How to Recover Files From a Formatted Hard Drive

Have you accidentally formatted a drive you didn’t mean to and lost important files? Or maybe you planned to format it but realized afterward that you forgot to back up your data? You’re definitely not alone. Formatting mishaps are one of the leading causes of data loss, and this guide has become a go-to resource for thousands of users, drawing over 12,000 visitors last year alone! So let’s not waste time. Here’s everything you need to know to recover your formatted hard drive.

Can You Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive?

Yes, there’s a good chance you can recover data from a formatted HDD if it was only quick formatted. The format makes the old files inaccessible through the file system, but their contents can remain on the disk until something overwrites them. What kind of drive you have, how you formatted it, and what you did afterward determine how promising recovery will be.

What Kind of Drive Are You Using?

There are two common types of drives, HDDs and SSDs, and this difference can have a major impact on recovery.

• Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) store data magnetically on physical platters. A quick format does not overwrite all of that data, which is why recovery from a quick-formatted HDD is often possible.
• Solid State Drives (SSDs) are more complicated, as they use flash memory and can behave very differently because of TRIM. After files are deleted or a drive is formatted, TRIM can tell the SSD that those blocks are no longer needed. Once the SSD clears them, recovery software cannot restore the old data.

And now, some positive news. If you’re using an external SSD with Windows OS, there is a strong likelihood that the TRIM function was not operational. TRIM support over USB is still relatively rare. While only a small percentage of external SSDs currently support it, that number continues to grow as manufacturers increasingly adopt TRIM to improve SSD performance and extend drive lifespan. Additionally, if your drive is formatted in exFAT, TRIM will not activate automatically. While we won’t go further into the technical details, this means that data recovery from a formatted external SSD is still possible. Here’s a helpful video that demonstrates how to verify if TRIM is enabled on your SSD.

Quick Format vs Full Format

The type of format is one of the biggest factors that determines whether your files can still be recovered. A quick format and a full format may leave you with an empty drive that looks similar in File Explorer, but they treat the old data very differently.

A quick format creates a new file system without overwriting every sector that contained your old files. The operating system may no longer know where those files are, but much of their actual data can remain on the drive. That makes a quick-formatted HDD a good candidate for data recovery software. However, recovery becomes less likely as new data is written to the drive because those writes can overwrite the old files. For an SSD, TRIM can still make recovery difficult or impossible even after a quick format.

A full format works differently. On modern Windows versions, it writes zeros across the volume as part of the process. Once the old contents of a sector have been overwritten, recovery software cannot restore what was previously stored there. There is one exception worth checking. If you stopped a full format before it finished, areas that Windows had not reached yet may still contain old data and could be worth scanning.

While the principle of storing/writing data (magnetic vs flash memory) has a great impact on data recovery after formatting, file systems also play a huge role. File systems are like a library catalog for your data. They keep track of where files are located on the storage device. Formatting essentially rewrites the catalog, which removes references to the old data.

Perhaps the most critical aspect to understand regarding file systems and data recovery is that formatting to the same file system can potentially corrupt data records more severely than formatting from one file system (e.g., format A) to another (e.g., format B). However, many data recovery software solutions are capable of recovering data not only by relying on file system records, but also by identifying unique file signatures left on the device. But enough theory, let’s move on to practical data recovery methods.

How to Recover a Formatted Hard Drive (After Quick Format)

By now, you probably have a good idea whether you can recover data from your hard drive. Unlike some other types of data loss, recovering data from formatted drives requires specialized data recovery software. Unfortunately, the internet is filled with conflicting information on the available tools, which might make it difficult to choose reliable software.

We will give you a step-by-step instruction, but you can also watch this video for a visual guide:

Here is how the whole process looks:

Step 1: Connect the Drive (For External Drives)

Make sure the connection is solid, and if the drive has its own power source, double-check that it’s turned on. Once it’s plugged in, your first stop is File Explorer. If the drive isn’t showing up there, check if it shows up in Disk Management.

Here is how:

1. Right-click the Start Menu and select Disk Management.
2. Find your hard drive in the lower section of the window. Check the drive name, capacity, and partition information to make sure you’ve identified the correct device.
3. If the drive appears with roughly the correct capacity, data recovery software should usually be able to access and scan it even if Windows does not show the partition normally in File Explorer.
4. If Windows shows the partition as RAW, Unallocated, or without a drive letter, don’t format it, create a new partition, or run CHKDSK. These changes can make recovery more difficult. Move on to the next step and scan the drive with recovery software instead.

