How do I recover data off an accidentally reformatted hdd?

[Aztec]

Hey, I accidentally reformatted my grandma and grandad's hdd. I was trying to clone the drive so I could put the data on an ssd for them. I wish Windows was simple like Mac, so annoyed! 

[zzenigmaxzz]

impossible formatting completely wipes the drive

[skatblast]

You dont, although im confused as to why you would clone a drive instead of just doing a clean install and moving pictures etc over on a flash drive

[Aztec]

You dont, although im confused as to why you would clone a drive instead of just doing a clean install and moving pictures etc over on a flash drive

Because I thought it would be easier to copy the whole drive

[Aztec]

impossible formatting completely wipes the drive

You're right but it's not impossible as people can wipe drives and people like lets say for example police and get the data even tho it was deleted  

[skatblast]

You're right but it's not impossible as people can wipe drives and people like lets say for example police and get the data even tho it was deleted  

 

Yeah if you have special software. Youll be paying big money to have a company get the information off the drive for you

[Captain_WD]

Hey, I accidentally reformatted my grandma and grandad's hdd. I was trying to clone the drive so I could put the data on an ssd for them. I wish Windows was simple like Mac, so annoyed! 

 

Hey there Aztec,

 

The best way with the highest chance of success is stop using the drive in any way and contact a data recovery company. EAch manufacturer has recommended partners on their website so I would consult with them. Do have in mind that data recovery services tend to be quite expensive. 

 

Another way is to look for a data recovery software program. Some of them are able to detect old partitions and recover some of the data.

 

What are the brand and model of the drive?

 

Captain_WD.

[OneRingRuler]

You're right but it's not impossible as people can wipe drives and people like lets say for example police and get the data even tho it was deleted  

You got a couple thousand dollars lying around, kid? Because, that's how you get data off of a formatted HDD.

http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/

[Shino]

You're right but it's not impossible as people can wipe drives and people like lets say for example police and get the data even tho it was deleted  

For a HDD and depending what type it is they could trace the original magnetic charge thats there after u wiped your disk, the data recovery rate is not 100% and what i mean is you could end up with files that are recovered but not usable. However the goverment/police might use fragmented data since its good enough as proof etc.

 

FYI: I got an 120G HHD recovered for around $350 as it had my work stuff on it which were sentitive.

[Aztec]

Hey there Aztec,

The best way with the highest chance of success is stop using the drive in any way and contact a data recovery company. EAch manufacturer has recommended partners on their website so I would consult with them. Do have in mind that data recovery services tend to be quite expensive.

Another way is to look for a data recovery software program. Some of them are able to detect old partitions and recover some of the data.

What are the brand and model of the drive?

Captain_WD.

Hey,

Sorry for the late reply haha, it was a hitachi drive or something (hope that's how it's spelt) luckily the data wasn't important I found out. So it doesn't matter. I do appreciate your reply and thank you! I'll take more care next time haha. Have an awesome day!

[Aztec]

For a HDD and depending what type it is they could trace the original magnetic charge thats there after u wiped your disk, the data recovery rate is not 100% and what i mean is you could end up with files that are recovered but not usable. However the goverment/police might use fragmented data since its good enough as proof etc.

FYI: I got an 120G HHD recovered for around $350 as it had my work stuff on it which were sentitive.

I know what you mean haha thanks for your reply!

[Aztec]

You got a couple thousand dollars lying around, kid? Because, that's how you get data off of a formatted HDD.

http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/

Ahh wow that's so cheap! Thanks! Hahaha

[martinmiller]

Try Windows Data Recovery Software. I am using this from a very long time and I will also recommend you to give it a try at least for once. I am sure that this will definitely help you in recovering all your formatted data. It is compatible with all Windows version including Windows 10. 

[techguru]

Ahh wow that's so cheap! Thanks! Hahaha

you don't even need that

if the drive was only formated its pretty simple to get 99% of the data back

just use the active boot disc

it can recover all that data

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

Firstly, DON'T write anything to that drive anymore.  As long as the data isn't overwritten, it can usually be recovered easily.  When it's overwritten, it's basically gone.

 

Download Recuva, either the installer or the portable version.  I use the latter myself, but that's a personal choice.

 

Let Recuva do a deep scan for all the files.  This can take several hours depending on the size of the drive, fragmentation etc.

 

Once it's done scanning, let it recover all the good files TO ANOTHER DISK (I can't stress this enough, don't let it write to the disk you're recovering from, because you can overwrite files that still need to be recovered.)

[AlicePhoebe]

Do not write to the hard drive if you are planning on recovering data off it, and try data recovery software to do it.

[Aztec]

you don't even need that

if the drive was only formated its pretty simple to get 99% of the data back

just use the active boot disc

it can recover all that data

Alright thanks and I was joking about saying it was cheap haha.

[Aztec]

Firstly, DON'T write anything to that drive anymore.  As long as the data isn't overwritten, it can usually be recovered easily.  When it's overwritten, it's basically gone.

 

Download Recuva, either the installer or the portable version.  I use the latter myself, but that's a personal choice.

 

Let Recuva do a deep scan for all the files.  This can take several hours depending on the size of the drive, fragmentation etc.

 

Once it's done scanning, let it recover all the good files TO ANOTHER DISK (I can't stress this enough, don't let it write to the disk you're recovering from, because you can overwrite files that still need to be recovered.)

Thank you I appreciate it!