How to Recover Data from Quick Formatted Hard Drive

Suppose you connect a hard drive to your system, and it starts showing you some error, such as HARD DISK 1 (3F1), Not Responding Hard Drive, Access is Denied, Windows Detected a Hard Disk Problem, etc. And, while trying to fix these errors, you end up quick formatting the hard drive. Disk formatting, whether used to fix some errors or drive corruption, leads to permanent data loss.

Recently, we’ve come across some users’ queries related to accidentally quick formatting the hard drive and finding ways to recover the lost data. Some of them are as follows:

“Accidentally, I did a quick format of D drive (Windows 10). Some of the files and photos are quite important that I want to recover. But, unfortunately, I am not able to find any solution to recover the data. Can anyone guide me through this?”

-Microsoft User

-Source

No matter under what circumstance you formatted the hard drive, you can still recover your data. But what are the chances? To understand how you can recover data from a quick formatted hard drive, you must know how quick format works.

Quick Format: An Overview

Quick-format helps you remove/delete data from the hard drive. When you quick format a hard drive, only the file pointers get deleted, and the drive space becomes available for new data storage. However, data becomes inaccessible but remains available.

So, is quick hard drive recovery possible!

Absolutely yes!

But remember, if you keep adding new data to the hard drive after formatting, the existing data will be overwritten over time, so there will be fewer chances for data recovery. Hence, it’s suggested that you immediately stop using the hard drive after quick formatting and don’t attempt any hit-&-trial method for successful hard drive recovery.

How to Recover Data from Quick Formatted Drive?

Now, let’s move onto the best method to recover data from the quick formatted hard drive. You can perform the quick formatted recovery using reliable data recovery software, such as Stellar Data Recovery for Windows. It is DIY (do-it-yourself) tool to retrieve data in all data loss situations such as deletion, formatting, corruption, etc. The software also helps you restore content from the hard drive encrypted with Windows BitLocker encryption tool.

To recover from a quick-formatted hard drive, follow the given steps:

Simple Steps to Recover Data from Quick Formatted Drive

• Download, install, and launch Stellar Data Recovery for Windows on your PC/laptop.

• On the initial dashboard – ‘Select What to Recover,’ select either ‘Everything’ or choose the type of data you wish to recover, and click Next.

• Now, on the Recover From screen, select the location or drive you formatted and click Scan. The scanning will initiate.

• Once the scanning process is done, the results will show up on the screen under three panes, i.e., Tree View, File Type, and Deleted List.
• You can select the files and turn on the preview. The preview option will help you see the recoverable files.
• Once satisfied with the results, you can click Recover.

• Next, click Browse to choose a location to store the files. (Always choose a different location or storage drive to prevent data overwriting.)
• After choosing the storage location, click Start-Saving, and the files will be stored on the selected location.

Now, you can check the location and see the recoverable files.

What if I can’t recover data using the Stellar Data Recovery for Windows?

Choose Stellar Data Recovery Services then!

If you find any problem recovering data from a hard drive with Stellar Data Recovery software, the drive may be physically damaged. And if this is the case, you can opt for Stellar Data Recovery Services providers to recover data from the hard drive. The experts check out the issues with the hard drive and help you get back your data.

Final Thoughts

Quick formatting a hard drive only deletes the file pointers, doesn’t erase the data. However, you can still recover data from a quick formatted hard drive using powerful data recovery software, such as Stellar Data Recovery for Windows. The software can efficiently restore data in case of deletion, formatting, or corruption. If you can’t recover data after formatting with this DIY windows data recovery software, the hard drive may be physically damaged, due to which your system and software can’t recognize it. You can opt for Stellar Data Recovery Services to recover data from a damaged hard drive.

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About The Author

Mansi Verma

Mansi Verma is a Senior Technology Writer at Stellar®. She is a Tech enthusiast, holding over a decade of experience in technical writing. She writes guides, articles, blogs and tips on Data Recovery, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics. She loves providing DIY solutions to solve various Windows system related issues. In her spare time, she likes reading her favorite novels, and writing poetry. She is also an avid traveller.