How to Recover Data from HGST Hard Drive (FREE)

This article describes a free HGST hard drive recovery software - MyRecover and guides you step by step to scan and recover data from HDST hard drive effortlessly. Scroll down for more info.

By @Ivy Last Updated December 26, 2024

Are HGST hard drives still reliable?

Yes, the HGST hard drive is reliable. It performed well in its heyday - known for good quality products and was acquired by WD in 2012, mainly producing hard drives, solid state drives, and HGSThard drives, with a 3 to 5 years lifespan. It was eventually phased out in 2018, and the remaining products are now marked under Western Digital.

But as your drive ages, it’s more prone to errors, or due to accidental deletion, formatting error (e.g. you need to format the disk before using it), unexpected shutdown, system crashes, virus attacks, etc., resulting in data loss.

However, the HGST hard drive does not have a recovery tool, you need to seek help from a third-party data recovery software that offers data recovery service.

Download free HGST hard drive recovery tool

MyRecover is a good HGST hard drive recovery tool in Windows, with its user-friendly interface, more flexible recovery options, breathtaking recovery capacities, and more. 

❤❤❤ Why Choose MyRecover?

 It has a free edition that recovers over 500MB data.

 Uphold multiple data types, such as documents, images(e.g. recover PNG files), audios, videos,etc., over 1000 formats.

Integrates top algorithms - Quick Scan & Deep Scan to automatically search all recoverable files.

 Search or filter files quickly through the filename, extension, data type, etc

 Recover specific files or folders instead of all.

 Preview and recover files while scanning.

 Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.

 Recover data in any disaster, such as accidental deletion, formatted or damaged drive, virus infection, lost partition, system crashes, etc.

Download Software Windows 11/10/8/7/Server

 

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To get started, please download it on your computer. It’s compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or all server computers.

Perform HGST hard drive data recovery step-by-step

No matter how you cause the data loss, you can rely on MyRecover to recover data from HGST hard drive in a few steps.

⚠️Note: Please save the recovered files in a new location instead of the original HGST drive. Otherwise, they may be overwritten, making data recovery difficult.

Step 1. Scan your HGST drive

Connect the HGST drive to your computer via a compatible adapter or enclosure. Then, launch MyRecover. Hover the mouse over it and click Scan.

Step 2. Search for recoverable data

MyRecover can automatically scan the HGST disk to find all recoverable files. The Quick Scan searches for recently deleted files while Deep Scan searches for other missing files. Here are two ways to locate them quickly:

  • From sidebar directories 📂: Expand the Deleted Files/Recycle Bin/Other Missing Files folder and go to the original location to find data on the HGST drive.
  • 🔍Search or filter data: Specify a data type, such as “Documents” first. Then, type the name or extension in the search box. You can also set the date (today, yesterday, last 7/30 days, etc.), and size (<128KB, 128KB~1MB, 1MB~ 512MB, etc.).

Step 3. Start HGST hard drive data recovery

Once found, double-click them to preview and select the desired files by ticking the checkboxes or leaving them blank. Then, click Recover x files and select a new location to save the recovered files.

⚠️Note: The free edition only allows users to recover data from HGST hard drive 500MB. Once exceeded, you will be asked to upgrade MyRecover to enjoy unlimited data recovery. The lifetime version is a more cost-effective option, i.e. one-time payment to enjoy all features without a time limit.

It is not limited to recovering data from HGST hard drives, but also from WD, Samsung, Crucial, Seagate, etc., hard drives or SSDsin the following scenarios:

  • Recover data from formatted SSD drive
  • Recover files deleted by virus
  • Recover deleted files from Recycle Bin
  • Recover permanently deleted files
  • Recover data from dead hard drive
  • ......

How to Repair a corrupted HGST hard drive

Before repairing a corrupted HGST hard drive, you need to make sure that it is really corrupted. Here are some common signs below:

  • Inaccessible or lost data
  • Can’trecognizehard drive
  • Slow data read/write of hard drive
  • Often freezes, crashes, or errors
  • Overheating device or slow performance
  • ...

Way 1: Reconnect the HGST drive

If there are intermittent glitches, making your drive inaccessible, along with other drive issues, try to reconnect the HGST drive. You just need to unplug this drive, wait for a few seconds, and plug it into your computer again. Then, check if it’s accessible in File Explore.

Way 2. Run chkdsk tool

chkdsk is a command line tool for checking and repairing hard drive errors. If there are any bad sectors, it will help to mark them as unused. Here’s how:

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and select Run as administrator.

Step 2. Type chkdsk X: /f /r /x and press Enter to execute the repair operation. Replace X with the drive letter of your HGST hard disk.

⚠️Notes:
  • The /f parameter is to fix disk errors.

  • The /r parameter locates bad sectors and recovers readable information.

  • The x parameter dismounts your partition.

Way 3. Format HGST hard drive

If the HGST hard drive still has problems, you can attempt to format it to restore the health status. Don’t forget to backup files as formatting will delete all data on it.

⚠️Note: Formatting can be done in two ways. By default, Windows will use the quick format in most cases unless you uncheck it. It gives you a chance to recover data from a formatted drive. 

Step 1. Click the Start icon and select Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click the HGST drive and select Format.

Step 3. In the Format window, specify a file system (e.g. NTFS) and be sure the Perform a quick format option is checked. Then, click OK to execute.

⚠️Notes:
  • If you uncheck the Perform a quick format option, it will perform a full format to erase all data on it.

  • It also helps to convert FAT32 to exFAT, ReFS, or NTFS file system if you want.

Conclusion

Although HGST drives are obsolete in 2018, you can still perform HGST drive recovery with powerful data recovery software as long as it is recognized by Windows. MyRecover is a good choice. Why not give it a try?

Download Software Windows 11/10/8/7/Server
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It integrates two scanning technologies to thoroughly scan the HGST disk and find all recoverable data, in over 1000+ formats, from documents to images, videos, etc. In addition, it still supports file preview, selective restore, recover while scanning, etc.

FAQs

1. What happened to HGST hard drives?
 
WD continued using the HGST hard drives for a while after being acquired in 2012. For example, the HGST Ultrastar He10 and WD Ultrastar HC510 are the same models of HDD but sold under both HGST and WD names. Eventually, in 2018, it was isolated officially.
2. How do I recover a corrupted hard drive?
 
To recover data from a corrupted hard drive, you can use the built-in chkdsk tool. Open CMD as administrator and type chkdsk X: /f /r in the command prompt window. At last, press Enter to execute.
3. Can a failed hard drive be recovered?
 
If the issue is related to logical errors, you can try to recover data from a hard drive using DIY software. Suppose there is physical damage, such as a drop, or shock. In that case, you need to seek help from data recovery services, such as Ontrack, Drivesaver, SalvageData, etc., with advanced technologies, specialized tools, and cleanroom environments.