Easy | Can a Hard Drive Be Recovered After Formatting

Can a hard drive be recovered after formatting? In this article, you can easily recover files from formatted hard drive via MyRecover in simple steps. Besides, backup your data on hard drive.

Lori

By Lori / Updated on December 11, 2024

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If you accidentally formatted your hard disk, don't fret. Mistakes happen all the time, and many people have been in the same situation as you.

external-hard-drive-data-recovery

"Can a hard drive be recovered after formatting?" Yes, you still have a chance to get your data back. The sooner you perform a formatted hard disk recovery, the better your chances of getting back your lost data. This post will share the best way to recover files from formatted hard drives. Let's get started!

Why Do You Need to Format a Hard Drive?

In most cases, the user encounters a request: "You need to format the disk in drive H: before you can use it." Most users choose the "Cancel" button.

you-need-to-format-the-disk-before-you-can-use-it

Because when you format a disk, the operating system erases all data on the disk. But there are still users who will format the disk, why? The reasons are as follows.

1️⃣ Transferring Computer: If you're selling or giving away your computer, formatting the hard disk is a good way to ensure that personal data is completely erased.

2️⃣ Upgrading Storage: When upgrading to a new hard drive, formatting the old one allows repurposing it as additional storage space.

3️⃣ Compatibility with New Systems: When upgrading to a new computer system or connecting external hard drives to the computer, formatting a disk is necessary to ensure compatibility.

4️⃣ Solving Corruption Problems: In cases of a corrupted hard drive, formatting can be a potential solution to fix the problem.

While formatting is a solution, it's crucial to note that it involves the loss of all data on the drive. Therefore, back up important data before formatting.

Can a Hard Drive Be Recovered After Formatting

“Can data be recovered after formatting a hard drive?”  The possibility of recovering files from a formatted hard disk depends on several factors, but the most important one is the type of formatting you performed.

Rest assured that there is still a chance to recover data from a Quick formatted hard disk using professional data recovery software. 

Here's how each formatting type affects partitions: Quick Format vs Full Format.

Quick Format: A Quick Format deletes references to data on the hard disk. The data itself is usually intact, which makes quick format recovery possible. However, it is important to recover as quickly as possible so as not to overwrite existing data.

Full Format: A Full Format is more thorough and takes longer. it not only initializes the file system but also scans the entire disk for bad sectors. It will effectively erase the data, making it unrecoverable.

For Quick Format, do not use the hard drive before recovering the data, any further use of the drive will hamper the chances of data recovery.

If you are using an SSD, then disable the TRIM command before recovery, otherwise it will affect the success rate of data recovery. 

How to Recover Data From Formatted Hard Drives

No need to panic if you've experienced file deletion or loss on your formatted hard drive. The solution is simple – seek help from professional formatted data recovery tools like MyRecover.

It helps you recover deleted files from formatted hard drives in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server with a high success rate and fast recovery speed.

MyRecover
Formatted Hard Drive Recovery Tool
  • Support various brands of hard drives, including Seagate, WD, Toshiba, Transcend, ADATA, LaCie, and more.
  • Quick Scan & Deep Scan helps recover deleted files from formatted hard drives without any omissions.
  • Recover 200+ file formats: It can recover deleted Microsoft Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, PPTX, JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV, MP3, CDA, 7Z, ZIP, MSG, EML, and more.
  • Apply to various data loss situations, including accidental deletion, disk formatting, system crashes, virus attack, and more.

Let's refer to the simple steps below to recover files from formatted hard drives. 

Step 1.Download and launch MyRecover

Download and run MyRecover on your computer. Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

select-the-formatted-partition-to-scan

Step 2. Scan for deleted or lost files

The program will scan your formatted hard disk automatically and thoroughly to locate all the found data. You can use the Search Box or the Filter feature to quickly locate the files you want.

scanning-formatted-hard-drive

🌟Tip: You can preview or filter your desired file based on Files Type, Data, and Size.

