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Best Ways to Recover Formatted Hard Drive Data Free

In this guide, we discussed two methods to recover formatted hard drive data – (i) Restore from Backup and (ii) Use Free Data Recovery software. If you have a backup, connect an external storage drive to your system and restore your data, as mentioned. You don't have to worry even if the backup isn't available. You can simply use Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition to recover files from formatted hard drives quickly.

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Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition
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Hard drives, be it an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid-State Drive) are widely used for storing essential data. However, with so much dependency on these devices, we sometimes get in trouble when we format these drives accidentally and lose important data.  

Sometimes, while fixing a drive error, creating a partition, or managing data, you may accidentally format your hard drive, ultimately wiping the data in it. Worrying about your data in such a case is natural. However, you don't need to dwell on it too much, as hard drive data recovery is possible. 

You can quickly recover formatted hard drive data following the methods shared in this guide.  

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What Happens When a Hard Drive is Formatted? 

When your hard drive is formatted, the data in it becomes inaccessible. The file pointers that locate the start and end points of a file's existence get deleted. Due to this, the OS loses track of the drive's data. However, the data still remains on the drive until overwritten with new data. Once it's overwritten with new files or folders, you won't be able to recover files on the formatted hard drive. Hence, it's always advised to stop using the drive immediately after accidental formatting and data loss.  

So, if the drive is intact and nothing has been added to your hard drive since formatting, try out the methods given in this guide for swift data recovery.  

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How to Recover Formatted Hard Drive Data  

Method 1: Restore from Backup  

If you're the one who always backs up their data, this will pay off in such times. Backups are the easiest way to recover files from a formatted hard drive. Here, how you can restore data from various types of backups. 

A. Manual Local Backup 

If you've created a backup of your hard drive data on another hard drive or USB flash drive, you'd need to connect that backup drive to your system and copy-paste the files to your chosen location. 

  • Connect the backup drive to your PC/laptop.  
  • Now, access the drive and select all the files you want to restore. 
  • Finally, copy-paste them to the formatted hard drive. You can also drag & drop the files to the destination.  
  • Depending upon the size and number of files, it may take a while. 

B. Cloud Backup 

Many people create a backup of their data on cloud platforms, such as OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, etc. Here’s how to restore your data from OneDrive & Google Drive. 

Recover files from formatted hard drive using OneDrive 

  • Open OneDrive on your system and sign in with your Microsoft account. 

  • Navigate to Recycle Bin and select the files you want to retrieve by hovering over each item and clicking the circle check box on the screen.  

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    Onedrive Cloud Backup

    Note: If you have an account on OneDrive ​ ​​ ​for work or school, the items in the Recycle Bin will automatically delete after 93 days until the admin changes the settings. For personal accounts, the files are kept in OneDrive Recycle Bin only for 30 days.  

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    Recover files from formatted hard drive using Google Drive 

    • Log in to your Google account and open Google Drive.  

  • The files you backed up will show on the screen.  

  • Select the file you want to retrieve and click Download. 

  • Repeat the same process for each item you want to restore and save it in the desired location. 

  • Note: It’s always better to use a separate drive or new location to store the retrieved data. 

    Method 2: Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive with Free Data Recovery Software 

    You can use a dedicated data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Free if you don't have manual or cloud backup. The software helps you restore files, folders, documents, emails, and more. Whether you've lost your data due to data deletion, drive formatting, corruption, or malware, the software can restore your data within a few minutes. Follow the steps carefully: 

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    • Download, install and run Stellar Data Recovery Free on your system. 

  • The moment you see the initial screen – Select What to Recover, click either 'All Data' or select the type of data you want to restore, and click Next. 

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    Recovery Software
    • Select the drive you formatted on the next prompt and click Scan. 

  • After scanning completion, the results will show on the screen. 

  • Select the files you want to retrieve and click Recover. 

  • Finally, click Browse to choose the desired location and click ​ ​​ ​Start-Saving. 

  • Note: You can recover up to 1 GB data with the Stellar Data Recovery Free edition. 

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    The Bottom Line  

    Sometimes, formatting the hard drive may be necessary to fix various errors on the drive. However, if not done properly, it may cause unintentional data loss. Hence, it's always recommended to have a backup of your files. In this guide, we discussed two methods to recover formatted hard drive data – (i) Restore from Backup and (ii) Use Free Data Recovery software. If you have a backup, connect an external storage drive to your system and restore your data, as mentioned. You don't have to worry even if the backup isn't available. You can simply use Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition to recover files from formatted hard drives quickly.

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