Seeking Guidance on Data Recovery from a Faulty HDD

Hello everyone,

I am reaching out for assistance regarding a data recovery issue I am currently facing with my Acer Nitro 5 laptop. The device originally came equipped with a 1TB Western Digital 2.5″ hard disk drive. Unfortunately, I encountered a problem when the laptop stopped booting, consistently getting stuck on the “Preparing Automatic Repair” screen. After several months of trying to remedy the booting issue, I decided to remove the hard drive and connect it to another laptop with a SATA-to-USB adapter.

Initially, the hard drive was recognizable, and I could access most of the data—except for files on the C drive due to administrative restrictions. However, the data transfer process was frustratingly slow. I attempted to copy approximately 800GB of files, but each time the transfer would fail, with the speed inexplicably dropping to 0 MB/s during the process.

Now, several months later, I am facing a new challenge. Upon reconnecting the hard drive using the SATA-to-USB adapter, the partitions appear in File Explorer. Yet, there is no information displayed regarding the available space, and the system seems to hang indefinitely with a spinning loading icon. Whenever I attempt to access any of the drives, File Explorer crashes, leading to a complete freeze of my computer.

It’s worth noting that the hard drive emits no sounds or vibrations while connected, but it does become quite hot after a short period.

I am in urgent need of assistance as the data on this hard drive holds significant importance, including files related to my internship, personal documents, certifications, 3D renders, and login information for various accounts. Any advice or suggestions on how to proceed with data recovery would be immensely appreciated. I remain hopeful for a resolution and look forward to any insights you can provide. Thank you!