The most important thing you can do right now is stop using the drive. Every additional action — powering it on, running software, trying to copy files — carries the risk of making recovery harder or impossible. Here’s a clear guide to what to do and what to avoid.

For logical failures (accidental deletion, format)

If you’ve accidentally deleted files or formatted a drive, stop writing new data to it immediately. When you delete a file, the data isn’t erased — the space is simply marked as available. If new data is written over it, the original files are overwritten and recovery becomes impossible or partial. The drive should not be used at all until it’s been professionally assessed.

For physical failures (clicking, not recognised)

Do not power the drive on again. Each power cycle puts additional stress on already-failing heads or mechanics. If the drive is clicking, that click is the sound of the heads failing to read correctly and resetting — every click risks further damage to the platter surface.

For SSDs

SSDs behave differently to HDDs, but the same basic rule applies — stop using the device. SSDs can sometimes complete their own internal wear-levelling or garbage collection processes that permanently erase data if left powered on. If an SSD fails, power it off and don’t reconnect it until you’ve consulted a professional.