Pay attention to the drive’s condition at this stage. If it doesn’t appear in Disk Management at all, shows the wrong capacity, repeatedly disconnects, freezes Windows, or makes unusual clicking or grinding sounds, the problem may be more serious than a simple format. Try another cable, USB port, or computer to rule out a connection problem, but avoid repeated scans if the drive remains unstable.

Step 2: Download the Software

Download Disk Drill from the CleverFiles official website. The download page should automatically provide the appropriate version for your system. The latest release, Disk Drill 6, supports 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11, including Windows 11 on ARM.

You’ll also notice an option to download older versions if you’re using older Windows. For instance:

• Disk Drill 4.5 for users running Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. It retains most of the features of newer releases.
• Disk Drill 2.0 is a legacy version intended for systems like Windows XP and Vista. While it lacks some of the advanced features of newer versions, it remains a good option for data recovery on older machines.

Step 3: Install Disk Drill

Find the downloaded Disk Drill installer, usually in your Downloads folder, and double-click it to open.

1. When the installer opens, review the EULA if needed and click Install. By default, Disk Drill installs to C:\Program Files\CleverFiles\Disk Drill.
2. If you need to change the installation location, click Options, select another folder or drive, and click OK.
3. Wait while Disk Drill installs. You don’t need to work through any additional setup screens.
4. When Installation Successfully Completed appears, click Launch to open Disk Drill.

The installation itself should only take a minute or two on most PCs.

Step 4: Select the Drive and Run a Scan

Now it’s time to get down to business. On the main screen, you’ll see a list of all connected drives and partitions. Here is how to start the scan:

1. Find the hard drive you want to recover and check its name and capacity to make sure you select the correct device.
2. Select the entire physical drive rather than only the formatted partition. We recommend this because it gives Disk Drill access to all available sectors and can help find lost partition information or files that a partition level scan might miss.
3. Click Search for lost data.
4. Disk Drill may ask you to choose a recovery method. For a formatted hard drive, select Universal Scan. It combines the available scanning methods and gives Disk Drill the best chance to find files left behind after the format.

As the scan progresses, Disk Drill automatically organizes all recoverable files into specific categories like Pictures, Video, Audio, Documents, Archives, and Other Files. You have two main options for retrieving your data:

• Once the scan finishes, you can simply click on the Recover button to retrieve all files found without sorting through individual categories. Just choose a safe location to save everything.
• If you want to go in while the scan is still running, that’s no problem! You can start looking through files as they’re being discovered. Click on a specific category, like Videos, to see the videos already found, or click Review Found Items to view all files so far. This way, you can quickly locate specific files without waiting for the scan to fully complete.

Step 5: Filter the Results and Preview Files

A formatted hard drive can produce a lot of results, so use Disk Drill’s filters to narrow them down.

1. Use the file type filters to focus on pictures, videos, audio, documents, archives, or other files.
2. Use the search field if you remember a filename or extension. Keep in mind that reconstructed files may have generated names.
3. Apply filters for file size, date, or recovery chances to narrow the results further.
4. Check the recovery chances for files you need, but remember that this is only an estimate.
5. Preview important files before recovery. Simply select a file in the results, and its preview will automatically appear in the preview pane. If the file displays correctly, that’s a good sign it can be recovered intact.

Step 6: Recover Files

Once you’ve found and previewed the files you need, you can recover them:

1. Check the boxes next to the files and folders you want to restore. You can also select everything if you want to recover all available data.
2. Click Recover.
3. Choose a recovery destination. Always select a different physical drive from the formatted hard drive you’re recovering from. Saving files back to the same drive can overwrite other recoverable data.
4. Click Next to start the recovery.
5. Once Disk Drill finishes, open the recovery folder and check several restored files to make sure they work correctly.

If you still have files left to recover, avoid copying anything new to the formatted drive until you’re completely finished with the recovery process.

And that’s it, recovery is done!

Is It Possible to Recover a Formatted Hard Drive Without Software?

