# Recovering a formatted drive.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2001, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615 "2001-05-26T19:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Conti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Conti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conti)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/1 "2001-05-26T19:51:42Z")
Windows 98 has been locking up on me constantly lately, so I decided to format the hard drive. I’ve reinstalled Windows and now I need to recover some of my lost files. Is there any way to do this? Are there any freeware or shareware programs that will do a good job of recoving formatted files and directories? Thanks, Conti ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/2 "2001-05-26T21:41:10Z")
Perhaps if you didn’t rewrite to it but you did. Once you write on it again, you can pretty much forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Conti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Conti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conti)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/3 "2001-05-26T22:03:51Z")
No handy, I havent rewritten over the data. I’ve reinstalled Windows 98 but the sectors, in which the data i wish to recover are located, are very high. I can “see” my formatted files but I’d like to know if anyone knows of a good program to get this stuff back. Conti ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/4 "2001-05-27T01:20:49Z")
If you can “see” the files that you used to have, what is the problem? Or do you have a utility that shows you file names and/or file contents but won’t let you recover the file? Anyway, hie thee forth and obtain a copy of Norton Utilities if you lack same, and apply it. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/5 "2001-05-27T01:38:05Z")
Conti can you explain that better? How can you “see” them? It makes no sense to me. If they show up in Windows Explorer, then what’s the problem? I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Conti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Conti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conti)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/6 "2001-05-27T04:04:32Z")
I’m sorry I didnt explain it better. AHunter3 you are correct, I have a program that lets me see these lost files, but I can’t recover them with it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/7 "2001-05-27T04:54:23Z")
With most file recovery utilities such as Norton Utilities, file recovery techiques begin with compiling a list of files, probably similar to what you are seeing with the utility you are using; you select a recovery destination (ideally a different drive) and it attempts to salvage those files to that destination. The file name’s presence doesn’t always mean the entire file remains. The blocks that contain the header information are enough to identify the file but other blocks could theoretically have been overwritten, in which case you’d only get back the remaining fragment(s) and/or the utility would report back that the file cannot be recovered. (Fragments of a text file can be useful; fragments of a database probably a lot less so; anything less than the entirety of an executable program = typically useless). You didn’t mention what utility you were using to "see the files. If it is a file recovery utility and it “sees” the files but reports that it can’t recover them, that could be the reason ☹ ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/8 "2001-05-27T04:58:53Z")
The time to ask was _before_ you did anything. Now you may be SOOL. Try Norton’s. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/9 "2001-05-27T07:47:50Z")
Deleted files can only maintain their integrity so long as the space the occupy(ied) is not used by the system for new data. Even if you can still “see” the deleted file headers (I’m somewhat puzzled by this after a “format”) the format process will have scrambled the data structures beyond recovery (within the limits of typical file recovery programs) in most cases. You are most likely out of luck. If the data is super critical a hard drive recovery house may be able to help but they are very expensive. (hundreds to thousands of dollars) as the recovery process, to the limited extent it is successful, is very labor intensive. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/10 "2001-06-06T06:17:10Z")
[http://grc.com/default.htm](http://grc.com/default.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/11 "2001-06-06T15:21:42Z")
I think those files are now unrecoverable, for the following reason. When you reinstalled Windows 98, I’ll bet you did not change any of the Virtual Memory settings to specify a fixed swapfile size. Hence Windows is working on its default settings for managing its swapfile. This means that the swapfile could be constantly changing in size, and using different areas of your vacant hard drive space. Any chance of recovering deleted files from vacant sectors is probably zero, because Windows has probably overwritten these areas several times over. Also… When I read your OP, my initial understanding was that you wanted to recover files that had been wiped out by the reformat of your hard drive. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to use a utility that will unformat the drive - something that i haven’t seen much of since the Good Old DOS days… ---
**Author:** ![dylan\_73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@dylan\_73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dylan_73)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/12 "2001-06-06T16:33:46Z")
I agree with the others that Norton Utils if probably your best bet…it depends on the size of your HD whether **DVous Means** is. If, however, the files are _very_ important and/or you have loads of money then any decent Data Recovery service can get them back for you. You may even be able to get back those files you deleted and deliberatly wrote over before you let your girlfriend use your computer 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/13 "2001-06-06T18:11:32Z")
[EasyRecovery](http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecovery/) appears to do what you want. The price is a bit on the high side ($179) but if the data’s important, it’s worth the price…try Norton first, but give this a shot if Norton fails (EasyRecovery has a free demo that will show you what files it can restore, which sounds similar to what you currently have. What software did you use to “see” the deleted files?). ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2001, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-formatted-drive/66615/14 "2001-06-07T11:31:40Z")
Thanks for that **Frogstein**. I have duly bookmarked the page for future reference.