How to Recover Data from Dell Laptop Hard Drive: Quick Solutions

Can You Recover Data from Dell Laptop Hard Drive?

Whether for work, study, or entertainment, Dell laptops are known for their consistent quality, customizable configurations, and strong after-sales support, making them a popular choice worldwide. Just like other computer devices, data loss on a Dell laptop is something that’s hard to avoid.

Once losing data from Dell laptop hard drive can be annoying, especially when critical files disappear without warning. Before diving into the specific recovery methods, let’s start by addressing a common question that many people have: can I recover data from Dell laptop hard drive? The answer is absolutely yes, whether the Dell laptop hard drive is working or unbootable.

How to Recover Data from Dell Laptop Hard Drive

Depending on the condition of your laptop hard drive, recovery methods can vary. Below, we’ll divide the process into two situations: one for working hard drive, and the other for unbootable or inaccessible hard drive.

Recover Data from Working Dell Laptop Hard Drive

If your Dell laptop is still functioning and you can log in to Windows, recovering lost or deleted data can be relatively simple. Here are a few effective methods:

✅Method 1. Check the Recycle Bin

If you only accidentally delete files (not permanent deletion) on your Dell laptop, those deleted files will be moved to the Recycle Bin until you restore them or empty the Recycle Bin.

Step 1. Double click the "Recycle Bin" icon to open it.

Step 2. Browse through the items and select the files you wish to recover.

Step 3. Right click on them and choose "Restore". These files will be recovered to their original location.

✅Method 2. Restore Your Files with File History

File History is a built-in file backup tool in Windows, which can back up files in library such as Pictures, Videos, Music, and Desktop. You can also add specific folders to the File History backup plan. If you enable File History on Windows, you can restore backed-up files or folders to their previous versions.

Step 1. Type "Restore your files with File History" in the Start menu and open it.

Step 2. Navigate and select the file or folder you wish to recover, then choose a desired version based on the backup time.

Step 3. Click the green "Restore" button to return it to its original location.

✅Method 3. Recover from Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is a legacy backup feature in Windows. It can back up entire system including personal files and allow you to restore these files from the backup in case file loss.

Step 1. Open "Backup settings" and click "Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)".

Step 2. Choose "Select another backup to restore files from" and select a backup which includes the lost data.

Step 3. Select files to recover from the backup. You can click "Browse for files/folders" to select specific files or folders to restore.

Step 4. Choose a safe location to save the restored files and click "Restore" to begin the process.

Upon the completion of restore process, the message "Your files have been restored" will pop out. You can check the restored files by clicking "View restored files".

Notes:✎...

File history and Backup and Restore (Windows 7) only work if backups have already been made before data loss occurs. Otherwise, please try other methods.

✅Method 4. Run Windows File Recovery Command

Even without a backup, it is entirely possible to recover data from a Dell laptop hard drive. Windows File Recovery is a data recovery tool designed by Microsoft. It supports recovering permanently deleted data from local storage devices such as USB drives and external hard drives.

Step 1. Download and install Windows File Recovery on your computer from Microsoft official channel.

Step 2. Type the following command "Winfr F: E: /regular" and hit "Enter". Replace the drive letters "F" (the source drive letter) and "E" (the destination drive letter) with your actual hard drive letters. If you want to perform a comprehensive scan, you can switch to "Extensive" mode.

Step 3. When the process is completed, press "y" to check the recovered files in the destination folder.

✅Method 5. Recover Data with MyRecover

If you are uncomfortable with command line tool, you can try MyRecover—a GUI data recovery tool. MyRecover features a user-friendly GUI that simplifies the data recovery process, allowing even users with limited technical skills to complete the steps effortlessly. In addition, MyRecover not only supports running on Windows 10 and Windows 11 but also compatible with Windows 7, 8, 8.1, as well as Server 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2025.

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your Dell computer from secure channel. Avoid installing it on the drive with lost files.

Step 2. Launch it and select the drive where the lost data were stored to scan, and click "Scan".

Step 3. Choose files you wish to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".

Step 4. Select a safe location to save the recovered files.

When the process is finished, you can check the recovered files by clicking "Browse" or the destination folder path.

Recover Data from Dell Laptop Hard Drive That Won't Boot

If your Dell laptop fails to boot, the situation will be a bit more complicated, but the data can still be recovered. This section provides several methods to recover data from unbootable hard drive.

✅Connect the Hard Drive to Working Computer

If the hard drive is functioning properly but is inaccessible on this Dell laptop, you can remove the hard drive from the computer and connect it to a working computer. Then the data on it will become accessible. If any files are lost, you can recover them using data recovery tools like Windows File Recovery or MyRecover following the steps mentioned above.

✅Recover via MyRecover (Creating Bootable Media)

If the Dell laptop is completely unbootable, the Professional of MyRecover also offers a "PC Crashed Recovery" feature, specifically designed to help users recover files from an unbootable Windows system. Before doing this, you need to prepare a working computer and a blank USB drive, CD, or DVD.

Step 1. Download and install the Professional edition of MyRecover on the working computer, then connect the USB flash drive (take USB as an example) to the computer.

Step 2. Launch the Professional of MyRecover and select "PC Crashed Recovery" under the "Advanced Recovery".

Step 3. Choose "USB Boot Device" and click "Create" to make a USB bootable media.

Step 4. When the bootable media is created successfully, insert the USB bootable device into the Dell laptop.

Step 5. Press the power button to turn on the laptop, and quickly press the F2 key repeatedly (Dell's default BIOS key) until the BIOS setup screen appears on the display.

Step 6. Choose the created bootable media to boot the laptop.

Once the computer starts up successfully, you can recover data from your Dell laptop using the method mentioned in Method 5  of the previous section.

✅Professional Data Recovery Service

If the hard drive is physically damaged such as clicking noise, not spinning, Dell's official professional data recovery service is often the only option. Don’t forget to stop using the drive and store it properly to prevent further damage. This is usually the most expensive option but can recover data from severely damaged drives.

Conclusion

So, do you know how to recover data from a Dell laptop hard drive? Absolutely! Whether it’s functioning normally or refusing to boot, you can recover your cherish data with the methods mentioned above. Among all recovery tools, MyRecover stands out as a reliable and easy-to-use solution.

If you’d like to access even more useful features, for example, if you plan to use it as a tool shared among family members or enterprise employees, consider upgrading to the Technician edition. It could make your data recovery process even smoother!