The only way to recover a formatted hard drive without software is through backups. However, the catch is that most people don’t think about backups until it’s too late. This method only works if you have already set up some type of backup, like File History (available on all Windows versions since Windows 8), Backup and Restore (since Windows Vista), or a cloud service like OneDrive.

Option 1: Restore Files With File History

File History saves copies of files from supported folders to another storage location. If File History was active before the format and its backup drive is still available, you can browse older versions and restore the files you need.

Here is how:

1. Connect the drive that contains your File History backup.
2. Search Windows for Restore your files with File History and open it.
3. Browse through the available folders and use the arrows to move between backup dates.
4. Select the files or folders you want to recover.
5. Click the green Restore button to restore them to their original location. If you want to choose another destination, right-click Restore and select Restore to.

If the formatted hard drive is the original location, we recommend restoring the files to another physical drive instead.

Option 2: Use Backup and Restore to Recover Files

You may also have files available through the older Backup and Restore (Windows 7) feature. Despite the name, this tool is still available in current versions of Windows and can restore files from backups you created earlier.

To check:

1. Open Control Panel and go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
2. Click Restore my files.
3. Use Browse for files, Browse for folders, or Search to find the data you need.
4. Choose where you want to restore the files.
5. Click Restore.

Again, avoid restoring files to the formatted drive while you are still trying to recover data from it.

When Formatted Drive Recovery May Not Work

We already touched on the difference between quick and full formatting and how much that can change your recovery chances. But the format itself isn’t the only thing to consider. There are a few other situations where recovery software may not be able to help, no matter which program you try:

• You’ve already written new data to the drive. If you kept using the drive after formatting, some of your old files may have been overwritten. Installing Windows, copying new files, or using the drive normally can all do this. Once old data is overwritten, recovery software can’t bring it back.
• You performed a full format. On modern versions of Windows, a completed full format writes zeros across the volume, so there’s normally nothing left for recovery software to find. If you stopped the format partway through, though, some areas of the drive may not have been overwritten yet and could still be worth scanning.
• It’s an SSD and TRIM did its job. SSDs can use TRIM to clear blocks that are no longer needed after a format. Once the SSD has actually erased those blocks, software recovery becomes basically impossible. This is why formatted SSD recovery is often much less predictable than HDD recovery.
• The drive was securely erased. A secure erase or drive wiping tool is very different from a normal quick format. These tools are meant to remove the old data, so recovery software usually won’t have anything useful to work with afterward.
• The drive has physical problems. If the drive clicks, won’t spin up, keeps disconnecting, freezes your computer, or shows the wrong capacity, don’t keep throwing recovery programs at it. Software can’t repair physical damage, and repeated scans can put even more stress on a failing drive. A data recovery lab is a better choice here.
• The drive was encrypted. If you used BitLocker, FileVault, VeraCrypt, or another encryption tool, you may still need the original password or recovery key. Recovery software might find the old data, but without the key, that data may remain unreadable.

The main thing is to know when software recovery is worth trying and when it’s time to stop. If the drive is healthy and the data hasn’t been overwritten or cleared by TRIM, a recovery scan may still work. If the drive has physical problems, isn’t detected correctly, or contains especially important data you can’t risk losing, it’s better to stop DIY attempts and contact a professional data recovery service.

Final Words

A formatted hard drive can often be recovered, especially if you performed a quick format on an HDD and stopped using it soon afterward. A full format is a different story because modern Windows versions overwrite the old data, while SSD recovery can also be limited by TRIM.

If you’re dealing with a quick format, the best approach is simple: stop using the drive, check your backups first, and then try reliable data recovery software such as Disk Drill if no backup is available. Always recover your files to another physical drive to avoid overwriting anything that is still recoverable.

And remember that software isn’t the right answer in every case. If the drive clicks, disconnects, shows the wrong capacity, or contains data that you simply can’t afford to lose, it may be better to skip DIY recovery and contact a professional data recovery service.

If you find yourself stuck during the recovery process or unsure of your next steps, don’t hesitate to ask for help. There are plenty of online communities where you can get guidance. For example, Reddit has forums like r/DataRecoveryHelp where experienced users and professionals share advice. You can also visit our own online community, where members of our team and other readers can offer tips and point you in the right direction. Sometimes, a fresh perspective is all you need to solve the problem.

FAQ