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16 June 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Learn how to recover data from formatted hard drive using professional data recovery software, even if you haven't backed up your data beforehand.



Table of contents

table iconI. What is hard disk formatting?
table iconII. Use Renee Undeleter to recover data from formatted hard drive
table iconIII. Expansion: Use Renee Undeleter to create a hard disk image
recover data from formatted hard drive

I. What is hard disk formatting?

Hard disk formatting includes high-level and low-level formatting. High-level formatting, also known as logical formatting, is done through the operating system. It prepares the disk for data storage by deleting all data on the partition and resetting the file system. This process involves clearing the disk, generating boot area information, initializing the FAT table, and marking logical bad sectors. Consequently, all data on the disk will be lost and cannot be recovered through the system’s “recycle bin.”
Low-level formatting, also known as physical formatting, precedes advanced formatting and can only be done in a DOS environment. Hard disks are typically low-level formatted by manufacturers before sale, so users generally do not need to perform this operation. Exceptions include special circumstances like excessive bad sectors causing data access errors or an unusable operating system.
Hard disks can be formatted into various file systems in different operating systems, such as NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, HFS, and APFS. However, during formatting, all files and folders on the disk will be deleted. Without a backup, you risk data loss.
If you accidentally format the hard disk, you can try to retrieve the lost data using professional data recovery software. We recommend Renee Undeleter, which supports both Windows and Mac systems and is easy to use.

II. Use Renee Undeleter to recover data from formatted hard drive

1. What is Renee Undeleter?

Renee Undeleter is specialized software for restoring various data files. Whether you’ve accidentally deleted important files, emptied the recycle bin, or formatted a disk/storage, this tool can retrieve lost data. It includes four functional modules: Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan, Whole Disk Scan, and Image Creation, addressing all potential data loss issues comprehensively and conveniently.
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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.

Easy to use Recover data by 3 steps;

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

Supported devices SD card/USB/hard disk.

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2. How to recover hard disk data with Renee Undeleter?

Step 1: Download, install, and run Renee Undeleter. Select the (Whole Partition Scan) option in the main interface.
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:

  • Fast Partition Scan – Quickly retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
  • Whole Partition Scan – Recover files from inaccessible or formatted partitions.
  • Whole Disk Scan – Analyze partition information and fully scan the entire disk.
  • Image Creation – Create an image of a partition to back up its current state.
Step 2: Select the hard disk partition and click Next. The scanning process will begin; please wait patiently. The scan duration depends on the partition size, with larger partitions taking longer.
Renee Undeleter Whole Partition Scan
Step 3: Double-click to preview files during scanning. After scanning, select the files to recover and click the Recover button to restore them to another disk.
Note: The trial version has the capability to scan and detect if a file is damaged. However, if the trial version identifies the file as damaged, it cannot successfully restore it. Common reasons for file corruption include data overwriting, hard disk partition failures, and file system errors.
preview and select the files to recover in renee undeleter
The above details the method of recovering formatted hard disk data using Renee Undeleter. Data recovery on a hard disk is only a means of recovery. If the data is damaged or overwritten, it cannot be recovered successfully. Hence, it is essential to back up data in advance. Use the “Image Creation” function of Renee Undeleter to back up important data promptly. Here’s how to use this function.

III. Expansion: Use Renee Undeleter to create a hard disk image

1. About creating mirror image function

Mirroring is a form of file storage and redundancy, where data on one disk is identically copied to another disk. Common image file formats include ISO, BIN, IMG, TAO, DAO, CIF, and FCD. Renee Undeleter’s “Image Creation” function converts a hard disk partition into an image file and saves it on another disk. If the hard disk is accidentally formatted or fails, you can use Renee Undeleter’s “Fast Partition Scan” and “Whole Partition Scan” functions to recover or extract data from the image.

2. How to use the image creation function to back up hard disk data?

Step 1: Open Renee Undeleter and select the (Image Creation) option on the main interface.
Create image in Renee Undeleter
Step 2: Select a partition to create the image file. Click Save As to set the save location, then click Create to start.
Image creation in Renee Undeleter
Step 3: Wait for the image to be created, then click OK and Finish in the lower right corner to exit. The hard disk image file now serves as a backup, containing all data stored on the hard disk.

3. How to restore/extract data from the hard disk image file?

Step 1: If you accidentally format the hard disk or it fails, open Renee Undeleter and select Whole Partition Scan.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter to recover deleted video from sd card
Step 2: Click Load Image in the upper right corner, select the image file, and click Next to start scanning and recovery.
Load image in Renee Undeleter
Step 3: Recover lost files or extract existing ones from the hard disk image in the scan results. Double-click to preview before recovery.
preview and select the files to recover in renee undeleter