How to Recover Files from Seagate External Hard Drive (2025 Guide)

Most Common Causes of File Lost from Seagate External Hard Drive

Seagate is one of the most recognized names in the storage industry, offering a wide range of external hard drives that cater to both personal and professional needs. Seagate external hard drives are popular for their reliability, performance, and capacity options, and they serve a variety of use cases including data storage, backups, gaming, and even media editing.​

Losing files from an external hard drive like a Seagate can be frustrating.  Understanding potential causes for data loss can help you prevent future issues or recover files from external hard drive. Here are some of the most common reasons files might be lost from Seagate external drive:​

• Connection Issues: A faulty connection adapter, outdated drivers, or compatibility issues between the external hard drive and your computer can cause problems when accessing files.​
• Human Error: Sometimes, you might accidentally delete important files during the cleanup process; mistakenly formatting the external drive might erase all files on it.​
• Overheating：If the external hard drive overheats (especially during heavy use or inadequate cooling), it may fail to function properly, leading to potential data loss or corruption.
• File System Corruption: If the external hard drive is unplugged improperly or suffers a sudden power loss, it may cause corruption in the drive’s file system, making files inaccessible.
• Virus or Malware Infection: Viruses or malware can corrupt or delete files. External hard drives are susceptible to these threats when connected to infected computers or networks.​
• Physical Damage: External hard drives are more vulnerable to physical damage because they’re portable. Dropping the drive or subjecting it to shock can damage internal components or cause data corruption.

How to Recover Files from Seagate External Hard Drive

Data loss on Seagate external hard drives is a frustratingly common experience, caused by the factors mentioned above. But don't panic just yet! There are several methods available to help recover files from Seagate external hard drive, whether they're important work documents, cherished family photos, or irreplaceable projects.

Restore Files from Seagate Drive Manager​

Seagate Drive Manager (now called Seagate Toolkit) is a free utility software designed to help users manage and maintain their Seagate external hard drives. It provides tools for backup, diagnostics, firmware updates, and drive optimization. If your external hard drive is still operational but you have lost data, this tool can help in some recovery cases.​

Step 1. Go to the official Seagate website, Download and install Seagate Toolkit on your computer.​

Step 2: Connect the Seagate external drive to your computer and launch Seagate Toolkit. Then it will recognize your Seagate Drive.​

Step 3: Click "Restore" and select a backup which needs to be restored. Restore the entire backup by default. If necessary, you can also choose to restore certain files and specific versions of your files.​

Step 4. Click "Next" to continue the process, then select a destination to restore (restore to original location by default).​

Step 5. Click "Restore" to begin the restore. Once completed message pops up, you can check the recovered files in destination folder.​

Notes:✎...

This method can only be used when you have created a backup with the Toolkit before the files were lost.​

Windows File Recovery​

For users who prefer to stick with Windows built-in tools, Windows File Recovery is a free command-line software offered by Microsoft that can help recover deleted files from an external hard drive on Windows.​ Here's how to recover files using Windows File Recovery command.

Step 1: Download and Install Windows File Recovery from official channel on your computer. Then connect your Seagate external hard drive to your computer using an appropriate cable.​

Step 2: Type "Windows File Recovery" in the start menu and run it as administrator.​

Step 3: Enter the following command Winfr D: E: /extensive in the opened prompt window and press "Enter".​

★Tips:

D: represents the source drive letter.

E: represents the destination drive letter.

Extensive: the mode-to perform a deep scan to the source drive.

Step 4. When the process is finished, you can press "y" to check the recovered files in the designated folder.

MyRecover-Professional Data Recovery Tool [Recommend]​

If you are dealing with more complex data loss situations, such as partition lost, drive inaccessibility, system crashed, using professional data recovery software like MyRecover can be an excellent choice. MyRecover is a professional data recovery software, meaning it can handle a wide range of data loss scenarios, including accidental deletions, virus attacks, and drive corruption. It also supports a deep scan feature that helps you recover files from some clues.

MyRecover is an intuitive tool that offers comprehensive recovery features for external hard drives.​ It not only supports recovering files from Seagate external hard drives but also other brands such as Western Digital, Samsung, Toshiba, etc.

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer. And connect the Seagate external hard drive to the computer.​

Step 2. Launch MyRecover and select the Seagate external hard drive, click "Scan" to begin searching for lost files.​

Step 3. Select the files you want to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".​

Step 4. Choose a safe location (different from the Seagate external hard drive) to save the files.​

When the message "Your files have been recovered successfully" appears on the screen, you can check the recovered files in destination drive.​

Rescue Data Recovery Service​

If your Seagate external hard drive has suffered severe physical damage (such as mechanical failure) or you’ve encountered complex data loss situations that among methods cannot works, Rescue Data Recovery Service is your best option. This is a professional service provided by Seagate itself for data recovery from physically damaged or corrupted drives. It’s a costly service, but it has a high success rate for complex data loss issues.

How to Expand the Life of Seagate External Hard Drive

Now that you’ve learned how to recover lost files from your Seagate drive, it’s equally important to prevent future data loss and extend its lifespan. Proper maintenance and careful handling can significantly reduce the risk of drive failure.

Keep Drive Clean: Dust can accumulate over time and clog the drive’s cooling vents, causing it to overheat. Ensure the drive stays in a dust-free environment, or use a dust cover when it’s not in use.

Proper Eject Procedure: Always eject the drive properly before disconnecting it from the computer. Abrupt disconnections can lead to data corruption or physical damage.

Run Diagnostics and Health Checks: Seagate offers software like SeaTools for testing the health of your external hard drive. Running diagnostics regularly will help you catch any issues before they become serious.

Avoid Physical Shocks: Avoid dropping or bumping the drive. Physical impacts can damage the internal components, especially the hard disk drive (HDD), which is sensitive to shocks.

Summary

This guide provides detailed steps on how to recover files from Seagate external hard drive, covering methods that are adaptable to various situations like using backups, command line tool, third-party software and professional service.

For more complex recovery, such as permanent deletion, inaccessible partition, unbootable drive, crashed system, MyRecover offers reliable solution to recover files. The Professional and Technician version of MyRecover can meet more advanced needs for assisting in data retrieval and repair.