[Answered] Does Formatting Disk Erase Data?

Does formatting disk erase data?

Does formatting a disk erase data? It depends on the format method you are taking. By default, there are two ways to format your disk in Windows File Explorer: quick format and full format.

What does formatting a hard drive do:

🔹Quick format: It simply deletes the data the drive and generates a new file system for future use.

🔹Full format: It not only wipes all data but also writes zeros to the drive, making it impossible to recover any data. It also checks the disk for bad sectors and it takes significantly longer than a quick format.

In general, quick format will not actually erase all of its stored data while full format will wipe the whole disk.

How to format disk without erasing data

Now you may know “Does formatting disk erase data?” When formatting a hard drive, if you intend to re-use the disk and it is still working, you can use quick format, which will not entirely delete all the contents to avoid data loss after formatting.

Step 1. Open This PC, locate and right-click on the disk you want to format, and then select Format.

Step 2. Choose the File system you want, tick Quick Format, and then click Start.

How to recover data after formatting disk [2 cases]

If you find files disappear after formatting a disk, don’t worry, we will introduce how to recover data from formatted disk.

Case 1. Recover data from formatted disk with Windows backup

If you have enabled Windows backup before, you can directly recover the data from Windows Backup and Restore.

Step 1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2. Under Restore section, click Restore my files.

Step 3. According to your demands, select "Browse for files" or "Browse for folders" > select the files or folders to recover > click Next.

Step 4. Choose the location you want to restore your files and click Restore.

Case 2. Recover data after disk formatting without backups

When you don’t format a disk without a backup of the lost files, stop using your disk and turn to professional data recovery software for help. MyRecover could help you solve this problem.

As a Windows recovery tool, MyRecover is devoted to helping Windows users restore lost data from all-inclusive data loss scenarios, including data recovery from formatted disk. It can also recover lost data from empty Recycle Bin, system crash, virus attack, etc.

No matter whatever type of file you have lost, texts, pictures, compressed files, etc., MyRecover can retrieve your precious data from HDD/SSD in Windows 11/10/8/7 with a high recovery rate.

Download and install MyRecover, then we will show you how to recover data within 3 easy steps.

Step 1. Open MyRecover. Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. Then it will scan your drive quickly and deeply, after the progress you will see a list of files. You can find your lost file accurately by entering its name in the upper search box.

Step 3. Select all the target files you want recover, and click Recover x files to get them back.

Wrapping Up

“Does formatting disk erase data?” Now you may have grasped the answer. Quick format won’t erase the data while full format will wipe your disk. Both the two modes have its own benefits, choose the one according to your situation.

However, no matter which method you are taking, it always have data loss risks to format a partition. To strongly secure your data, it is important to develop a good habit of regular backup, AOMEI Backupper can backup up your data automatically and protect your data all the time.