someone who handles data recovery. The fewer "DIY fix" attempts beforehand, the better the odds of a good outcome.
Why rushing makes it worse
Recovering data from a failing drive is a delicate process — a good tool in the wrong hands, or a hasty repair attempt, can overwrite sectors that were still readable. That's why in this situation, doing nothing is safer than doing something based on a guess.
When it's a job for IT
- The drive is making strange noises — clicking, beeping, buzzing — that's almost always a job for a specialist, not a DIY fix.
- The data on the drive matters to the business and you don't have a copy of it anywhere else.
- The system doesn't detect the drive at all, or it's prompting you to format it.
Drive stopped working and the data matters?
Report the issue — it goes straight into our ticketing system, and our AI assistant assesses priority right away.