Recover data after doing a full format?

[arya6000]

Hi

Is it possible to recover files after the hard drive has had a full format (not quick format)? The file system on the hard drive was ntfs.


Thank You

[GDH]

Hi,

It depends what you mean by a full format.

If you are using Windows Vista, then a Full Format usually means that you have overwritten the entire drive with 0's, and thus none of the old files can be recovered.

If you are using an older version of Windows, it is much more difficult to erase your data with the format command.

I suggest you download Recover My Files and try a Complete Format Recover following the instructions in the first post (sticky) of this forum. You will then be able to see if any files are located and if they can be previewed in the results screen.

Good luck.

[milker]

Originally Posted by GDH

Hi,

It depends what you mean by a full format.

If you are using Windows Vista, then a Full Format usually means that you have overwritten the entire drive with 0's, and thus none of the old files can be recovered.

If you are using an older version of Windows, it is much more difficult to erase your data with the format command.

I suggest you download Recover My Files and try a Complete Format Recover following the instructions in the first post (sticky) of this forum. You will then be able to see if any files are located and if they can be previewed in the results screen.

Good luck.

Does this means that if the OS is Vista, I will not be able to recover the formatted partition?
I actually wanted to format the OS partition (C drive) and not the other (F drive)
When I did the re-installation, it says reformatting Windows partition but when everything is completed, I could not see my F drive.
Any hope? I have lots of data in my F drive.
Please help.....

[GDH]

It depends what settings the Vista Format ran with as to whether it wrote zeros over the whole drive. The best thing to do is try a scan with Recover My Files and see what you can get back. Download the program here: http://download.getdata.com/RecoverMyFiles-Setup.exe and try it in evaluation mode.

Was your F: drive on a separate physical drive? If so, try running a Complete Format Recover and in the drive selection window, you should see the "physical" drive listed.

[milker]

Originally Posted by GDH

It depends what settings the Vista Format ran with as to whether it wrote zeros over the whole drive. The best thing to do is try a scan with Recover My Files and see what you can get back. Download the program here: http://download.getdata.com/RecoverMyFiles-Setup.exe and try it in evaluation mode.

Was your F: drive on a separate physical drive? If so, try running a Complete Format Recover and in the drive selection window, you should see the "physical" drive listed.

Hi Graham,
I did the CFR and did not see anything "old" on the Recovered NTFS Partition, but on the Recovered FAT Partition, there were many folders marked with a red X that have big files dated all the way back to the 80's and some were even created in 2030!!. However, I don't see many with dates in 2000's. Can you please advise?? Thanks!!

[GDH]

Hi,

It sounds like the partition table got really screwed up.

Probably your best option is now to run a "Complete File Search" for specific file types. You may not get the original file names back, but the file data should be valid.