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19 February 2024  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
Discover the process of retrieving data from an accidentally formatted hard drive using expert data recovery software. Stay calm, your data is still recoverable.



Table of contents

table iconI. About formatting
table iconII. Use Renee Undeleter to recover the hard disk data formatted by mistake
table iconIII. Some Tips to Prevent Data Loss
recover data from formatted hard drive

I. About formatting

1. What is formatting? Can it be unformatted?

High-level formatting and low-level formatting are two main types of formatting. High-level formatting, also known as logical formatting, is performed through the operating system to prepare the hard disk for data storage by deleting all existing data, resetting the file system, and performing other tasks such as generating boot area information, initializing the FAT table, and marking bad sectors. Once the hard disk is formatted, all file data will be erased and cannot be recovered through the system’s “recycle bin.”
Low level formatting, also known as physical formatting, organizes a blank disk by creating cylinders, tracks, and dividing tracks into sectors comprising identifier (ID), gap (GAP), and data (DATA) areas. Typically performed by manufacturers before sale, it precedes high-level formatting and is unnecessary for users unless the hard disk develops excessive bad sectors or becomes inoperable, in which case low-level formatting may help.
So can I cancel the formatting operation if I formatted the hard disk by mistake? The answer is no, once the formatting process has started, it cannot be undone.

2. Can the hard disk data be recovered after formatting the hard disk by mistake?

Whether you can recover data from a mistakenly formatted hard drive depends on the formatting method. For all storage devices, there are two formatting methods: quick format and full format.
Quick format only marks deletion from the partition file allocation table (FAT table), without scanning the disk to check for bad sectors. The root directory table of the hard disk is cleared, but the data area remains unchanged. Quick format will only mark the file data for deletion, but the data will actually remain on the hard disk, but users cannot access them, and the data can be recovered by professional data recovery software. Full formatting overwrites all data, writes zeros to all data sectors, so you cannot recover data from a fully formatted hard drive.
Windows systems have “Quick Format” as the default option for formatting, making it possible to recover data using data recovery software after accidentally formatting the hard disk. To increase chances of successful data recovery, it is important to stop using the system immediately or minimize its use. Below, we will introduce the method of recovering data after formatting the hard disk by mistake.

II. Use Renee Undeleter to recover the hard disk data formatted by mistake

1. What is Renee Undeleter?

Renee Undeleter is specially designed to restore system data files. Whether you accidentally delete important files, empty the recycle bin, or format the disk/storage, this tool can help you retrieve the lost data. With four functional modules – file recovery, format recovery, partition recovery, and image creation, it offers a comprehensive solution to all data loss problems.
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Easy to use Recover data by 3 steps;

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan;

Supported file types Image, video, audio, text, email and so on;

Image creation Create a partition image to read and back up data;

Supported devices SD card, SDHC, SDXC, USB flash drive, hard disk and computer.

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Multiple scan modes Fast partition/whole partition/whole disk scan;

Supported devices SD card/USB/hard disk.

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2. How to use Renee Undeleter to recover data from formatted hard disk?

As a professional data recovery software, Renee Undeleter not only has comprehensive functions, but also has a very simple operation process. The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Download, install and open Renee Undeleter, and select (Whole Partition Scan).
Note: Do not install on the disk that needs to restore data, so as not to cause data overwriting.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter to recover deleted video from sd card
Data recovery function introduction:

  • Fast Partition Scan: Quickly retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
  • Whole Partition Scan: Quickly recover files lost due to inaccessible or formatted partitions.
  • Whole Disk Scan: Analyze and get partition information and perform a full scan of the entire partition.
Step 2: Select the hard disk partition and click (Next). Then enter the file scanning process, please wait patiently, the scanning time is determined by the size of the hard disk.
Renee Undeleter Whole Partition Scan
Step 3: After the scan is over, you can preview the files, select the files you want to recover, and click the (Recover) button. It is recommended to save the recovered files on other disks instead of the original storage location.
preview before recovery
undeleter preview docx

III. Some Tips to Prevent Data Loss

Despite the availability of numerous data recovery software, the success rate of data recovery is not guaranteed to be 100%. Instances where data has been overwritten or lost due to hard disk damage may result in some data being unable to be successfully recovered:
1. Regularly back up hard disk data to an external hard disk device or network disk.
2. If the hard disk is accidentally formatted, please stop using the hard disk to store other data immediately to prevent data overwriting, and use professional data recovery software to restore data immediately.
3. For external hard drives, keep the habit of safely ejecting USB devices to prevent data damage or loss.
4. For the hard disk that is often connected to multiple computer devices, install effective and reliable anti-virus software to scan and anti-virus it regularly, which can prevent the hard disk from being damaged or lost due to viruses.