If an external hard drive is not showing up, first check Disk Management, try another USB port or cable and see whether the drive is detected there. Avoid formatting the drive if it contains important data, as that can make recovery more difficult.

If the drive is detected but your files are missing or were accidentally deleted, data recovery software can help scan the drive for recoverable files. In that situation Softaken Data Recovery Software can be used because it supports NTFS and FAT file systems and offers deep scanning for permanently deleted data. You can filter the scan results, select the files you need, and save the recovered data to a different destination. It also supports batch recovery of common files such as documents, images, videos, and archives.

If the drive is making unusual noises or is not detected anywhere, stop using it and consider professional drive recovery instead.
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