# SSD can't be read how to restore the files **URL:** \ **Category:** Discussion & Solutions\ **Tags:** solved\ **Created:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 8:30 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916 "2026-09-23T08:30:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1 ## AI-generated summary **🎯 What you get:** Practical tools and techniques to clone dying drives and extract lost files. **✅ Start here:** - DMDE — reads damaged partitions and recovers files for free. - OpenSuperClone — clones failing drives sector-by-sector before they fail completely. - CrystalDiskInfo — checks drive health metrics and errors. **🧰 Also useful:** - DiskGenius — repairs lost partition maps. - Autopsy — open-source digital forensics suite. - 30-minute power cycle — leaves an unresponsive SSD on power-only to reset controller panic states. **⚠️ Watch out:** - Always clone the dying drive first; running file scans directly on failing hardware causes permanent failure.
**Author:** ![Fritzx](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/fritzx/32/144406_2.png) [@Fritzx](https://onehack.st/u/Fritzx)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 8:30 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/1 "2026-09-23T08:30:53Z")
is there any other way i can do to an HDD/SSD can’t be read ? even though i tried it to other ports and system units. can i restore the files in it ? or is there other way i can take those files ? any 3rd party software ? for file recovery ? Edit: do you guys have a computer hardware course can give ? i will appreciate if you have thank you ---
**Author:** ![GhostX](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/ghostx/32/177127_2.png) [@GhostX](https://onehack.st/u/GhostX)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 3:20 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/2 "2026-09-23T15:20:14Z")
> **[Computer Hardware Basics](https://www.netacad.com/courses/computer-hardware-basics)** > > Free online course to learn about Computer Hardware Basics - from Cisco Networking Academy. Sign up today! ---
**Author:** ![Sarah](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/sarah/32/166974_2.png) [@Sarah](https://onehack.st/u/Sarah)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 8:28 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/3 "2026-09-23T20:28:04Z")
### A dead drive has four floors — most people only search the top one 🧲 digraph Floors { rankdir=LR; bgcolor="#fbfcfc"; node [shape=box, style="rounded,filled", fillcolor="#eef2f5", color="#2e1f27", fontcolor="#2e1f27", fontname="Helvetica"]; edge [color="#7fa99b", penwidth=1.4]; drive [label="a drive that\nwon't read", fillcolor="#2e1f27", fontcolor="#ffffff"]; f1 [label="1 · UNDELETE\nfiles sit on the map"]; f2 [label="2 · CARVE\nmap gone, bytes remain"]; f3 [label="3 · IMAGE\ncopy first, drive is dying"]; f4 [label="4 · FORENSICS\nno map at all, lab tools"]; drive -\> f1; drive -\> f2; drive -\> f3; drive -\> f4; } 🪟 Floors 1 to 3 are Windows apps — no terminal, no Linux. 🧬 Floor 4 is the stack a police lab runs, and every part of it is free. ⚡ Copying the drive is floor 3, and it comes before the other three. > **Floors 1 to 3 — the Windows way, plus the firmware revive** > > **CrystalDiskInfo** — the drive’s own health in a window: reallocated, pending, hours, heat · [crystalmark.info/crystaldiskinfo](https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/) > > **DiskGenius Free** — repairs a lost partition and pulls files back, one free window · [diskgenius.com/free](https://www.diskgenius.com/free.php) > > **MiniTool Partition Recovery** — a disk showing as raw is usually a map problem, not a dead disk · [minitool.com/partition-recovery](https://www.minitool.com/free-tools/minitool-partitionrecovery.html) > > **Windows File Recovery** — Microsoft’s own free tool, built into the NTFS, FAT and exFAT recovery path · [apps.microsoft.com](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n26s50ln705) > > **HDD Raw Copy Tool** — copies the whole drive in a window, so imaging needs no Linux · [hddguru.com/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool](https://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/) > > **DMDE Free** — disk editor and recovery; the free tier does more than its name suggests · [dmde.com](https://dmde.com/) > > **PhotoRec** — carves files by signature, so a dead map stops mattering · [cgsecurity.org/PhotoRec](https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) > > **TestDisk** — rebuilds the partition table, so the file tree comes back whole · [cgsecurity.org/TestDisk](https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk) > > **RecuperaBit** — rebuilds an NTFS tree out of a raw image when the map is gone · [github.com/Lazza/RecuperaBit](https://github.com/Lazza/RecuperaBit/) > > **Samsung Magician** — firmware update and diagnostics for Samsung drives · [samsung.com/magician](https://www.samsung.com/us/memory-storage/magician-software/) > > **Crucial / Micron Storage Executive** — firmware and health for Crucial and Micron SSDs · [crucial.com/storage-executive](https://www.crucial.com/support/storage-executive) · [micron.com/storage-executive](https://www.micron.com/sales-support/downloads/software-drivers/storage-executive-software) > **Floor 4 — what a lab runs, and the course you asked for** > > **Autopsy** — the full forensic platform, Windows installer included · [sleuthkit.org/autopsy](https://www.sleuthkit.org/autopsy/) > > **The Sleuth Kit** — the engine beneath it: `fls`, `icat`, `tsk_recover` read inodes directly · [sleuthkit.org](https://www.sleuthkit.org/) > > **bulk\_extractor** — reads a raw image with no map and pulls out mail, keys, URLs and card patterns · [github.com/simsong/bulk\_extractor](https://github.com/simsong/bulk_extractor) > > **bulk\_extractor docs** — what it finds, and how to read the report · [simsong.github.io/bulk\_extractor](https://simsong.github.io/bulk_extractor/) > > **Every recovery tool, listed** — by filesystem, kept current · [wiki.archlinux.org/File\_recovery](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/File_recovery) > > **Hardware course you asked for** — Professor Messer’s free CompTIA A+ · [professermesser.com/free-a-plus](https://www.professormesser.com/free-a-plus-training/a-plus-videos/professor-messers-free-comptia-a-certification-training-course/) · Carnegie Mellon’s open PC Hardware · [oli.cmu.edu/pc-hardware-open-free](https://oli.cmu.edu/courses/pc-hardware-open-free/) Four floors, three of them a window away — and the deepest one is free. ---
**Author:** ![BCBC](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/bcbc/32/180083_2.png) [@BCBC](https://onehack.st/u/BCBC)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 7:26 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/4 "2026-09-23T19:26:51Z")
Very good information here!! TY very much!!! