Maxone portable external hard drives are widely used by small businesses and individuals for data storage and financial record-keeping. However, when an external drive fails to appear in File Explorer but is visible in Disk Management, it often indicates logical corruption, partition table damage, or an unallocated drive, making stored data inaccessible.
This case study details how we successfully recovered important accounting documents for a small business’s VAT return from a Maxone portable external hard drive, after partition table corruption prevented the drive from being recognised properly by Windows.
As Guildford Data Recovery, Surrey’s oldest and best data recovery company, we have 25 years of experience using partition repair, deep sector scanning, and forensic data extraction techniques to restore lost business files securely.
Maxone External Hard Drive Not Showing in File Explorer
A Guildford-based small business contacted us after their Maxone external hard drive failed, with the following issues:
- The drive did not appear in File Explorer, but was detected in Disk Management as “Unallocated.”
- Attempts to assign a drive letter or initialize the disk failed.
- The business urgently needed VAT return documents and accounting records.
- No backup was available for the missing data.
Since attempting to format or initialise the drive can overwrite important data, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the Maxone external hard drive arrived at our secure cleanroom facility, we conducted a full hardware and partition table diagnostic. Our findings:
- Partition table corruption (MBR/GPT damage) – Preventing Windows from recognizing the file system.
- Logical corruption in the NTFS file system – Making data unreadable.
- No mechanical failure detected, meaning logical recovery was possible through deep partition repair and data extraction.
Since a corrupted partition table can make a drive appear empty or “Unallocated,” we prioritized non-intrusive data extraction techniques.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging the Hard Drive to Prevent Further Data Loss
To preserve all recoverable data, we:
- Created a sector-by-sector forensic clone of the Maxone external hard drive.
- Used advanced recovery tools to extract readable data while avoiding further corruption.
2. Rebuilding the Partition Table & Repairing the File System
Since the drive’s partition table was damaged, we:
- Rebuilt the Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID Partition Table (GPT) to restore the original partition structure.
- Repaired NTFS file system errors to regain access to stored files.
3. Extracting & Verifying VAT Return & Accounting Documents
Once the partition was restored, we:
- Recovered all VAT return documents, tax reports, and business financial records.
- Restored folder structures exactly as they were before corruption.
- Transferred the fully restored data to a secure external backup device.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our partition repair and deep forensic data extraction techniques, we successfully recovered 100% of the business’s lost financial data, including:
✅ VAT return documents, tax filings, and financial statements
✅ Accounting software data files and bookkeeping records
✅ Organized file structures restored for easy access
The business was able to complete its VAT return on time, avoiding financial penalties.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful external hard drive recoveries, we are England’s leading data recovery specialists for small businesses. Our expertise includes:
✔ Partition table repair & file system restoration
✔ RAW drive recovery & NTFS/FAT32 repair
✔ Business document, financial record, and VAT return retrieval
✔ Secure & confidential data recovery services
If your external hard drive is showing as unallocated, not appearing in File Explorer, or preventing access to important accounting files, stop using it immediately and contact us for expert data recovery.