Quick Format Data Recovery: Recover Quick Formatted Drive Free

Although we all know that the quick format will erase all data from a hard drive, partition, SD card, or USB drive, there are always careless individuals who forget to transfer some useful files to another location before formatting. Or sometimes you click "Format" by accident while trying to access the storage medium when it's malfunctioning. Of course, there are many cases where important files are lost due to formatting.

When faced with a storage device that has been wiped clean, have you ever asked, "Can I undo a quick format?" or "How can I quick format data recovery?" In most cases, the answer is "Sure, you can." In this article, we will explain in detail why this is possible and provide several methods to help you achieve it. If you are currently struggling with this issue, read on to find the solutions you need. Furthermore, you will also learn more about formatting here.

Table of contents

Why Is It Still Possible to Recover Files from a Quick Format Drive?

How to Ensure Effective Recovery of Data Lost Due to a Quick Format?

The Best Free Methods for Quick Format Data Recovery

Other Alternative Methods to Recover Files After Quick Format

Last Resort for Quick Format Recovery

More You Need to Know About Formatting

Conclusion

FAQs

Why Is It Still Possible to Recover Files from a Quick Format Drive?

To understand this, it requires an explanation of the basic principles of file storage. When you save a file on a hard drive or USB drive, its file system, such as NTFS or FAT, performs the following three actions:

• 🔗 Creates the file index: This records information such as its storage location, size, timestamp, format, etc, serving as its "digital DNA," but does not include its name.
• 📜 Creates its data blocks: The actual content of the file is divided into multiple fixed-size data blocks (typically 4KB for each) and saved across several contiguous empty sectors.
• 🗂️ Adds its index information to the file allocation table (FAT/MFT): This serves as a mapping table linking the file's name to its corresponding index.

When you perform a Quick Format, the operating system takes the following steps to save time:

• ♻️ Resets the file allocation table, marking all data blocks as "blank" areas to free up disk space, but has not erased the stored file metadata.
• 📛 Marks all files and folders as "deleted" in the file record entries. This is also why all data becomes invisible after a quick format.

Simply put, this is equivalent to merely deleting your browser bookmarks. Although all your favorites disappear, you can still find them by searching. This illustrates the fundamental principle behind data recovery. Tools like iBeesoft Data Recovery can restore files from such a quickly formatted storage device by scanning it and either identifying original data attributes or repairing the index table. Additionally, the system uses a similar mechanism to handle permanently deleted files (using the Shift + Delete shortcut). If you have lost certain items this way, refer to this guide on recovering shift deleted files in Windows 11 and 10.

How to Ensure Effective Recovery of Data Lost Due to a Quick Format?

As mentioned above, although a quick format can cause you to lose all files within minutes, they actually remain on the storage device. Physical access is cut off. Consequently, in most cases, we can use professional tools to recover these lost files. However, do not celebrate too soon—to a large extent, your subsequent actions will directly affect the success rate. To that end, we suggest you follow the advice below:

• 🚫 Immediately stop all read and write operations on the formatted drive. After a quick format, the system labels the data blocks that previously stored your files' actual content as "blank" and available for new data. If you continue to use the drive, the original files are at risk of being overwritten. Furthermore, if the drive is an SSD, be sure to perform quick format recovery as soon as possible, because its unique TRIM command will automatically clean up these invalid data blocks to ensure consistently high read/write speeds.
• ❎ Do not repeatedly format the storage device to avoid worsening data corruption.
• 💾 When using software to recover data from a quick-formatted drive, do not save the recovered files back to the source location. This is to prevent the first files from being overwritten a second time.

The Best Free Methods for Quick Format Data Recovery

Unlike deleted files, which can be recovered directly from the Recycle Bin, we cannot manually recover data from a quick-formatted hard drive, partition, SD card, or other storage device, especially if you do not have a backup. Therefore, using professional data recovery software is our best option. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the many available choices, feel free to start with the following two methods.

Option 1: iBeesoft Free Data Recovery

It is simple to operate, and its built-in dual-scan mode maximizes the ability to dig up residual information from quickly formatted hard drives: the Quick Scan can locate deleted file indexes within minutes, while the Deep Scan performs a sector-by-sector search to parse uncovered fragments and reassemble files using file signature identification technology, even if some of the original data has been overwritten. Now, iBeesoft Free Data Recovery has successfully helped tens of thousands of users recover files after a quick format.

How to Recover a Quick-Formatted Drive Free

1. Click the above download button to get and install iBeesoft Free Data Recovery.
2. After the installation, once the program is launched, click "Go to Settings" at the bottom of the page to filter out file types you do not need to retrieve.
3. Hover your cursor over the drive that was quick formatted, then click the "Scan" button that appears next to it. If it is an external storage device, please connect it to your computer first before scanning it.
4. Once the scan is complete, all recoverable data will be organized into corresponding categories on the left side of the page. You can click on any category to preview its contents on the right side of the page.
5. Last, check the boxes next to the files you prefer to recover, then click the "Recover" button in the bottom-right corner to select a new location to save them. Once the quick format data recovery process is finished, you can access and view your recovered files.

