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How Do I Recover Deleted Files for USB or External Hard Drive?

Authored by:
Support.com Tech Pro Team
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1 Introduction: External Drive: Recover Deleted Files

If you ever lose files on your external drive, it can be a very frustrating or even heartbreaking experience. While lost work can sometimes be re-done, missing photos and videos can be lost forever. Thankfully, there are numerous ways to save you from potentially having to re-create documents and protect those precious memories.

This guide will get you to the right place for the best chance of recovering your files.

File Recovery.

2 External Drive: Connect to Computer

Make sure your external drive is connected to your computer, and you can open the drive.

External drive connected to computer.

3 Computer: OS Choice

To continue, we need to know what Operating System your computer is using.

There are 2 main Operating Systems for personal computers currently available, Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS.

Microsoft Windows Apple macOS
Microsoft Windows runs on computers produced by multiple companies, such as Lenovo, Asus, Dell, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard, Acer, and Sony. Apple is the only company that makes macOS computers.
Microsoft Windows. Apple macOS.

? What Operating System does your computer have?

  1. Windows
  2. macOS

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If you ever lose files on your external drive, it can be a very frustrating or even heartbreaking experience. While lost work can sometimes be re-done, missing photos and videos can be lost forever. Thankfully, there are numerous ways to save you from potentially having to re-create documents and protect those precious memories.

This guide will get you to the right place for the best chance of recovering your files.

File Recovery.

Make sure your external drive is connected to your computer, and you can open the drive.

External drive connected to computer.

To continue, we need to know what Operating System your computer is using.

There are 2 main Operating Systems for personal computers currently available, Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS.

Microsoft Windows Apple macOS
Microsoft Windows runs on computers produced by multiple companies, such as Lenovo, Asus, Dell, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard, Acer, and Sony. Apple is the only company that makes macOS computers.
Microsoft Windows. Apple macOS.

The following guide will walk you through the steps to recover files on your Windows computer.

Show Me How

Clicking this button will open a new guide that will provide you with steps to resolve your issue.

The following guide will walk you through the steps to recover files on your Mac computer.

Show Me How

Clicking this button will open a new guide that will provide you with steps to resolve your issue.