Even when a Samsung external drive can’t be repaired, the data on it can often still be recovered.
If your external drive from this brand has failed and the files matter, see Bot’s external hard drive recovery, done in our own lab.
How Do I Recover a Samsung External Drive?
This is a very common question, not because the South Korean brand’s products are poor quality, but because Samsung is one of the biggest names in data storage, so a huge number of its drives are in use. Samsung sold its hard drive business to Seagate in 2011, so its current external drives (such as the T7 series) are SSDs, while the Samsung-branded external hard drives sold after the deal were made by Seagate.
According to data from Statista, Samsung accounted for 33.6% of the storage drive market (hard drives and SSDs) in 2019, a market worth $63.4 billion that year, of which $21.3 billion went to the South Korean giant.
Samsung’s lead becomes clear when you compare it with the market shares of other manufacturers:
- Western Digital: 24.6%
- Seagate: 15.7%
- Toshiba: 5.2%
- Hitachi: 2.3%
- Others: 18.5%
In other words, roughly one in every three dollars spent on storage drives in 2019 went to Samsung, a brand that clearly attracts a lot of buyers.
However, like any electronic device, these drives can develop faults. That is why recovering data from Samsung external drives is such a sought-after service, and why a failure tends to worry their owners.
If that is your situation, the good news is that data recovery from a Samsung external drive is often possible, even when the device itself has been damaged. Read on to find out more.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Data Loss on a Samsung External Drive?
Every case is different, but some situations come up again and again as the main causes of data loss on Samsung external drives, and on those of other brands too:
- Human error: deleting files by mistake is relatively common, and the regret can be immediate or come later, when you realize what you have done.
- Formatting: whether accidental or intentional, formatting the drive also erases your data.
- Viruses and malware: another common cause is viruses and malware on the external drive, which can steal, delete or encrypt your data.
- Physical damage: drops, knocks and other impacts can damage the internal components of the external drive and stop it from working properly.
- Power problems: although this is more common with internal drives, external drives can also be damaged by power cuts and surges or by being disconnected abruptly.
- Liquid spills: external drives often sit on the desk next to the laptop or computer they are connected to, which makes them prone to spills of water, coffee, juice or soft drinks.
- Hacker attacks: cybercriminals can target external drives just as they target internal ones, and the data on them is often just as valuable as the data on the computer, if not more so.
- Loss and theft: external drives are also very vulnerable to loss and theft, especially as they are carried around in bags, backpacks and cars, often away from the computer they are used with.
How to Prevent Data Loss on a Samsung External Drive
Now that you know the biggest threats, here are some important tips to prevent data loss on a Samsung external drive.
- Keep more than one backup of important files. Prevention is better than cure, and double prevention is better still. For very important files, it is worth having at least two backups, for example on other external drives.
- Take advantage of the convenience and security of the cloud. Another way to back up your data is to use cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive. They are very secure, offer some free storage and have affordable paid plans.
- Handle your drive with care. A little extra care can prevent accidents that could damage your Samsung external drive, such as spills and knocks.
- If you don’t need the external drive that day, leave it at home. Because it is portable, it is easy to forget it in your bag or backpack. Ideally, only take it with you when you actually need it, which reduces the chances of something going wrong.
How to Recover a Samsung External Drive in Windows
You can try to recover data from a Samsung external drive in Windows using data recovery software. However, you need experience with this type of software so you don’t make the problem worse or irreversible.
Data recovery software really does work, which is why professionals like us at Bot use it too. But to get the most out of it, you need solid technical and practical experience.
These programs are easy to find online and install in minutes, but they must be used correctly to maximize the chances of recovering data from a Samsung external drive. Never install the program or save recovered files on the drive you are trying to recover. And if the drive is making strange noises, is not detected or is very slow, don’t run any software on it: it probably has a physical fault and needs a lab. For these reasons, we don’t recommend these programs to anyone without experience in the field.
If you do have experience and know exactly how to use them, some good recovery programs are Disk Drill, Wondershare Recoverit, Recuva, EaseUS Data Recovery and DiskGenius.
Bear in mind, though, that data recovery can’t always be done with software alone. Sometimes the drive’s hardware itself has to be assessed and repaired, whether that is the electronics or the mechanical components.
How to Recover a Samsung External Drive on a Mac
In short, the process is the same as in Windows. Not every tool that runs on Microsoft’s system is available for macOS, but there are still plenty of options, such as Disk Drill, Data Rescue and Stellar Data Recovery.
Some tools are also available for other operating systems, including Linux, such as TestDisk, R-Studio and PhotoRec; just make sure you download the version for the operating system you use.
The same caveat about hardware assessment and repair applies here: the process can’t always be completed with data recovery software alone.
So, How Do You Recover or Repair a Samsung External Drive?
By now you have probably realized that recovering and/or repairing a Samsung external drive is a real possibility, but it requires professional work to avoid complications that make data recovery even harder.
For the best chance of recovering your data or, in some cases, getting the drive working again, you can count on Bot’s external drive recovery service, carried out by highly qualified, experienced professionals in a Class 100 (ISO 5) cleanroom under ISO 14644-1.
Don’t wait any longer to recover your Samsung external drive! Get in touch with Bot, with more than 200,000 cases and a 96% success rate, and start the process today.
