How to Recover Data from an Unresponsive External Hard Drive on Windows

My Hard Drive is Detected but Totally Unresponsive!

It’s just like a nightmare when your external hard drive is detected by your computer, but it won’t respond. You can’t open it, copy files, or even access your data. It shows up in File Explorer or Disk Management, but you can’t access or interact with it. Here are some common reasons why a hard drive become unresponsive:

1. File System Corruption

The file system (e.g., NTFS, exFAT) may be damaged, preventing the drive from being read properly even though it’s detected by the system.

2. Bad Sectors on the Drive

If the hard drive has too many bad sectors, it may hang or freeze when accessed, making it appear unresponsive.

3. Outdated or Corrupted Drivers

A corrupted or incompatible disk driver can prevent your operating system from communicating with the drive effectively.

4. Insufficient Power Supply

For external drives, especially HDDs, a weak or unstable USB port may not supply enough power, causing the drive to spin up but fail to operate.

5. Virus or Malware Infection

Malicious software may block access to your drive or damage the file structure, leading to an unresponsive state.

6. Connection Issue

Loose USB cables, faulty ports, or broken adapters can cause the drive to be recognized but not functional.

7. Physical Damage

Internal hardware issues such as a failing read/write head or damaged circuit board can render the drive partially detectable but unresponsive.

How to Recover Data from an Unresponsive External Hard Drive on Windows 10/11

While this situation can seem dire, fear not. Whether you’re facing logical failure, a corrupted file system, there is a tool to help you recover data from an unresponsive external hard drive safely. A specialized recovery tool—MyRecover is tailor for this situation.

MyRecover is a user-friendly tool designed for recovering data from corrupted USB drive, unreadable partition, or unresponsive drives. It’s compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 and Server 2025/2019/2016/2012, and supports NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT drives. Follow these steps to recover data from unresponsive external hard drive.

Step 1. Download and install MyReocver on your computer from a secure channel. Avoid installing it on the unresponsive drive.

Step 2. Launch it and select the unresponsive drive to scan and click "Scan".

Step 3. Choose the files you wish to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover". You can upgrade to the Professional edition of MyRecover for unlimited data recovery quota.

Step 4. Select a safe location (not the original one) to save the recovered files.

When the process is completed, the message indicating recovery successful will pop out. Click the destination folder path or "Browse" button to check the recovered files.

If your drive has severe physical damage such as clicking sounds, burnt smells, or complete mechanical failure, recovery software might not work. In such cases, you’ll need to contact a professional data recovery service. Brands of data storage devices like Seagate and WD all offer professional data recovery services.

How to Fix the Unresponsive External Hard Drive

Once your data is recovered, you can try repairing the unresponsive drive to make it usable again. The following solutions apply to logical issues and driver-related errors.

Fix 1: Check Connection

Sometimes the problem isn’t the drive, instead, it’s the port or cable. Loose or faulty connections are a common reason external hard drives become unresponsive. You can try using a different USB cable and port or connecting the external hard drive to another working computer.

Fix 2: Run CHKDSK Command

The CHKDSK command is a utility used to check the file system and logic error for disk. It can also attempt to repair these errors, including bad sectors.

Step 1. Open "Command Prompt" and run it as administrator.

Step 2. Type the command "chkdsk G: f/ /r" and hit "Enter". Replace the drive letter "G" with your actual unresponsive drive letter. The command will automatically scan and repair the found errors.

Wait for the process to complete and restart your computer to check if the drive can be accessible.

Fix 3: Update or Reinstall Drivers

A corrupt or outdated driver can prevent your hard drive from functioning properly. You can update or reinstall the drivers as follows:​

step 1. Press "Win + X" and select "Device Manager".

Step 2. Expand "Disk drivers", right click on the unresponsive external hard drive and choose "Update driver".

Step 3. Select "Search automatically for updated driver software". If it doesn't work, right click the drive and choose "Reinstall Device". Then restart your computer and Windows will automatically reinstall the driver.

Fix 4: Scan with Windows Defender

If you download some unknown files, the viruses or malware they carry may prevent your drive from being accessible.

Step 1. Press "Win + E" to open File Explorer and select the unresponsive drive.

Step 2. Right click on it and choose "Scan with Microsoft Defender". Then Windows will perform a quick scan for virus and malware.

Step 3. If it's necessary, after the quick scan, select "Full scan" to perform a comprehensive scan for the drive.

Fix 5: Format the Drive

A formatted drive becomes usable again, but all current data will be erased. That’s why it was mentioned earlier that you should recover the data first. Only format the drive after recovering your data.

Step 1. Press "Win + X" and select "Disk Management".

Step 2. Select the unresponsive external drive and right click on it, then choose "Format".

Step 3. Choose a file system like NTFS based on your needs and check the "Perform a quick format" option, then click "OK" to begin the process.

Even if you didn’t recover the data on the drive in advance, you can still use data recovery software like MyRecover to recover data from a formatted hard drive.

Final Words

An unresponsive but detected external hard drive doesn’t always mean disaster. In many cases, you can recover your data and even repair the drive with the approaches mentioned above. Using trusted software like MyRecover is a reliable choice to recover data from unresponsive external hard drive, as it covers 500+ data loss sceneries including deleted partition, emptied Recycle Bin, virus attacks, etc.

In addition, the Professional version of MyRecover can meet the needs of more professionals. It supports data recovery from crashed systems and allows you to preview file contents before restoration.