Summary: Accidental formatting can cause unintentional data loss. Fortunately, you can unformat a hard drive and retrieve your lost files using backup or professional data recovery software.
Formatting a hard drive is a simple task done for various reasons. It allows users to free up some space, remove infected or corrupted files, or restore a lost partition table. But accidental formatting can cost you important data.
Let’s learn more about ways to ‘unformat’ a hard drive to recover files lost due to formatting.
What Does it Mean to ‘Unformat’ a Hard Drive?
‘Unformatting’ a hard drive refers to the action of undoing the format. Simply put, it is a process of recovering lost data after formatting the drive.
Is it Possible to Unformat a Formatted Hard Drive?
Whenever a user tries to format a hard drive, there are two options to go with: Low-Level Format or High-Level Format.
If a drive is formatted using the low-level format, there are chances of recovering lost data & files. However, if a high-level format is used, it becomes impossible for any file recovery software to get the data back.
However, remember that the low-Level format does not always ensure 100% data recovery. If the drive was reused extensively after formatting, some of the deleted data might become unrecoverable.
Thus, if you wish to unformat your hard drive, you should stop using it immediately to increase the chances of restoring data.
How to Unformat a Hard Drive?
Let’s move on to the methods to unformat a hard drive and recover lost data.
Method 1: Use a Professional File Recovery Software
In order to unformat a hard drive or recover data after formatting a hard drive, you can use a powerful file recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery Professional. Using advanced data-scanning algorithms, the software looks for recoverable data in various partitions and brings them to the interface.
It easily helps you unformat your formatted hard drive and recover your lost files in a few clicks.
Moreover, the software can also recover data from unbootable or crashed systems and can even restore data from virus-infected storage drives. Here’s how you can use it –
- Download and install Stellar Data Recovery Professional software from its official website.
- Launch the software and connect the formatted hard drive from your computer.
On the first screen, select the type of files you wish to recover. By default, the ‘All Data’ option is selected. If you want to recover a specific file type, click on the Hamburger icon in the top-left > Settings > Add File Type > add some samples of the file you want to recover.
- Once you have chosen, click Next and select the source from where you want to recover your lost files. Select the formatted hard drive listed in the ‘Connected Drives’ section and click on Recover.
- If the Quick Scan didn’t bring out any required files, you can perform the ‘Deep Scan’ by clicking on the button at the bottom of the screen.
- Once the scan is complete, it will show you a preview of all the recoverable files. Click on Preview to check their integrity.
- If satisfied with the results, click on Recover. The software will ask you for the save location. Add it, and then proceed with recovering your files.
- Your files will be saved at the selected location.
Method 2: Other Ways to Recover Your Lost Data
If you regularly create and maintain backup copies of your data on an external storage drive or cloud, you can use either to restore the lost files. Simply connect the external drive or log into the cloud service and download the missing files.
Tips to Prevent Accidental Formatting & Permanent Data Loss
Besides the methods discussed above to unformat your hard drive, here are some handy tips that you can keep in mind in this scenario –
- Double-check the storage drive for any important data/files before formatting it.
- Stop using a formatted drive to prevent overwriting.
- Always follow the 3-2-1 data storage rule.
- Use a reliable antivirus software that protects your data from malware.
- Always keep a reliable file recovery tool, for you may never know when you’ll end up requiring it.
Closing Statement
After a hard drive format, one loses access to all data on the hard drive. One might think everything is lost; however, there are ways to recover data from formatted drives. In this post, we came across some employable methods that you can use to unformat your hard drive.
In the end, we would emphasize the importance of a data backup and how it can help you in such a situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I undo formatting my hard drive?
A. While there is no direct way to undo formatting, you can use a file recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery Professional to help you restore your lost files and data.
Q. How to repair HDD without repairing?
A. An issue with your HDD could be due to numerous reasons. You can try to fix it by –
- Scanning it for any malware
- Running hardware scan to detect any hardware issues
- Checking it for file system errors using CMD
Q. How many times can you rewrite an HDD?
A. You can format and rewrite data on an HDD as many times as you want.
