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HDR / Faults and failures / Wiped by a format

The cause · a format was run

Formatted drive recovery in Hull. Quick or full format, and only one of them actually destroys anything.

Phone calls sounding the same come from everywhere in Hull and the East Riding; someone accidentally selected "Format" on the wrong disk. Almost every single time this occurs it was due to selecting the "quick format" option, which simply switches the index and leaves the file(s) exactly where they were; as far as data recovery goes, a relatively minor issue. A completed full format operation is another matter, and we'd rather tell you this via phone call before the package arrives in Leeds.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs Free to look at, then one fixed price Parcels come in from Beverley, Grimsby and Skegness

An engineer will take the details
0800 6890668

Putting a name to the symptom.

Nothing similar? Go to the triage →
The symptomsWhat the fault isWhat to try
You agreed to format the disk when Windows asked to do so.A brand new blank index sits on top of your old one.Let it sit there. Your files are under that index.
The drive appears empty and every single byte reads as free space.What is listed has changed, but what it points to is still in its original location.Don't write anything more to it.
When you complete a full formatOn Vista and later versions, a full format leaves a zero in each sector; zeros cannot hold anything.There's nothing left to read.
If you were doing a full format and stopped part-way throughWhatever portion of the disk the zero pass did not reach remained intact.Pull the power and stop it!
diskpart cleanIt clears the partition table but does not touch anything else. The volumes underneath remain in their current locations.Often possible to get back
diskpart clean allErases everything, like a full format does when run to the endThere's nothing left to read.
Quick formatting on an SSDThe TRIM command has fired, and the controller is already deleting cells on its ownShut down now!
Send it to us: get a quote first, either over the telephone or via our online quote form. Then carefully package it to prevent damage in transit, insure it for its full value and post the package using a trackable service to the Leeds intake laboratory; alternatively you may drop it off there (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, no appointment needed). For laptops, PCs, Macs and recorders, we require only the drive unit itself (storage soldered to the board is not taken on; if you're not sure which kind you have, ring us first); for RAID arrays and servers, we just need the individual disks, labelled by their respective bays; for a NAS, send the drives if you can remove them, but if not, please include the entire NAS device. A single external drive goes whole, with its cable and power adapter. We pay for return postage. If you would like an engineer to inspect the packaging prior to taping the box closed, please give us a call first. Further information is available on our sending page.

What a format does to a disk in each case.

The quick formatReplaces the index and leaves everything below it alone. The disk appears empty, but the platter is still holding everything it held. Therefore, whole trees are restored.
A full format, Vista onwardsWindows Vista changed what the option does. A full format walks the entire disk and drops a zero into each data sector. Once all of them have been passed, a hard drive will contain nothing worth looking at, no matter what a company with an invoice to write might tell you.
clean against clean allOne strips the partition table. It doesn't touch anything underneath it. The other writes zeros across the disk from start to finish. That single extra word decides if there even is work here or not.
SSDs are differentWhen you perform a quick format on an SSD, TRIM generally fires almost immediately thereafter. Then a Seagate/Western Digital unit will begin erasing its own cells without anyone telling it to. Often by the time you even realise something has gone amiss, it's already too late; but regardless of that, please unplug the device and contact us anyway.

From the box arriving to the files going back.

Jobs we have logged →
01

A case number first, then a free diagnosis Free

Every piece of gear that shows up receives a case number on the very same day it arrives. An engineer examines it and determines what is really wrong with it and there is no charge for this. We give you straight language about which files we will be able to copy from the disk and which ones we won't be able to. Then we provide you with a single price quote, in writing, based upon these findings. We don't begin working on anything until you agree to the quoted price.

The diagnosis is freeOne price, put in writingNothing to pay yet
02

Identify the format used

Which one were you doing: a quick format, a full format, clean, or clean all? Did you finish? This sets limits on how much you can get back from a given disk, so engineers determine this before anyone talks about your odds.

