EaseUS Data Recovery Stuck on Recovering? Fixes

Updated 5 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

If EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is stuck on the “recovering” stage, the scan has likely finished but the file recovery process is hanging due to a large file size, a failing drive, or a software conflict. The most effective fix is to stop the process, restart the software, and recover files to a different physical drive in smaller batches. Below are the detailed reasons this happens and the step-by-step fixes that actually work.

Why EaseUS Gets Stuck During Recovery

The recovery stage is the most resource-intensive part of the process. During this phase, the software is reading raw data from the source drive and writing it to your chosen destination. A hang usually means one of three things:

Drive health issues: The source drive has bad sectors or is failing, causing the read operation to stall.
Destination drive problems: You are saving to the same drive you are recovering from, or the destination is full, slow, or has a file system error.
File size and count: Recovering hundreds of gigabytes or millions of small files can make the process appear frozen when it is actually just slow.

Less commonly, antivirus software is scanning every file being written, which slows the process to a crawl.

Immediate Steps to Unstick the Process

If the progress bar has not moved for 20-30 minutes, follow these steps in order:

Wait a bit longer: For very large files (over 10 GB), the software may be buffering. Give it another 10 minutes.
Cancel the operation: Click the cancel button in the progress window. If that does not work, open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and end the EaseUS process.
Restart the computer: This clears any temporary memory leaks and releases the drive locks.
Run EaseUS as administrator: Right-click the program icon and select “Run as administrator” before starting a new recovery.
Recover in smaller batches: Instead of selecting all files, select only a few folders or a single large file at a time.

How to Recover Successfully Without Getting Stuck

The most reliable way to avoid the hang is to change your recovery strategy:

Use a different destination drive: Always save recovered files to a different physical disk than the one you are scanning. If you only have one drive, you will need to connect an external USB drive.
Ensure enough free space: The destination drive needs at least as much free space as the total size of the files you are recovering, plus a little extra.
Pause and resume: In the EaseUS interface, you can pause the recovery process. Let it run for a few minutes, pause it, then resume. This sometimes forces the software to flush its buffer and continue.
Skip the deep scan: If you are recovering recently deleted files, the quick scan is often sufficient and much faster. The deep scan takes hours and can make the recovery stage slower.

Common Causes and Their Specific Fixes

Each cause has a targeted solution:

Bad sectors on the source drive: Use a disk-checking tool like chkdsk (for Windows) to identify bad sectors. Do not run a full repair on a drive you need to recover from, as that can overwrite data. Instead, use EaseUS’s “Read Only” mode if available, or try a different recovery tool that handles bad sectors better.
Destination drive is the same as source: This is the number one cause of a hang. The software cannot read and write to the same physical disk without causing conflicts. Always use a separate drive.
File system errors: If the destination drive has errors, the write operation will stall. Right-click the destination drive in File Explorer, select Properties > Tools > Check.
Antivirus interference: Temporarily disable your real-time antivirus protection while the recovery runs. Re-enable it immediately after.

What to Do If the Drive Is Failing

If your source drive is making clicking noises, is not recognized intermittently, or has many bad sectors, the recovery may never finish. In this case:

Stop using the drive immediately to prevent further damage.
Try a different SATA cable or USB port. A loose connection can cause the drive to drop off and the software to hang.
Clone the drive first using a disk-imaging tool (like the free version of Macrium Reflect or Clonezilla). Then run EaseUS on the clone, not the original. This is the safest approach for a failing drive.
If the drive is making mechanical noises, stop all software attempts and consult a professional data recovery service. Further DIY attempts can make the data unrecoverable.

Preventing Future Recovery Hangs

Once you have your files back, take these steps to avoid the problem next time:

Enable TRIM on SSDs: If you are recovering from an SSD, ensure TRIM is enabled in Windows. This helps maintain drive health, though it also means deleted files are erased quickly, so act fast after deletion.
Use a UPS: Power outages during recovery can corrupt both the source and destination drives.
Keep the destination drive defragmented: A fragmented drive slows down writes, which can make the recovery appear stuck.
Regularly back up: The best recovery is no recovery needed. Use File History or a cloud backup service.

Alternative Software to Try

If EaseUS continues to hang, other reputable tools may handle the job better:

Recuva: Free and lightweight, good for simple deletions on healthy drives.
TestDisk & PhotoRec: Open-source tools that run from the command line. PhotoRec is excellent for recovering specific file types and handles bad sectors more gracefully.
DMDE: A low-cost tool that is very effective for recovering entire partitions, even when the file system is damaged.

Each tool has a different scanning engine, so if one hangs, another might succeed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should EaseUS take to recover files?

It depends on the file size and drive speed. On a healthy system, recovering 10 GB of files from a standard hard drive to an external drive typically takes 15-30 minutes. If it takes more than an hour for a small amount of data, something is wrong.

Can I stop EaseUS and resume later?

Yes, you can pause the recovery process, but if you completely cancel it, you will have to start over from the scan. The software does not save partial recovery progress.

Why does EaseUS show “recovering” but no files appear?

The files are being written to the destination drive but may be hidden. Check the destination folder for a subfolder named “EaseUS Recovery” or similar. Also, ensure you are looking at the correct drive.

Will recovering files damage my hard drive?

Reading data from a healthy drive does not cause damage. However, if the drive is failing, the extra read operations can accelerate its deterioration. That is why cloning is recommended first.

What if I accidentally recover to the same drive?

Stop the recovery immediately. The process may overwrite the very files you are trying to save. If you catch it early, you might be able to recover them again with a different destination.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.