How to Recover Files From a Formatted External Hard Drive

Updated on Oct 17, 2026 | by Qiling

Quick Navigation:

Understand What Was Formatted
Before You Scan
Recover Data After Formatting
When the Format Was Thorough
Frequently Asked Questions

If an external hard drive has already been formatted, stop copying files to it. Recovery may be possible if its old data blocks have not been overwritten, but results depend on the format type and later use.

Understand What Was Formatted

Confirm whether you formatted the whole external disk or only one partition. Note its former file system and approximate capacity if known. A quick format and a full format can have very different effects on recoverability.

Do not start another format or create a new partition to make the drive easier to scan. Check whether a backup exists on another disk or in cloud storage before spending time on recovery.

Before You Scan

Connect the drive to Windows with a stable cable and check the capacity in Disk Management. If it clicks or disappears, stop repeated software scans and consider specialist imaging.

Prepare a different physical drive to hold recovered files. The output drive must have enough space for the files you hope to restore.

Recover Data After Formatting

Qiling Deep Data Recovery provides the scan modes shown below. The mode in Step 2 is chosen for this specific loss scenario; it does not change the need for a separate recovery destination.

Step 1. Stop Writing and Prepare Output

Leave the formatted drive unchanged. Connect a separate output disk, then install Deep Data Recovery on the PC rather than on the formatted external drive.

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Step 2. Choose Format Scan

Select Format Scan on the mode screen. This is the mode intended for a volume whose file system was recreated by formatting.

Choose Format Scan for an external hard drive

Step 3. Select the Formatted Volume

Identify the original external disk and, if visible, the affected partition by capacity and label. Do not accidentally select the output drive.

Step 4. Preview the Scan Results

Check important documents, photographs, and videos in preview. If the first pass is incomplete, try Deep Scan while the device remains stable.

Step 5. Recover to a Separate Disk

Click Recover for usable candidates and browse to the output drive. Open the saved files before putting any new data onto the formatted source.

Choose a different disk for recovered data

When the Format Was Thorough

A full format, later file copies, or drive sanitization can leave little or no old content to recover. More scans cannot recreate blocks that no longer exist.

If only filenames appear but files fail to open, check a sample from different folders. File-system metadata may survive even when contents are incomplete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I restore to the formatted drive?

Do not do that during recovery. Each write can overwrite other lost data.

Is a quick format always recoverable?

No. A quick format may leave more data untouched, but success still depends on overwriting, drive type, and device health.

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Do not confuse a formatted volume with a disk that Windows cannot detect at all.