The format pinned downOdds given straight
03

Put the old index back

All recovery work is done directly on the image and never directly on the disk. All remnants of the original file system are removed from underneath the new file system and put back together again. If enough of the records are readable, then the files will appear with their original file names, dates and folder hierarchy.

The old index rebuiltWork done on the image
04

Carving for what is left

If there is absolutely no structure remaining whatsoever, the files are identified using the same byte codes which define the type of file and retrieved in entirety from the image. Anything which still references a recovered file will have that file's name restored.

Found by header bytes aloneCarved by file type
05

You sign it off, then it comes back

You will not be charged while you think about this. First, you receive a list of everything that was recovered from the drive. Once you have seen the list and given us the go-ahead, the bill comes next. Files are returned to you on media purchased specifically for this job and we cover the return postage as well. Your job is kept open by us until you can view them on your personal computer.

You approve the listing firstCopied onto new mediaReturn postage at our cost

What turns up most often

  • Vista is the break point: half the web still uses the old assertion that a complete format deletes no data. Correct for XP. Incorrect since Vista.
  • Cancelling a complete format will save what is left: zeroes are filled on the disk from the start of the disk moving forward; therefore, the initial part of the disk is formatted first and the last part (tail) is often unformatted.
  • There's only one word of difference: in diskpart, clean removes the partition table. When "all" is added, diskpart writes zeroes across the entire disk. No other single typographical error costs this much.
  • Reinstalling on the wrong disk harms twice: first, the format; second, after formatting, Windows writes gigabytes of new information on top of the previous information. The farther along the process continues, the fewer bytes remain to search for.

In a nutshell: if all that was done was a quick format, chances are good. However, if a complete format was run to completion, or "clean all" was entered into diskpart, there is absolutely nothing to search for because every sector was intentionally set to zero. This behaviour by Windows has existed since Vista. Any company that claims a completed full format can be reversed should be asked to explain how.

One case from the casebook.

HU · HUL-2026-0629LOGGED ✓

Two identical disks, and the wrong one was formatted

There were two identical 2TB hard drives sitting side-by-side in one tower. One was used to store a family archive and was erased using a format wipe, while the other was empty. A quick-format only rebuilds an index of the drive but leaves existing data alone, which is why the data remained on the drive. Since then, nothing else had been placed on the erased drive, and thus when searching through it again, the data found was exactly as it was before.

Whole tree came back3 days after it landed

Before you box it up.

Do these first

  • When you realise, stop right away
  • The actual command matters: quick vs. full, clean vs. clean all
  • Turn it off & label it
  • Explain what you wrote to it afterwards

What not to do

  • Installing Windows on the same disk again
  • Performing another format to undo the first format
  • Installing recovery software on the disk you formatted
  • Waiting until you can find an option to reverse a previously completed full format on a hard drive. None exist.

Asked most weeks, answered here.

Is anything left after a quick format?

Generally the lot. A quick format on a hard drive simply creates an empty index and stops. The sectors remain untouched. Your documents will be located at the same location as when you last had access to them; they just no longer appear in the catalogue. Place nothing else on the disk and the majority of your directories should show their name and date.

Does a format ever destroy the data?

Yes, but only if you ran a complete format through to completion. Since Windows Vista, each sector receives a zero written into it during the formatting process. Quick formats write no zeros. This difference alone will decide most of these jobs.

I have formatted the wrong disk. What now?

Turn off your computer. Do not use the disk again. Allow an engineer to image the disk first. From now on, every document that is created or saved will be written over what can potentially be recovered from a previous state.

Does an SSD behave the same way?

No. If a user performs a quick-format of an SSD, the TRIM function typically initiates and then the controller itself cleans up the blocks once they have been freed. Remove power and contact us. Among all formats we receive, this is the one where waiting is probably going to cost you the most.

What people read after this.

Built-in drives → USB sticks and pens → Deleted by mistake → Everything we take in →

A drive left switched off loses nothing more.

Leave it off. There are only a few start attempts left in your failing drive and each attempt uses up a little more of what remains. Our complimentary diagnosis will determine what files are readable.

0800 6890668

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