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/system/32/165705_2.png) [@system](https://onehack.st/u/system)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 8:49 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/5 "2026-09-23T20:49:09Z")
> [@Sarah](#): > > A dead drive has four floors — most people only search the top one 🧲 digraph Floors { rankdir=LR; bgcolor="#fbfcfc"; node [shape=box, st… **🛠 The Core-Community upgraded the reply above with AI.** ---
**Author:** ![William\_J](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/william_j/32/178370_2.png) [@William\_J](https://onehack.st/u/William_J)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 23, 2026, 10:22 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/6 "2026-09-23T22:22:45Z")
I would recommend using “[Disk Drill](https://www.cleverfiles.com/lp/data-recovery-software.html)” pro version to get all the data ---
**Author:** ![Fritzx](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/fritzx/32/144406_2.png) [@Fritzx](https://onehack.st/u/Fritzx)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 24, 2026, 3:37 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/7 "2026-09-24T03:37:11Z")
Thanks a lot bro ---
**Author:** ![Fritzx](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/fritzx/32/144406_2.png) [@Fritzx](https://onehack.st/u/Fritzx)\ **Post date:** [Septembre 24, 2026, 3:38 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/8 "2026-09-24T03:38:33Z")
ill try this one thanks bro ---
**Author:** ![Astrid](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/astrid/32/174869_2.png) [@Astrid](https://onehack.st/u/Astrid)\ **Post date:** [Octobre 23, 2026, 3:43 UTC](https://onehack.st/t/ssd-cant-be-read-how-to-restore-the-files/325916/9 "2026-10-23T03:43:06Z")
# 💽 Before any recovery software — three questions the drive will answer itself @Fritzx — you already have the four-floor map above. This is the layer before it: **which kind of dead is the drive** , because each one has a different first move, and one of them is free hardware that pro shops pay thousands for. 🧲 ```auto it shows up, won't open → the file table, DMDE reads it free it never shows up → the bridge, the controller, the power state it clicks → heads. stop, unplug, that one goes to a lab ``` ## 🧰 The five tools that do the work - **[smartmontools](https://www.smartmontools.org)** or **[HDDScan](https://hddscan.com)** — read the drive’s own health report **first**. It tells you whether it is dying, how fast, and whether copying it at all is a good idea - **[DMDE](https://www.dmde.com)** — the free tier recovers a whole folder at a time and handles partitions other tools refuse. It reads, it never writes, so the source stays untouched - **[OpenSuperClone](https://github.com/ISpillMyDrink/OpenSuperClone)** ★302 — the sector-by-sector cloner for **failing** drives. **Boot it from USB with [OSC-Live](https://sourceforge.net/projects/opensuperclone-live/)**, so nothing on your machine matters and the dying drive is never mounted - **[HDDSuperClone PRO is free now](https://www.hddsuperclone.com/hddsuperclone/pro-version)** — the features of a hardware imager that shops pay four figures for, released at no cost - **TestDisk + PhotoRec** — still the best pair for a drive that lost its partition table, and still free ## ⚡ The trick for a drive that vanished completely An SSD that disappears while the BIOS still sees nothing is usually **stuck in its own panic state** , not dead. The fix costs nothing: ```auto 1 unplug the SATA data cable, keep only power 2 leave it powered, idle, for 30 minutes 3 power off, reconnect data, boot ``` Many controllers finish their internal cleanup in that window and come back long enough to image. **Image it the moment it appears** — the second disappearance is usually permanent. That is the exact reason the tools above clone before they recover. ## 🔌 The $10 answer for a “dead” external drive Half the drives declared dead in an enclosure are fine: the **USB-SATA bridge** died, not the disk. Try a **direct SATA port** on a desktop, or a different bridge chip. **[HDDScan](https://hddscan.com)** will even show you whether the drive’s SMART data is readable through the current adapter — if it is, the disk is alive and the plastic around it is not. ## 🎓 And your hardware course - **[Professor Messer’s A+ course, free](https://www.professormesser.com/free-a-plus-training/220-1202/220-1202-training-course/)** — the standard starting point, full video course, no signup - **[iFixit’s repair guides](https://www.ifixit.com/Guide)** — teardowns for hundreds of machines, free, with the tools listed per job - **[All About Circuits textbook](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/)** — the electronics under all of it, free to read online > **The order that costs the least data** > > 1. **Read SMART first** — a drive at 40 °C with 8 reallocated sectors is telling you to copy now, slowly > 2. **Clone, never explore** — OpenSuperClone or `ddrescue` to a **larger** drive, with a log file, so an interrupted copy resumes instead of restarting > 3. **Recover from the clone** , never from the patient > 4. **One folder at a time** — DMDE’s free tier rewards that rhythm, and a failed scan costs minutes instead of hours > > The drive you are trying to save is the one that must never be mounted read-write, and that single rule is why the pro tools are cloners rather than browsers.