Option 2: PhotoRec

It is a companion software to TestDisk and is distributed alongside it. Among numerous website introductions, PhotoRec is open-source and lacks a graphical user interface (GUI). In fact, its Windows version has a simple GUI for users. The primary reason we recommend this as your second option is that it can recover data based on file header identification rather than relying on the file system structure. This is particularly useful for users with an accidentally quick-formatted hard drive. Below are the steps for using PhotoRec:

1. Download the PhotoRec package from cgsecure.org and extract it to any location except for the quick format drive.
2. Open the folder, locate "qphotorec_win.exe," and double-click it to launch the program.
3. As shown in the screenshot, proceed to select the following options in order: the hard drive you accidentally formatted (if you only formatted a specific partition, select it from the list below based on its capacity) > the corresponding file system type > "Whole" (to extract files from the entire partition) > the destination folder where you want to save the recovered files (it shouldn't be the one to be scanned).
4. Once you have confirmed your selections, click "Search." You will then see a real-time display showing the number of files PhotoRec is recovering for you.
5. When the recovery process is complete, click "Quit" at the bottom of the window. Last, navigate to the directory you selected in Step 3 to save the recovered files. Open the folder named `recup_dir.1` within that directory to view your recovered files.

Other Alternative Methods to Recover Files After Quick Format

If you back up your files regularly, then the methods below are the safest and fastest ways to recover data from a quickly formatted hard disk, SD card, or other drives. Let's take a look!

Method 1: Use Previous Versions

Prerequisite: Before the disk or partition was quickly formatted, you had selected it when creating a system image, performing a Windows Backup, or using File History to back up critical data.

Function: Restores the storage device to its state before the quick format.

1. Locate the drive that was quickly formatted in File Explorer, then right-click on it and select "Restore previous versions." For Windows 11 users, you will need to click "Show more options" after right-clicking to find this option.
2. In the "Folder versions" tab, you will see all available versions of the drive based on restore points or File History. Please select a version that predates the quick format based on the modification.
3. Click "Restore" at the bottom of the window. Once the process is complete, all data lost due to the quick format will reappear on your screen.

Method 2: Use File History

Prerequisite: When enabling file history, the drive or certain folders/files within it have been added to the custom backup settings.

Function: Only restores the specific files lost during a quick format.

1. Open the Control Panel, then click "System and Security."
2. On the right side of the page, locate "File History" and click on its sub-option: "Restore your files with File History."
3. Click the left and right arrow icons at the bottom of the page to browse the file versions available at different points in time.
4. Once you have located the wanted files, select them and click the green button at the bottom of the page to restore them to their original location.

Method 3: Use Backup and Restore

Prerequisite: The drive that was Quick Formatted must have been included in the backup when the system image or backup was created.

Function: Same as Method 2.

1. In "System and Security", click "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)" on the right side of the page.
2. Click "Restore my files" at the bottom right of the page.
3. In the pop-up dialog box that appears, click "Browse for files."
4. Use File Explorer to locate the data you wish to recover, then click "Add files" at the bottom of the window.
5. Click "Next." Finally, select a location to save the files (either the original location or a new one), then click "Restore."

Last Resort for Quick Format Recovery

We always hope you never have to read this far, but sometimes misfortune is unavoidable. If you have overwritten the drive with new data after an accidental quick format, or if the drive is emitting strange noises or is no longer recognized by your computer, choosing a professional data recovery service is your only option. These experts use sector-by-sector imaging techniques, and even replace mechanical components or bypass proprietary flash controllers to read the raw data and recover your files.

Typically, these service providers follow a "no data, no charge" policy. When making your selection, we recommend prioritizing well-known firms such as Secure Data Recovery, Ontrack, or Gillware. Not only do they have excellent reputations, but they also offer HIPAA-compliant confidentiality agreements to safeguard your privacy.

More You Need to Know About Formatting

Formatting a drive is a familiar concept to most users. But did you know that there are actually three different types of formatting? They differ in how they handle storage devices, the possibility of data recovery, and the scenarios to which they apply. Knowing these distinctions can help you better manage the hard drives and the data on them.

Conclusion

As you have seen, there are many ways available to recover data after accidentally performing a Quick Format on a hard drive, SD card, or USB drive. However, prevention is always the best approach. If you do not currently have a habit of backing up your important files, we recommend taking a moment to enable File History or set up cloud storage to ensure their safety by backing up. Ideally, you should keep iBeesoft Data Recovery installed on your computer so that it is ready to use just in case.

FAQs