How to recover data after a quick format?

Hi there.

I couldn't find an existing thread on this, so apologies if I'm repeating something already discussed.

Basically, I have an external hard drive that was quick-formatted on Windows. I'm looking for software capable of pulling data off it. Since several partitions have been overwritten or wiped multiple times, I need something that performs a deep scan—ideally without just returning the most recent deleted entries.

I can't afford, nor do I really want to, pay for professional data recovery services, but this is important. It holds every photo I've taken from 2001 through 2014, and they're all vital. No, I didn't keep a backup. I know, I was foolish.

Thanks for any help!

Morgan Miller3 said:Hi there.

I couldn't find an existing thread on this, so apologies if I'm repeating something already discussed.

Basically, I have an external hard drive that was quick-formatted on Windows. I'm looking for software capable of pulling data off it. Since several partitions have been overwritten or wiped multiple times, I need something that performs a deep scan—ideally without just returning the most recent deleted entries.

I can't afford, nor do I really want to, pay for professional data recovery services, but this is important. It holds every photo I've taken from 2001 through 2014, and they're all vital. No, I didn't keep a backup. I know, I was foolish.

Thanks for any help!

I managed to pull back quite a bit once using Recuva.
https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-products.htm

But full disclosure: I hadn't been writing or deleting stuff over the old files, so it was much easier.
Once you start overwriting data, getting it back becomes a massive uphill battle, but you can still give it a shot. You never know exactly what got wiped, so you might get lucky and save at least some of it.

Most importantly: STOP using that drive IMMEDIATELY. Don't touch it until you're done trying to recover everything.

wiredcanyon94 said:I managed to pull back quite a bit once using Recuva.
https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-products.htm

But full disclosure: I hadn't been writing or deleting stuff over the old files, so it was much easier.
Once you start overwriting data, getting it back becomes a massive uphill battle, but you can still give it a shot. You never know exactly what got wiped, so you might get lucky and save at least some of it.

Most importantly: STOP using that drive IMMEDIATELY. Don't touch it until you're done trying to recover everything.

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
I can't seem to remember the name of that one program—it had all these different settings and let you choose how many layers deep to scan for data. I've been searching Google and trying names that sounded vaguely familiar, but nothing is sticking. I guess I'm just always searching for that perfect match...

I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

Take a look at this thread as well

The more you push that old hard drive, the slimmer your chances of actually getting anything back, and honestly, aren't you just going to end up heading down to a local data recovery shop like DriveSavers anyway and dropping a few hundred bucks on a massive headache?

frozenviper13 said:Take a look at this thread as well

I've already read it. But thanks.

analogwolf10 said:The more you push that old hard drive, the slimmer your chances of actually getting anything back, and honestly, aren't you just going to end up heading down to a local data recovery shop like DriveSavers anyway and dropping a few hundred bucks on a massive headache?

Heh, I think not. I can't exactly afford that right now—my bank account is pretty much frozen.

Besides, I'm not sure they have any secrets I couldn't figure out myself. Sure, they have specialized software, but it's not exactly brain surgery. It won't be easy, I suppose, but I might give it a shot.

Those guys aren't just using some random free software you can download from a shady corner of the internet... we're talking about high-end, professional-grade tools that cost a fortune and come with serious licensing protections. Plus, they’ve got dedicated cleanrooms with specialized ventilation systems specifically designed for working on open drives and stuff like that.

Morgan Miller3 said:Heh, I think not. I can't exactly afford that right now—my bank account is pretty much frozen.

Besides, I'm not sure they have any secrets I couldn't figure out myself. Sure, they have specialized software, but it's not exactly brain surgery. It won't be easy, I suppose, but I might give it a shot.

Exactly this..