File Type: It will include all the file types in the hard drive, such as documents, images, videos, mails, webpage, compressed files, etc.

Data Modified: It supports today, yesterday, last 7 days, last 30 days, and custom.

Size: It allows you to filter file size, including less than 128KB, 128KB ~1MB, 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.

Step 3. Select files and click recover

You will see a list of data that MyRecover has found. Choose your desired files to recover and click Recover x files.

select-files-to-recover-from-formatted-partition

Step 4. Select a new location

Choose a new location to save the recovered files and click Select Folder to confirm it.

Select Location

🌟Tips:

With this method, you can also know how to recover SD card data without formatting, recover USB drive without formatting, and more.

If you want to recover formatted hard drives with unlimited data recovery, please consider upgrading to the advanced editions to enjoy.

Backup Data on Hard Drive

If you've done a Quick Format, recovering data is usually easier. However, with a full format, it becomes more challenging.

Losing data can be a major headache, but you can take steps to minimize the risk and protect your valuable information. Get in the habit of backing up important files on hard drives, either to a separate device or to the cloud.

You can consider using AOMEI Backupper Standard, a popular free backup tool for Windows. With features like incremental and differential backups, it makes your backup tasks simple and hassle-free. Give it a try and keep your data safe.

File Backup

FAQs

Is it possible to Unformat a hard drive?
 
Yes, it's possible to unformat hard drive, meaning you can recover data that was erased. To do this, you'll need powerful data recovery software. One recommended tool is MyRecover.
Does formatting a drive make it unrecoverable?
 
Full Format renders data unrecoverable immediately. However, if you install an operating system like CentOS during this process, the recoverability depends on how much new data is written and where it's written on the drive.
There's a chance that file system metadata from the previous format may be overwritten.
How to recover data from a formatted hard disk in Windows 10?
 
If you accidentally formatted a hard disk with important data, use data recovery software to scan and retrieve the lost files. Remember, data can only be recovered until it gets overwritten, so act quickly and avoid writing any new data to the formatted hard disk.
Can data be recovered after a low-level format?
 
Once the low-level formatting is complete, all data on the drive will be lost. Even professional file recovery software cannot restore them. However, you can use MyRecover to recover incomplete low-level formatting files.
How to recover USB drive without formatting?
 
You can use the built-in utility program CHKDSK in Windows. It can automatically detect and repair USB or memory drives with software-related problems.
Why does my dash cam keep saying format?
 
Sometimes, your dash cam fails to over-store old footage and instead writes new footage in a loop as soon as certain limits are reached (space, footage duration, etc.). This may cause your SD card to get corrupted or your SD card to become full, leading to your dash cam keeping to saying format SD card.
How do you fix an SD card that won't format?
 
Sometimes, there’s no drive letter on your SD card. You could follow the steps to fix the issue SD card won’t format.

Step 1. Connect your SD card to the PC. Press “Win + X” to open Disk Management.
Step 2. Right-click the SD card and choose “Change Drive Letter and Paths”.
Step 3. Select “Add” to assign a new drive letter to your SD card.
Step 4. Select “Assign the following drive letter”.

In the End

Can a hard drive be recovered after formatting? Through this article, you will know the answer to it. If you've done a Quick Format, you can easily recover files from formatted hard drives using professional hard drive recovery software like MyRecover. This software boasts a high success rate and speedy recovery, simplifying the process.

However, prevention is key. To avoid painful data loss, regularly creating a file backup is essential. AOMEI Backupper Standard is a recommended free Windows data backup utility that can help you quickly restore files from backup when needed.

 

Lori
Lori · Editor
Lori receives professional technical training since joining AOMEI, and aims at helping users troubleshoot problems on data recovery and protection. She focuses on simple, efficient and practical methods, and provides professional advice. Being able to help readers and users is her ultimate goal.