2 Ways to Recover Overwritten Files on External Hard Drive

About Overwritten files

The usual situation of an overwritten file created: when we want to save an existing file with the same file name, then our computer asks us to overwrite it, and when we click the "Replace" button, the file is overwritten. And, the overwritten file will not go to the Recycle Bin, so we can't recover the deleted file from the Recycle Bin as we usually do. However, we may regret overwriting our files and want to recover overwritten files on external hard drive or other storage devices.

Can overwritten files be recovered?

“I was moving files on the external hard drive and accidentally overwrote one of them. Is there any way to recover the overwritten file? I'm assuming not, but I wanted to check before losing all hope.”

Like the user in this case, you are likely to encounter the same problem: the need for overwritten files recovery. Overwritten files can be recovered in some ways. Since overwritten files cannot be recovered from the Recycle Bin, you need a professional method to help you. Please continue reading this article, here we provide two effective ways to recover overwritten files.

How to recover overwritten files on external hard drive

How to recover overwritten files on external hard drive? We have concluded 2 useful ways for you: Previous Version and data recovery software. You can choose one according to the situation you met.

Method 1. Recover overwritten files on external hard drive with Previous Version

Previous Version is a useful feature in Windows, which is copy or backup of files or folders. If you are regretful of your edits or deletions, you can use such a feature to restore previous version of file.

However, there are certain conditions for using this Windows built-in tool:

• Your files have been saved before.
• The System Protection of your external hard drive needs to be On.

• Windows File History on your PC has been activated.
• Windows backups like Backup and Restore are available.

If the situation of your computer meets the conditions above, then you can follow the steps below to recover the overwritten files with Previous Version:

1. Navigate to the location that saved your overwritten files before. Right-click on the file to choose Properties.

2. Select the Previous Versions tab. You can choose the version you want to restore.

3. Choose the triangle icon to select Open/Open in File History. Then you can check the version of the file.

4. After confirming the version of your files, click on the triangle icon next to Restore. You can choose to restore to the original location or other locations.

Method 2. Recover overwritten files on external hard drive via a data recovery tool

However, it is possible for you to see this page: There are no previous versions available. This is because you did not turn on the System Protection or you did not use File History and Windows backups.

In this case, maybe you cannot recover the overwritten files, unfortunately. But there is another easy way to solve how to recover overwritten files from hard disk problem - a professional data recovery tool like MyRecover.

MyRecover can help you to recover overwritten files, permanently deleted files, formatted partitions, etc. from different situations.

And this tool has many advantages as well:

High recovery success rate and high recovery speed.

Support 200+ types of files like Word, PPT, Excel, PDF and photos, videos, audios, etc.

Compatible perfect with all Windows operating systems including Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server.

Clear graphic user interface and easy operating steps.

f you want to recover overwritten files without backups, you can download this easy data rescue tool, and here are the 3-step guideline to use it:

1. First, connect your external hard drive to your computer and hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan to let it be scanned.

2. You will see your overwritten files and other missing files from the external hard drive after Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically. You can type your filename in the search box or use the Filter feature to find your overwritten files quickly.

3. After confirming the scanning result and choose a new location to store your recovered files. After that, click on the Recover X files button to recover your overwritten files on external hard drive.

Bonus tip: Protect your files better

A professional backup tool can protect your files from accidental deletion. Here we recommend an easy backup tool called AOMEI Backupper, which provides full backup features like scheduled backup, incremental and differential backup, etc. You can refer to the easy steps to make backups of your files:

1. Download AOMEI Backupper on your PC. Then choose the File Backup option.

2. Next, select Add Folder or Add File to choose your files to back up.

3. Choose a location as the backup destination. Then click on Start Backup to back up your files easily.

Written in the end

Both the Previous Version tool and the easy data rescue tool MyRecover can help you to recover overwritten files on external hard drive. If you did not make backups of your files before, just go to try MyRecover to recover data without backup. Your files will get back with a few clicks.