How to Recover Files from a Formatted Hard Drive [3 Methods]

Can You Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive?

You can often recover data from a formatted hard drive, especially if it was quick-formatted and you stopped using the drive immediately afterward.

Formatting may remove or recreate file-system information without immediately overwriting all the underlying data. However, continued use of the drive can overwrite the lost files and reduce the chances of recovery.

• Quick format: Recovery is often possible with data recovery software if the data has not been overwritten.
• Full format: Recovery is much more difficult because the formatting process may overwrite existing data.
• Formatted HDD: Recovery is generally more feasible than from an SSD in situations where the data remains intact.
• Formatted SSD: TRIM can make previously deleted data unrecoverable.
• After formatting: Stop writing to the drive and do not reformatting it. During data recovery, save recovered files to a different drive.

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How to Recover Formatted Hard Drive

Even after a hard drive has been formatted, the data is not necessarily lost completely. There are still various methods you can attempt to recover it.

The following section briefly outlines three approaches to help you recover data from a formatted disk.

Method 1: Via MiniTool Partition Wizard

Recovering a formatted hard drive in Windows usually requires specialized data recovery software.

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a partition software that can thoroughly scan storage devices and restore lost data from formatted hard drives, SSDs, memory cards, and more.

It is capable of retrieving data lost due to accidental formatting, system crashes, power failures, and other unexpected issues.

Here is how to recover formatted drive by using the Data Recovery feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard.

MiniTool Partition Wizard DemoClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 1: Launch the MiniTool Partition Wizard to its main interface, and click Data Recovery.

Step 2: In the Logical Drives section, you can see every disk partition, whether it’s an existing one, a lost partition, or unallocated space. Then click the formatted hard disk and select Scan.

Step 3: If the desired data is found, you can click the Pause or Stop icon to get instant data recovery. You’ll automatically be placed in the Path category view. To find the files you’re looking for more efficiently, you can take advantage of the following features:

• Type: In this section, all files are categorized by their type and format.
• Filter: This feature lets you narrow down results by excluding unwanted files based on factors such as file type, last modified date, size, and category.
• Search: It allows you to perform a targeted search. Simply type a full or partial file name into the search bar.
• Preview: Select a file and click Preview to verify whether it’s the one you need.

Step 4: Select all the files you wish to recover, then click the Save button. In the pop-up window, pick a destination for the recovered files. Then, click OK.

After the recovery process is complete, you can navigate to the chosen location to access and use your lost files.

To prevent data loss resulting from accidental disk formatting, it is recommended that you perform regular backups of your important data in advance.

Methods 2 and 3 are data recovery techniques based on these backups, enabling you to quickly restore your original files to your computer.

Method 2: Via Backup and Restore

During daily use of the Windows operating system, data may be lost due to accidental hard drive formatting.

Fortunately, Windows features a built-in Backup and Restore tool that can help you recover lost files.

The following guide provides a detailed explanation of how to use this tool to recover data from a formatted hard drive.

Step 1: Type Control Panel in the Search box and click Open on the right side.

Step 2: In the new pop-up window, click Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 3: Click Restore my files. Select Browse for files or Browse for folders to locate the specific files to restore.

Step 4: Select a location for the restored files (do not choose the formatted drive) and click Restore to finish the recovery.

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Method 3: Via File History

File History is another built-in Windows feature that can assist you in recovering data from a formatted hard drive.

However, this method is effective only if the feature was enabled before the formatting.

The following section explains how to use File History to recover data from a formatted hard drive.

Step 1: Open Control Panel.

Step 2: Change View by to Small icons and click File History.

Step 3: In the new pop-up window, click Restore personal files on the left-hand menu.

Step 4: Select the files you wish to recover, then click Restore to recover them to the original location. To save the files to a different location rather than their original path, click the Gear icon and select Restore to.

How to do formatted hard drive recovery? This post offers 3 methods. Among them, the software MiniTool Partition Wizard helped me.Click to Tweet

Recover Formatted Hard Drive FAQ

Bottom Line

How to recover formatted drive? You need to first prevent data from being overwritten and then use the appropriate data recovery tool, like MiniTool Partition Wizard, to recover lost files from a formatted hard drive.

If you have any questions or feedback about MiniTool Partition Wizard, feel free to contact our support team at [email protected] for additional help.