How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive?

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Formatting is a permanent procedure that erases all the data in your hard disk. Recovering data from a formatted hard drive using conventional methods is next to impossible. This detailed guide will help you with a smooth HDD data recovery process. Read more for effective solutions and tips.

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Can You Retrieve Files from a Formatted Hard Drive?

Yes, It is possible to recover files formatted hard drive but the chances of recovery completely depend on what level of formatting was done in the drive. I.e., Quick Formatting or Full Formatting.

Quick Formatting: Only deletes the record of the files, so that the data is still existing on the hard disk, only the OS will not be aware of this and cannot access the data. The space can be overwritten by new files.

Full Formatting: In full formatting, all the data blocks are overwritten with zeros look for bad sectors in the process, and take more time to complete.

The chances of recovering data from a quickly formatted drive are higher than from a full formatted drive and it is even higher if you haven’t used the drive after formatting to avoid the data overwriting.

Apart from all these, you need to choose a proper method that helps to recover the deleted data
Preparing to recover formatted HDD. The next section will assist you with that. Keep following:

How To Recover Files From a Formatted Hard Drive?

While the options are limited, 2 effective solutions will help recover data from formatted hard drive-

  1. Recover Data from Formatted Hard Drive Using Data Recovery Software
  2. Restore Formatted Hard Drive Data Using Professional Data Recovery Service

Solution 1: Retrieve Data From a Formatted Hard Drive Using Specialized Hard Drive Recovery Software

If you haven’t backed up your hard drive before formatting then you must know how to recover the formatted drive without backup. SFware Data Recovery software is a professional data recovery tool that provides a user-friendly experience like no other bringing convenience to what is usually seen as a tedious process.

The tool works on both internal and external hard drives in both Windows and Mac OS.

Steps to Recover Files from Formatted Hard Drive using SFWare Data Recovery Tool

1: Launch the tool, select your hard drive, and click on Scan.select the hard drive and click on Scan

2: View the Folders (Deleted Files and Lost and Found Files) for the recovered files from your hard drive

check for the recovered files and folders in the respective folders

 

3: Locate files that you need to recover.
(Make use of the search box and Filter options)

locate the recovered external hard drive data

 

4: Double-click to preview any file.

preview the recovered files from the hard drive

Step 5: Choose the files and Click on Save to restore them on your device.

save the recovered data on your preferred locations

NOTE: Make sure to save it in a new location to avoid the chances of losing the file again.

Solution 2: Consulting With a Professional Data Recovery Service

The next best saving grace is a professional data recovery service, it may be more expensive, but the chances of retrieval are higher.

Data recovery software won’t be able to work on broken or physically damaged drives, a professional service will be able to do what software can’t.

Make sure to opt for reputed services that provide a quality customer experience.

Situations Where Hard Drive Formatting Is Unavoidable

There are several situations where formatting the hard drive is inevitable, beware of these and plan to take a backup before doing these so that you can prevent data loss.

  • OS installation.
  • Changing the partitions on the hard drive.
  • Virus and Malware attacks.
  • Hard drive corruption.

Additionally, Formatting a hard drive is recommended to avoid hard drive issues like frequent crashes, freezing, or slow response times.

Conclusion

Make sure you take precautionary measures like taking a backup, password protection, using read-only for important data, and being mindful while formatting a hard drive.

We hope the solutions listed in this article helped you recover data from formatted hard drive with detailed information about formatting and recovering as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I undo the formatting?
No, there is no undo option available to reverse the formatting.

2. Is it possible to recover files from a wiped hard drive?
Recovering data from a wiped hard drive is a difficult job if it’s overwritten with 0 & 1 then the data is ruined

3. How to recover photos from a formatted hard drive?
Yes, you can recover photos from a formatted hard drive using a capable recovery tool like the SFWare data recovery tool.

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