{"id":8962,"date":"2020-05-19T00:23:15","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T00:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/help\/?p=8962"},"modified":"2025-08-28T12:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T12:55:13","slug":"disk-drill-scanning-faqs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/help\/scanning-faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"Scanning FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disk Drill has several different scanning methods that allow it to examine your storage device and locate lost files. Below you\u2019ll find frequently asked questions about these methods. If you’re ready to get started with a scan, see How to Recover Lost Files with Disk Drill Basic<\/a>. If you’ve completed a scan but don’t see the files you need, try Troubleshooting Scan Results<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\r\n<\/i>\r\nDownload Disk Drill data recovery app\r\nDownload now<\/a>\r\n
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<\/span>Why is Disk Drill Asking to Make Changes to My Computer?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Like many programs, Disk Drill requires administrator password in order to work. It requires full access in order to be able to scan every bit of data on your drive. You will only need to give permission once after an installation<\/a> or upgrade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What Does Search for Lost Data Actually Do?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

It chains multiple scanners automatically so you don\u2019t have to guess the right order. Disk Drill first follows file\u2011system metadata (names\/paths), then falls back to deep, signature\u2011based analysis for content\u2011only recovery. You can preview and even start recovering while the scan continues.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What Are the Chances My File Can Be Recovered?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

File recovery is always uncertain (the one exception to this being Guaranteed Recovery<\/a>). There are many factors that affect your chances. See our article on Variables That Impact Recovery Chances<\/a>\u00a0for a detailed explanation. If you are attempting to recover files from a Mac internal hard drive, be sure to follow our tutorial How to Recover Lost Files from Your Mac Internal Hard Drive<\/a>, as there are extra precautions involved.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Why Isn't the Drive I Need to Scan Showing Up?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

There are several reasons a drive might not show up in Disk Drill. In general, to scan an external device, you must be able to mount the device on your Mac or Windows (it should show up on the left-hand sidebar of your Finder\/Explorer window) or see the volume using Disk Utility\/Disk Management.<\/p>\n

