Can I recover files from my Toshiba external hard drive? This post gives you a positive answer and offers you multiple options on how to recover files from Toshiba external hard drive. Keep reading!
I had a Toshiba external hard drive on which I kept massive files, but I accidentally formatted it and lost all of my files. All of the files are very important to me. I’m desperate to get them back. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you ahead of time!”
- Question from a user
It is not difficult to recover files from an external hard drive. The point is you need to choose a suitable solution according to different situations. Here in this part, let’s learn how to recover files from Toshiba external hard drive in 3 different situations.
In the first situation, supposing that you have formatted the whole Toshiba external hard drive as well as all files stored on it, all you need to do is to use the professional data recovery freeware MyRecover to get the files back.
Download, install and launch MyRecover on your computer.
Step 1. Select the Toshiba external hard drive. Hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.
Step 2. Then the scanning process will start automatically. You don’t need to wait for the process to complete if you find the files you want to recover.
Step 3. Choose the files that you want to recover. Click Recover xx files and choose a destination path to save the restored files.
The second situation is when you lost/deleted a partition on Toshiba external hard drive and need to retrieve it back. The advice we give here is to use the professional partition management tool AOMEI Partition Recovery Wizard. No matter whether the partitions on your Toshiba external hard drive are lost due to accident deletion, partition table damage, bad sectors, or any other reasons, it helps you restore the partition and files stored on it easily.
Step 1. Download, install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant.
Step 2. Click on Partition Recovery Wizard on the left panel and select and select the Toshiba external hard drive. Click Next.
Step 3. Select a search mode. It is recommended that you select Fast Search the first time because it saves time. Then, click on Next.
Step 4. AOMEI Partition Assistant will show you the list of all lost or deleted partitions from the Toshiba external hard drive. You can select the one you want to recover. And then, click on Proceed.
Step 5. When the partition recovery process is completed, you will be informed by the Congratulations window. Click Finish.
Step 6. Then go to Windows File Explorer to check whether the deleted or lost partitions on the Toshiba external hard drive were recovered.
The third situation is that you need to recover deleted/lost files from Toshiba external hard drive. Here you have 4 options to do Toshiba external hard drive data recovery.
Method 1. Restore accidentally deleted files from the Recycle Bin
The first method, also the easiest one is to restore accidentally deleted files from the Recycle Bin.
Step 1. Double click Recycle Bin on your desktop to open it.
Step 2. Locate the files you have just deleted. Right-click these files, then click Restore. Then your files will come back to the location where it was before being deleted.
Method 2. Get deleted files back from a Windows backup
The second method to recover accidentally deleted files on Toshiba external hard drive is to use the Windows built-in utility Backup and Restore. Note, you need to first have this feature enabled in order to use it.
Step 1. Input Control Panel in the Windows search bar, and start it.
Step 2. Click System and Security and then Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
Step 3. Here you’ll see if you have this feature enabled. If you do, click Select another backup to restore files from. If you don’t, jump to the next method.
Step 4. Select the backup and then click Next.
Step 5. Search for your lost/deleted files by using the Browse for files or Browse for folders option.
Step 6. Choose a location to save the backup, select your files and click Restore to recover them.
Method 3. Revert deleted files to an old version with File History
The third method is to use the File History feature also provided by Microsoft to recover deleted/lost files on Toshiba external hard drive. Note, you also need to turn on this feature in order to use it.
Step 1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security > File History.
Step 2. Click Restore personal files.
Step 3. Select the files you need to recover and then click the Restore button.
Method 4. Recover files from using Windows File Recovery
The final method is to recover deleted/lost files on Toshiba external hard drive using CMD via Windows File Recovery, provided by Microsoft as well. This is a little technical-demanding method. You need to be familiar with command lines in order to use it.
Preparation work before using Windows File Recovery:
To use this tool, check out your File System first. Go to This PC > right-click on the drive that contains the data you want to restore before > click Properties.
In addition, you need to use recovery mode and switches to get back your files. To decide which mode to use, refer to this table.
| File system | Scenarios | Mode |
| NTFS | Deleted recently | Regular |
| NTFS | Deleted for a while | Extensive |
| NTFS | Formatted disk | Extensive |
| NTFS | Corrupted disk | Extensive |
| FAT and exFAT | Any | Extensive |
Switches are used to filter the scanning range, thus can save the scanning time.
| Switches | Meaning | Supported mode(s) |
| /n | Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc. | All |
| /y: | Recover specific extension groups. | Signature |
| /k | Recovers system files. | NTFSSegment |
| /u | Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin. | NTFSSegment |
Step 1. Download and install Window File Recovery on your computer from Microsoft Store and then open it.
Step 2. Open Powershell or Command Prompt (run as administrator). In the Command Prompt, enter commands in the following command format:
winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
For example, if you need to recover deleted pdf files from F: drive (the Toshiba external hard drive) to D: drive, then the command will be like:
winfr F: D: /regular /n *.pdf
Notes:
Backing up critical files on Toshiba external hard drive to your computer is a better bet to avoid file loss whenever anything unexpected occurs. We propose the free professional backup and restore software AOMEI Backupper, which allows you to back up your Toshiba external hard drive in just a few simple clicks.
Step 1. Download, install and launch AOMEI Backupper for Windows on your computer.
Step 2. Under the Backup tab, select the Disk Backup option.
Step 3. The Task Name can be set to help you distinguish backups from each other. Click Add Disk to choose the Toshiba external hard drive.
Step 4. Select a location for the disk image by clicking the folder-shaped button.
Step 5. Click Start Backup to carry out disk backup and wait until the operation is complete. Click Finish to exit the interface.
This post primarily explains how to recover files from Toshiba external hard drive. We’ve given you three different scenarios in which you might need to recover files. Whatever situation you’re in, you can find a relative solution here. Finally, you’re advised to backup files on your Toshiba external hard drive with AOMEI Backupper to avoid future file loss.
