Recovering Files From a Formatted External Hard Drive in 2024

Introduction

Formatting an external hard drive erases all the files and folders on it, making your data seem permanently lost. However, with the right recovery software and techniques, it is often possible to recover formatted data in 2024 and beyond.

In this article, I will cover various methods to recover files from a formatted external hard drive. I outline steps for using recovery software, retrieving formatted data from Windows, Mac, Linux, as well as physically repairing drives. With the right approach, you can rescue important photos, documents, videos and other file types – even from drives formatted many years ago.

Using Data Recovery Software

The most effective way to recover files from a formatted external hard drive is to use specialized data recovery software. These programs scan the drive and rebuild formatted or deleted files so you can access them again.

How Data Recovery Software Works

• When you format a drive, the files are not completely erased from the disk. Formatting clears the index of where files are located – but the actual file contents often remain intact until being overwritten with new data.
• Data recovery software looks at the raw data on the drive to find the parts making up your original files. It rebuilds the files so you can access them like normal.
• The more you use the formatted drive, the greater the chance of overwritten files. So for best results, you should avoid saving new data to the formatted disk.

Choosing the Right Software

There are many data recovery programs available in 2024. The best ones for formatted drives include:

• Stellar Data Recovery – Works on Windows, Mac, USB drives, memory cards, and RAID arrays. Supports NTFS, FAT, HFS+, APFS, and more.
• R-Studio – Powerful advanced tool for recovering data even from heavily corrupted drives.
• Disk Drill – Designed for Mac users but also compatible with Windows.

Look for recovery software with a high success rate, reliable support, and the ability to preview files before recovery. Avoid free programs that may lack the full features needed or save recovered data in the wrong format.

Scanning and Rebuilding Files

The basic process for recovering data with software is:

1. Connect the formatted external drive to your computer. Don’t save anything new to it.
2. Install and open the recovery program. Select the external drive to scan.
3. The software will scan the drive for recoverable data. This may take a while for a large drive.
4. Once complete, you can preview found files. Select the ones you want to recover.
5. Choose a location to save the recovered files, such as your system hard drive or another external drive.
6. The software will then rebuild and restore your selected files.

With the right software, it’s possible to recover documents, media, archives, and other file types – even from drives formatted years ago.

Using Windows File Recovery Tools

Windows has free built-in utilities that can restore recently deleted files from NTFS and FAT drives. They won’t work on older formats like data recovery software can, but may help for quick recovery jobs.

Windows File Recovery

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have the Windows File Recovery tool. To use it for a formatted external drive:

1. Open the Start menu and search “Windows File Recovery”.
2. Select the external drive and choose This PC > Local Disks (for external drives).
3. Select Quick and Custom scan options then click Start.
4. The tool will scan and display recoverable files when complete.
5. Choose which files to restore and pick a location to save them to.

Windows File Recovery works best for recovering files formatted or deleted within the past few weeks.

Previous Windows Versions

On Windows 8 and 7, try Recuva. On Vista and XP, use Data Recovery Wizard. The process is similar – scan the drive, select files, and choose where to recover them. These older tools recover fewer file types than modern software, but are handy for basic NTFS/FAT recovery.

Using Mac Recovery Tools

Similarly, Macs have built-in utilities that can recover recently deleted files from HFS+, APFS, and FAT drives.

Restore from Time Machine

If you have a Time Machine backup, you may be able to restore lost files from an external drive that was formatted. Connect the drive, enter Time Machine, and navigate to the backup version containing the files you want to restore.

Recover with Disk Utility

Disk Utility has a Restore tab that enables file recovery:

1. Open Disk Utility and select the external drive.
2. Click the Restore tab.
3. Scan the drive contents and select the files/folder you want to restore.
4. Choose a target location to recover data to.

This works best for recently deleted files or quickly formatted drives. For older formatting jobs, use advanced Mac recovery software instead.

Repairing Physically Damaged Drives

If your external hard drive is not just formatted but also physically damaged in some way, then data recovery gets more complicated. Common physical issues include:

• Bad sectors – Parts of the disk that cannot store data anymore. They develop over time from use and physical damage.
• Mechanical failure – Problems with the physical hard drive parts, like failed read/write heads.
• Corrupted modules – Damage to circuit board components like controller chips.

Specialized data recovery services are often needed for failed drives with physical issues. They can perform repairs like:

• Disk imaging – Creating a complete copy of the drive to work on separately, avoiding further damage to the original.
• Module swaps – Exchanging damaged controller boards, chips and other parts from identically matching donor drives.
• Clean room recovery – Opening the hard drive in a dust-free clean room to physically repair or bypass damaged components.

These professional services can often recover data when DIY software cannot. But they are very expensive, usually starting around $500+ and going up considerably for extensive repairs.

Before seeking professional recovery for a physically damaged drive, try recovering easier files yourself using software and cloning methods. But be very careful working on such drives to avoid inadvertently making the damage worse.

Closing Thoughts

• Recovering files from a formatted hard drive often requires data recovery software that can scan the raw drive and rebuild lost files.
• Microsoft and Apple provide some basic utilities that may help recover recently deleted files.
• Drives with physical damage require professional repair to attempt data recovery, which can get very expensive.
• When possible, avoid writing new data to a formatted drive to improve your chances of file recovery.

With the surge of external hard drives used for backups and expanded storage, accidental formatting and deletion is an ongoing issue. But using the right recovery techniques outlined here, restoring lost files – even years later – is often possible. Just be sure to start the process as soon as you can after formatting and avoid overwriting data on the drive.