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  1. Drive connected after launching Disk Drill:<\/b> Disk Drill actively monitors device connections, but if you plugged in the drive after the app was already open and it doesn\u2019t show up, try the following steps. Quit Disk Drill, safely disconnect the device, then reconnect it. Verify the drive appears in Disk Utility (macOS) or Disk Management (Windows), and relaunch Disk Drill.<\/li>\n
  2. Hidden drives:<\/b> Disk Drill automatically filters small\u2011capacity devices, system volumes, and partitions. To view them, click “Show hidden items” at the bottom\u2011right of the main window.<\/li>\n
  3. Failed controller\/firmware (drive electronics)<\/b>: If a drive\u2019s PCB or firmware is failing, it may not enumerate correctly\u2014common symptoms include \u201cUnknown\/Not Initialized\u201d, 0\u202fbytes capacity, missing or garbled model\/serial, repeated spin\u2011up\/spin\u2011down, clicking\/beeping, or only the USB bridge appearing (not the disk itself). Disk Drill\u2014and any software\u2014requires the OS to expose block\u2011level access; if the device doesn\u2019t identify properly, software scanning isn\u2019t possible.<\/li>\n
  4. Mapped network drives:<\/b> Unfortunately, most mapped network drives and drives on most network-attached devices (which are connected to your Mac via SMB, AFP, FTP, NFS, RFS \u00a0and other file protocols) are not available for recovery or protection in Disk Drill. These network protocols do not provide the direct disk access required by Disk Drill. However, in cases where there\u2019s either a DMG (Disk Image) or a sparse bundle mounted from a mapped network drive, and your Mac OS can access that mounted drive as a separate disk, then Disk Drill will probably be able to scan the disk.<\/li>\n
  5. iPod disks:<\/b> iPods must have “Manually manage music and videos” enabled<\/a> in iTunes.<\/li>\n
  6. Physical disk damage:<\/b> If a disk has physical damage, such as significant bad sectors<\/a>, then it may not be visible in Disk Drill. Unfortunately, if you can’t mount the disk on your Mac or Windows, Disk Drill can’t see the disk or recover data from it. If your hard drive does not seem like physically damaged, make sure\u00a0it’s\u00a0extensively cooled and run the scan again, cleaning the list of Bad Blocks populated within\u00a0Disk Drill (macOS only).<\/li>\n
  7. iOS devices<\/b>: Unlock the iPhone\/iPad, connect it by cable, and tap Trust This Computer, then enter the passcode. On Windows, make sure Apple Mobile Device Support\/iTunes<\/a> is installed so the driver loads. Once paired, the device will appear in Disk Drill for iOS<\/a> (backup\u2011based) recovery.<\/li>\n
  8. Android device<\/b>: For full, low\u2011level scanning of internal storage, the device must be rooted<\/a>\u2014Android does not expose raw file\u2011system access without root. (No root is required to scan a removable microSD card\u2014use a card reader for best results).<\/li>\n
  9. SIP\u2011protected devices (macOS)<\/b>: If a Mac\u2019s System Integrity Protection (SIP)<\/a> blocks low\u2011level access (e.g., startup\/system volumes), install and approve Disk Drill\u2019s system extension (kext)<\/a> when prompted. You may need to approve it in System Settings \u2192 Privacy & Security and restart. After approval, rescan.<\/li>\n
  10. NAS devices<\/b>: Make sure your NAS supports SSH<\/a> and that SSH is enabled in its settings. In Disk Drill, choose NAS & Linux via SSH, enter the NAS\u2019s IP\/port (default 22) and credentials (an administrator\/root\u2011level account is recommended), then select the underlying Linux volume\/array to scan.<\/li>\n
  11. RAID arrays<\/b>: Make sure all member disks are connected to your Mac\/PC at the same time and recognized by the OS. If you\u2019re using a hardware RAID controller\/enclosure, connect through the original controller so the array is exposed as a single logical disk. For software RAID (AppleRAID, mdadm, Windows Dynamic\/Storage Spaces), let the OS assemble the array first, then rescan in Disk Drill. If Disk Drill can\u2019t virtually reconstruct your RAID<\/a>\u2014or if any member drive shows signs of failure\u2014stop all writes and contact the CleverFiles Professional Data Recovery Lab<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n➡️ See this article<\/a>\u00a0to know what types of drives Disk Drill can recover files from.\n<\/div>\n

    <\/span>Why Isn't the Partition I Need to Scan Showing Up?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    Lost partitions are a fairly common occurrence, but the good news is Disk Drill can help. If a partition you expect to see is missing, a disk error or formatting issue has likely occurred. In these cases, use Lost Partition Search: if enough metadata remains, Disk Drill can surface the missing volume with its original file system and folder structure, letting you browse and recover files as they were.<\/p>\n

    In addition, Disk Drill may have detected bad sectors on the drive<\/a>. Check to see if there are bad sectors listed by selecting the volume in question and clicking on Specify Bad Blocks<\/b> (macOS only) in context menu. If there are any listed, highlight them and click “Delete” to remove them. Then run the scan again to see if it helps. If bad sectors are reported again, it means the disk has physical issues that are causing malfunctioning.<\/p>\n

    In either case, the best solution is to Backup Into DMG Image<\/a> and make a complete copy of the disk (saving it to a separate hard drive of course) before things get worse. Once you have the new DMG Image, select it and click the universal Search for lost data<\/b> button so that it will run through all of Disk Drill’s lost partition protocols.<\/p>\n

    <\/span>What Does Each Scanning Option Do?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    Clicking the universal Search for lost data<\/b> button will go through all of the available scanning options<\/a>, based on their availability for that disk. But you can also right\u2011click the disk to open the context menu and select an individual scanning method. The available methods vary depending on the type of disk\/partition selected:<\/p>\n