How to Recover Data from SSD on Dead Laptop [3 Ways]

One of the primary reasons individuals opt for SSDs over HDDs is the belief that SSDs are vastly superior. Indeed, SSDs are engineered with more advanced technologies and generally outperform HDDs in many aspects. Because SSDs are marketed as the premium alternative to HDDs, they come with a higher price tag.

While SSDs have demonstrated technical advantages over HDDs, both types of storage devices are subject to failure over time, depending on how they're used. When an SSD ceases to function, it is often declared "dead." If you find yourself dealing with a failed SSD, this article outlines the steps you can take to address the issue.

What Causes an SSD to Die?

There are different causes of SSD failure; these causes range from a dead laptop to a logically damaged SSD and other possible reasons.

Scenario 1: Failing SSD

When an SSD starts showing signs of failure, those signs indicate that the SSD is about to die. Unlike HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), SSDs (Solid-State Drives) do not have moving mechanical parts that store data, so you practically hear any clicking sounds when it starts to fail. But then, when an SSD starts to fail, it exhibits several susceptible signs, which you should know. Understanding that not many PC users know these signs – the signs are listed below.

• Firmware upgrades no longer run successful – they hang or stop before 90 percent

• The laptop struggles to boot the operating system stored in the SSD

• Read and write speeds seem to have dropped drastically; sluggish performance

• The laptop seizes quite often or throws a BSOD when running some advanced actions

When your laptop starts showing these unusual signs, in most cases, the hard drive (which is an SSD) is about to fail. The best advisable action to take from here is to back up every important file you have on the drive. If you notice some files are already missing from the SSD due to these signs you’ve been experiencing, then use DiskInternals Partition Recovery to get back those files and back them up too.

Scenario 2: A Dead Laptop

Just as SSDs can die, laptops can die too. A laptop is considered dead when the motherboard or processing unit has failed completely – along with the RAM. Well, you can replace a dead motherboard with a new matching one, but the outcome isn’t satisfying in most cases. When a laptop is dead, it won’t show anything when you press the power button – it won’t boot up, either.

But then, a dead laptop doesn’t primarily mean the SSD inside is dead, too; a laptop can die while the SSD is still very much intact. As said earlier, what makes a laptop “dead” is a failed motherboard and/or RAM; when any of these mentioned components fails, even if you put in a brand new SSD or HDD, the computer won’t boot.

Signs that a Laptop is Dead:

• The screen doesn’t show anything – not even a BSOD

• The fans are not whinnying

• The laptop boots but won’t show anything

• You can’t boot the laptop at all

Well, there are quite several reasons why laptop motherboards and RAMs die, but the commonest reasons include power surges, water getting into the system, bad battery, weak/old motherboard, and faulty video card or RAM.

However, whatever happens, you can still retrieve files from a dead laptop – you just need to remove the SSD inside and insert it into another working computer. There are procedures to achieve this anyway.

Solution 2: How to Recover Data from Dead Laptop SSD

This method works when the laptop is dead (it cannot boot at all), but the SSD is still in perfect condition. In this scenario, you need to have access to another computer system and also a USB cable for connecting an external drive to a PC. It doesn’t matter if the second computer is a MacBook or Windows computer. But it’d be best to use a Windows computer, so nothing would seem complicated to you – from the start to finish of the process.

Recover Data from Dead Laptop SSD by Connecting to Another Computer

• Remove the SSD from the dead component (uncover the hood and loosen the nuts around the SSD housing to release the disk)

• Put the SSD into an external SSD/HDD casing and then connect the USB cable

• Now, connect the other end of the USB cable to the other computer (which is functional)

• Open File Explorer on the functional computer and check if the connected external SSD appears as one of the active drives on the system

• Double-click on the external SSD to open it and access the files inside. You can then choose to copy the files to another storage device

This method is straightforward and easy, especially if you’re also the owner of the second computer.

Solution 3: How to recover data with Partition Recovery by DiskInternals

If you discover that some files are already missing from the SSD disk, you can get back those files using an advanced data recovery app. DiskInternals Partition Recovery is a professional Windows OS program for retrieving lost, corrupt, and deleted files from any Windows computer.

But since your primary PC is dead and not booting, you will have to install Partition Recovery on another computer, then connect the SSD as an external device – as explained in “Solution 2” above. Partition Recovery works for getting back data from any type of storage media.

Step One: Install Partition Recovery

Download and install DiskInternals Partition Recovery on the functional computer. Connect the SSD as an external drive to the same computer and then launch the software.

Step Two: Scan the Drive

Select the drive (SSD) you connected as an external drive and choose a data recovery mode. You can choose between Fast and Full Recovery mode, but full recovery is recommended so that you’d be sure to get back all files you’ve lost from the SSD. However, full recovery mode takes more time to complete.

Step Three: Preview the Recovered Files

Wait for Partition Recovery to deeply scan the SSD and recover your files. When the scan is complete, you will see the recovered files appear with a red asterisk. Interestingly, you can preview these recovered files before saving them back to your preferred storage.

Steps to recover data from SSD dead laptop

• Remove the SSD: If the laptop is completely dead, the first step is to remove the SSD from the laptop. This can be a tricky process, and it may be helpful to search for instructions online or consult with a professional if you are unsure how to do it.
• Obtain an SSD to USB adapter: Once you have the SSD removed from the laptop, you will need to connect it to another computer. You can do this by using an SSD to USB adapter. These adapters can be purchased online or at a computer store.
• Connect the SSD to another computer: Connect the SSD to another computer using the SSD to USB adapter. The SSD should appear as a removable drive in the file explorer.
• Use data recovery software: You can use data recovery software to attempt to recover your files from the SSD. There are many options available, both paid and free. Follow the instructions provided by the software to recover your data.
• Contact a professional data recovery service: If the above steps do not work, or if the data on the SSD is particularly important, you may want to consider contacting a professional data recovery service. These services have specialized equipment and expertise to recover data from damaged or corrupted drives.

Conclusion

Recovering files from a dead laptop or SSD is still possible by following the guides provided in this article. Partition Recovery by DiskInternals is one of the best data recovery applications that run on virtually all computer and laptop systems with Windows OS installed. The software comes with many handy features and a swift interface that is easy to understand and navigate.

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