How to Recover Formatted External Hard Drive | Complete Guide

Formatted External Hard Disk Recovery

External hard drives are commonly utilized among college students and corporate employees, with brands such as Seagate, Samsung, and Western Digital being particularly popular. They enable users to conveniently save, transfer, and back up various files with ease.

Formatting an external hard drive is typically performed when setting up a new computer, re-installing the operating system, encountering a "You need to format the disk in drive" error, or repurposing the drive for a different use.

As a beginner, you might accidentally click the format button in Disk Management, and all your data would be erased instantly, which is certainly not what you intended.

In this passage, you'll discover three straightforward approaches. Regardless of whether you need to recover lost data on the Windows operating system or macOS, we'll provide you with step-by-step tutorials.

How to Recover Data from Formatted External Hard Drives [Windows]

If you accidentally delete files on external hard drives, they will not go to the Recycle Bin, and the files will not be recoverable from there if you have formatted the disk.

When you don't have any backups, employing format recovery software is highly recommended. The reason for using recovery software is that formatting an external hard drive usually wipes the file system and directory structure, rendering the data on the drive inaccessible to the operating system. However, the actual data may still reside on the disk until it gets overwritten by new information.

We provide extremely comprehensive tutorials to assist you in recovering a formatted hard drive. Keep reading and follow along!

✨Step 1: Download the Format Recovery Software Tool

Selecting a secure and user-friendly recovery tool is crucial, and the Data Recovery Wizard should be among the top software in the recovery sector. Click on the blue link to visit the official website for downloading and obtaining more information about this software. Alternatively, you can acquire the trial version by clicking the button below.

This software can restore formatted USB drives, external hard disks, SD cards, internal SSDs, memory cards, and other storage devices. All crucial documents, valuable photos, as well as movies/recordings, can be recovered effortlessly.

Refer to the detailed guide for installing this external hard drive recovery software:

Step 1. After downloading this tool, go to the download folder and double-click the EXE file to launch the DRW installer.

Step 2. Click "Install Now" to begin the installation.

Step 3. Wait for the installation process to complete, and the software will launch automatically.

✨Step 2: Connect the Formatted External Hard Drive and Scan

Locate a functioning cable to connect your formatted disk to a Windows desktop or laptop. Ensure that you do not save any new files or folders on this formatted external hard drive until the data has been recovered.

Step 1. Next, open the Data Recovery Wizard tool's window and locate the formatted external HDD. Click "Scan" to commence the recovery process.

Step 2. With the tool's advanced scanning technology, the formatted data can be located quickly. You'll see the found files and their sizes displayed at the bottom of the window.

Step 3. Click "Type" and select the file type you wish to recover. Check the box next to the file and click "Preview".

✨Step 3: Preview and Recover Data from Formatted Drive

This software supports numerous file types, including RAW images, Excel, Word, PPT, PDF, and various video files as well. The reformatted external drive serves as a backup storage for numerous Canon photos, allowing you to preview all the CR2 images by clicking the arrow. To retrieve deleted CR2 photos from the formatted external hard drive, simply click on "Recover."

It is recommended to select a local disk to save these recovered files, rather than saving them back onto the formatted drive.

After getting back the lost data from a formatted hard drive, please share this detailed guide with more friends and readers!

How to Recover Formatted External Hard Drives on Mac

If you're using a Mac computer, you can also recover formatted external hard disks using data recovery tools. tools Data Recovery Wizard has a Mac version as well. Follow this tutorial to recover formatted hard drives on Mac:

Step 1. Search for missing files

Connect your external hard drive to your Mac properly. Launch the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac software, and choose the external hard drive. Next, click "Search for lost files" to locate any lost or deleted files on your external device.

Note: Before proceeding with data recovery, it's recommended to click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your external hard drive. This helps prevent any potential further data loss. Once the backup is complete, the software can retrieve data from the backup, allowing you to safely disconnect the external hard drive and use it again.

Step 2. Filter and locate missing files

Following the scan, all file categories will be displayed in the left pane. Select the file type to locate the desired files on your external devices.

Step 3. Preview and recover

Click on the file to preview it, then select the files you wish to recover and hit the "Recover" button. You can choose to save your data to both local and cloud storage devices.

Recover Formatted External HDD Using Data Recovery Services

"I currently don't have a functional computer. How can I recover my formatted external hard drive?" "I attempted using data recovery software, but some of my files weren't successfully retrieved. What steps should I take?" Regardless of your situation, there's a backup solution tailor-made for you!

Reach out to data recovery services now, and you'll be able to retrieve more files from an externally formatted hard drive. Explore more services supported by manual recovery tools in the section below.

Translate into English

Tools Data Recovery Services

Contact our experts for a free evaluation now

Consult with our Tools data recovery specialists for personalized manual recovery assistance. After a FREE diagnosis, we can provide the following services:

• Repair damaged RAID configurations, unbootable Windows operating systems, and corrupted virtual disk files
• Recover or repair lost partitions and re-partitioned drives
• Undeformat hard drives and fix raw drives (including Bitlocker encrypted drives)
• Resolve disks with GPT-protected partitions issues

After exploring all the solutions, don't forget to recommend these tools to your friends on social media!

Summary: This is a request for translation into English.

This formatted external hard drive recovery guide is sufficiently clear for both Windows and macOS users. If you're still unsure, go ahead and download the tool to give it a try; we provide 2 GB of free recovery space for new users. Download it now to make format recovery more effortless with the assistance of these tools!

"Recover Formatted External Disks Frequently Asked Questions"

More questions and answers regarding formatted external hard drive recovery can be found here. Check the answers now:

1. Can I access the formatted data on my external hard drive?

Are you aware that when you click the format button to delete all files from an external hard drive, the data actually still persists? While the drive may appear empty, it is possible to retrieve those files using professional data recovery software.

2. Can I reverse the formatting of an external hard drive?

No, there isn't an option to undo formatting in either Windows or macOS. However, if you have a backup, you can recover the deleted data. If not, you can utilize a tool like "Data Recovery Wizard." This software will certainly assist you in restoring any files you desire from the external hard drive.

3. Can I contact Seagate company directly to recover data from a formatted External HDD?

Many hard drives, including Seagate, can experience data loss. There's no need to specifically contact the Seagate company for this issue. Instead, you can download external hard drive recovery software or seek assistance from professional data recovery services, which can be highly effective in retrieving your lost data.