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Recover quick format disk


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Help me please!!!

 

I need help in restoring the file structure to a quick formatted 1.5TB hard disk. My entire life is on it! It is a seperate internal disk - D:\ drive. Running Windows 10 Pro 32 bit. I think it was NTFS.

 

I bought 2 x Western Digital 4TB Black hard dives to back up the data on this now lost disk. I had a back up of it and this disk died and has now gone. Worried about my data I bought 2 new top drives to back up to. The 4TB disks came this morning but only showed as 1.7TB so I called WD for help, and they got me to run a Diagnositc Zero test, and unknowingly to me it quick formats. Following their instructions I selected the WD disk and formatted the disk I wanted to back up. Very ironic in trying to make doubly sure to protect my data, I lost all of it. :( Now I am a wreck! My whole life and job and everything was on it.

It happened because the data disk was also a WD, and the wrong one got selected. But who would imagine a Diagnositc Zero test would format the wrong drive.

 

WD told me to use Recuva software to recover, so I now need to expect advise please, as I do not want to make anything worse.

The disk is showing as Unknown and Unallocated after the quick format.

 

Can Recuva either put back the file table structure as it was before, or can it recover all the data from it? If not does anybody know what I can do???

If Recuva has to recover the data can I point it to another USB drive to save to? Just my C:\ is small and full.

 

I am at the settings in Recuca (see screen shot), what does 'Recovering' settings do? Does ticking the 'Restore Folder Structure' fix the formatted drive?

Also what about 'Secure Overwrite'?. That sounds scary, and I am worried that might lose everything entirely!

Is there an expert here that can please advise? Thanks!

 

 

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Which disk are you trying to recover from? G, or the unallocated Disk 1?

 

Recuva needs a drive letter to see the disk. Can you see the disk with Recuva?

 

Recuva won't reinstate the file system, or do anything to the disk except copy from it. Yes, you can recover to another usb attached drive. I assume you have installed Recuva on another drive.

 

Checking Restore Folder Structure maintains the directory structure, as far as it can be, in the files that are recovered to your recovery disk.

 

Secure Overwrite is not relevant here, unless you specifically attempt to overwrite data, which I'm sure you won't be doing.

 

I would say that the first step is as you are showing, check the Scan for non-deleted files. But you need to be able to allocate the disk with a drive letter.

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Thanks for the reply.

 

It is Disk 1. It used to be the (D:) so drive letter D. It is now unalloacted after the format.

Yes I want to have the same file structure as before, so thought to tick that box. But I am scared to run it as I don't know what I am doing and to be honest I am literally in shock and very upset. 20 years of my life was on that disk 'every thing!' and researching what WD had me do was not a diagnostic test but a strong Zero format that is a secure format to write over and lose all data from any recovery. I still cannot believe WD support would have me do this when I only asked about a driver. I am ill. WD told me it was only a low level quick format and all my data will still be there. The program he had me run lasted 2 seconds, but I am a wreck with worry after reading about Write Zero format.

 

The Recuva default configuration has Secure Overwrite set to 'Simple Overwrite (1 pass)'. I want to keep and recover all data and lose nothing, I do not want to overwrite anything. So what should this be set to? I then need to point the recovered data to a USB connected drive. Also does it matter if the recover disk is exFAT?

 

One more question: If I run this software to try recover my data and it fails. Does it make it worse to retrieve? Will this make it harder or more difficult to professionally recover?

 

Thanks very much again for your help, and sorry for crying.

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Forget the Secure Overwrite setting, you will not be running that. It is an explicit command that you won't be invoking, one would assume.

 

You can recover from and to an exFAT volume.

 

Recuva will not alter the data it is attempting to recover. It copies the data from one volume to another. The source data is unchanged. You can run recoveries as many times as you wish.

 

I don't know what Zero format does. If it is a low level format, i.e. zeroes everything, then you will not be able to recover anything from that volume. If it is a high-level (quick) format then there is a chance of recovery.

 

Can you see Disk 1 in Recuva? If not then you will have to take some other action to get Recuva to see the volume.

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