Hard drive format is a process to prepare a hard drive to receive data. When you format a hard drive, all information on the drive will be deleted and a new file system sets up so that you can read and write data with the drive. You need to format a hard drive to reinstall the operating system or fix inaccessible hard drive issues.
However, since all the information will be erased from the formatted hard drive if you are unable to back up the files before formatting, how to recover deleted data from the formatted hard drive without having a backup?
Fortunately, it’s possible to get your important files back from a formatted hard drive. In this article, we will show you how to retrieve data from an external hard drive or computer hard drive after formatting
Why Can You Recover Files from a Formatted Hard Drive
Files are not actually erased on a formatted hard drive; only the data on the address tables are deleted. So the old data still remains in the formatted hard drive, waiting for being overwritten by the new data. As long as the old data is not covered, it is possible to recover the data from the formatted hard drive.
Before performing format hard drive recovery, you should be aware that continuing to use your PC will generate new data and cover the old data on the formatted hard drive. In this case, to recover some important files from a formatted drive, you should be careful about the following things:
- Immediately STOP using your computer;
- Install Data Recovery to a partition that is different from the formatted one;
- Make sure you have sufficient power on your laptop.
Next, you can move to recover files from a formatted hard drive with a step-by-step tutorial.
Recover Files from Formatted Hard Drive Using Data Recovery
The best choice to recover files from a formatted hard drive is Data Recovery, which is capable of recovering files from an inaccessible hard drive on Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and macOS. File types like the photo, video, document, audio, email, and archive are supported. With Data Recovery, you are able to easily retrieve your important files with just 3 clicks.
Step 1. Launch Data Recovery
After installing the software, you can see a concise interface as the picture displays below. Select the file types of files you want to retrieve. Then select the formatted hard drive on the Hard Disk Drive section. And then, click on the “Scan” button.
If you need to recover files from a formatted external hard drive, plug the external hard drive into the computer and select the drive under Removable Drive.
Step 2. Choose The Target Files
Data Recovery offers “Quick Scan” and “Deep Scan”. By default, the software starts from “Quick Scan”. If you cannot find out the files you need, you can go on using “Deep Scan” to scan more deeply.
Step 3. Recover Files from Formatted Hard Drive
After scanning, you can preview the scanning results according to the file types. Pick out the target files and click “Recover” to recover the files from the formatted hard drive.
With Data Recovery, you can easily recover files from the formatted hard drive. Therefore, you don’t need to try hard to find any solution, when data loss occurs on your computers.
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