Windows 10: Recover files from 2TB external hard drive Installation Media

I loaded the Microsoft installation media ISO onto a 2 TB external hard drive. At first the original storage capacity wasn't shown correctly. For example, the drive was showing 300 GB available after finishing the Windows 10 install on another PC. After formatting the partition, the correct drive size 2TB is shown. However, the data that was on the drive before loading the installation media is not there. I've seen some users in similar situations. Is there any possibility that third party file recovery programs have helped? I've also read that, on larger drives, the installation media is

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installation media with external hard drive windows 10

Hi sanMiguel100_3, I'm Erfan and I'll be happy to help!

Before taking the steps below, please make sure you have an external hard drive with sufficient storage space (at least 8GB).

Connect your external hard drive to a working computer.

Kindly go to the official Microsoft website and download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. You can find it at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Run the Media Creation Tool and accept the license terms.

On the "What do you want to do?" page, select the "Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC" option and click "Next."

On the "Select language, architecture, and edition" page, leave the default settings as they are unless you have specific requirements. Click "Next."

On the "Choose which media to use" page, select the "USB flash drive" option and click "Next."

On the "Select a USB flash drive" page, you should see a list of available removable drives. Select your external hard drive from the list and click "Next."

The Media Creation Tool will now download the necessary Windows 10 files and copy them to your external hard drive. This process may take some time, depending on your internet connection speed.

Once the process is complete, you'll see a message stating that the USB flash drive is ready. Click "Finish" to close the Media Creation Tool.

Please remember to boot your broken laptop from the external hard drive to start the Windows 10 installation process. You may need to change the boot order in your laptop's BIOS settings to prioritize the external hard drive.

Please note that creating a Windows 10 installation media will erase any existing data on the external hard drive, so make sure to back up any important files before proceeding.

Thanks!

I hope this helps

 

External Hard Drive

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.

 

Installation Media erased my external hard drive?

I was attempting to reset my Windows 10, and needed to create Installation Media in order to do so. The only thing I had on my was my 2TB External Hard Drive, so I used that. It now appears that all the files I had previously on this hard drive are now erased
and only has Installation media files on it, saying it is 32GB of space.

Are all my files really gone for good? I recall no warning in the installation process that it would essentially reformat my hard drive. I'm thinking maybe I can reformat it again and my use some recovery tool to retrieve my old files, but now in reformatting
process it says the hard drive has 32GB of space.