Forum Discussion
How can I recover files from a formatted hard drive?
Are you want to recover files from a formatted hard drive. Especially if you've already tried some software without success. However, there's still hope, especially if the data has not been overwritten. Here are some reliable methods and tools you can try to recover your important files:
1. Stop Using the Drive: Immediately cease any read or write operations on the formatted drive. This is crucial because new data can overwrite the deleted files, making recovery much harder or even impossible.
2. Check Backup Options: Before diving into recovery software, check if you have backups available via:
- Cloud Services: Check services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.
- Time Machine (Mac) or similar backup solutions that may have been set up.
- External backups you may have done previously.
Here are some recommended data recovery tools that support to recover files from a formatted hard drive:
Recuve (Windows)
- Description: A user-friendly application that can recover files from formatted drives, as well as deleted files from the recycle bin.
- Pros: Easy to use; provides a deep scan mode for better results.
- Cons: Limited support for Mac.
TestD1sk (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
- Description: Open-source software that specializes in recovering lost partitions and making non-booting
- disks bootable again. It’s powerful and can recover a variety of files.
- Pros: Very effective; best for technical users.
- Cons: The interface is not very user-friendly for non-tech users.