Undo Quick Format – Recover Files after Quick Format

Updated on Jun 12, 2024 | by Edwards

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Part 1. Recovering Data from Quick Format Drive
Your Best Quick Formatted Hard Drive Recovery Software
How to Recover Files after Quick Format on Windows/Mac
Part 2. What's Quick Format
What is the difference between Quick Format and Full Format?
Part 3. Frequently Asked Questions for Quick Format
Q: How to restore data from a hard drive that says it needs to format?
Q: Does quick format erase data?
Q: How do I undo a quick format?
Q: How to restore quick formatted drive free
Q: Is it possible to recover 100% of my formatted data?
Q: How to recover data from formatted SSD?

While it's possible to recover files after a quick format, the chances of success are low. When you perform a quick format, the operating system simply wipes the file table and marks the space as available, but doesn't actually overwrite the data. This means that the data still exists on the hard drive, but the file system can't access it. However, specialized software can scan the hard drive and recover some or all of the data, depending on the quality of the software and the condition of the hard drive.

Part 1. Recovering Data from Quick Format Drive

It is possible to resume data from a quick formatted hard disk. Although quick formatting deletes files in a few minutes, they are still physically present on the drive, but invisible. To recover them, you can use file recovery software, which can help retrieve lost files after a quick format.

Deep Data Recovery is a reliable software tool that has successfully helped hundreds of people recover data after a quick format, offering all the necessary features for quick format data recovery.

Your Best Quick Formatted Hard Drive Recovery Software

(Trust Score 4.7 by 2693 Users)

Finds over 1000 types of files, including various image, video, audio, document, and other frequently used file extensions.
This software supports data recovery from over 2000 branded and unbranded hard drives, including SSD, HDD, USB flash drives, memory cards, SD cards, CF cards, cameras, Android phones, and other devices. It can recover files even after a quick format has been performed on the device.
Quick formatting can sometimes corrupt videos, pictures, and documents, but data recovery software can still recover them, making them recoverable and openable.

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Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

How to Recover Files after Quick Format on Windows/Mac

Connect the Disk to your PC

To recover data from a quick formatted disk, first connect the external hard drive to your computer and ensure it's recognized by your system. This step is crucial for initiating the recovery process. Once the drive is detected, you can proceed with the steps necessary to retrieve your lost data.

Install Undo Quick Format Data Recovery Software

To recover files from a fast-formatted hard drive, download the Deep Data Recovery software and scan the drive. This will display all recoverable files, allowing you to identify which ones can be retrieved after a quick format. The software has separate versions for Windows and Mac, so ensure to get the correct one for your computer's operating system.

Select the Hard Disk to Scan

Launch the formatted hard drive data recovery software. Click the "Scan" button beside the hard drive which was quick formatted, prompting the software to scan the drive.

recover data from quick formatted hard drive

Preview the Recoverable Files

Wait patiently for the scanning process to finish, as the time taken will depend on the number of files on the hard drive. Once completed, you can view all recoverable files in their respective directories, which can be accessed by clicking on them. The details of each file can be seen on the right side.

Recover Data from Quick Formatted Hard Drive

All the recovered files can be selected and saved to a new location on the computer, excluding the original drive to prevent data overwriting.

Part 2. What's Quick Format

Quick format is a method to erase all data on a hard drive, empty it, and make the storage available again, often used when changing the file system of the hard drive.

What is the difference between Quick Format and Full Format?

Quick Format is a process that deletes all files from a hard drive and changes its file system, skipping any bad sectors that may exist.
Full Format is a process that completely resets a hard drive, usually used to fix errors, remove files, reset the file system, and scan for bad sectors.

Part 3. Frequently Asked Questions for Quick Format

Q: How to restore data from a hard drive that says it needs to format?

To avoid losing important files, it's recommended to back up the data on the hard drive first and then format it. This way, you can safely erase all data on the disk without any loss.

1. If you have full access to the hard drive that needs formatting, you can simply copy and paste the files to a new folder on your computer or another hard drive, thereby preserving the data.

2. If you're unable to access your hard drive before formatting it, consider using Deep Data Recovery software to retrieve your data. This tool can help you recover lost files and information, even if the drive is no longer accessible.

I can’t do that.
Click "go to setting" to filter file types.
You should click the "Scan" button beside the hard drive which will be formatted.
View recoverable files.
Choose them all or selectively and click "Recover".
1. Connect the external hard drive to your computer.
Format the hard drive freely.

Q: Does quick format erase data?

Quick formatting a hard drive only removes access to deleted data, making it recoverable with Deep Data Recovery software.

Q: How do I undo a quick format?

There is no cancel option after a quick format, so the only way to undo a quick format is to recover the removed files and format the hard drive to its original file system. This process involves recovering the files that were deleted during the quick format and then reformatting the hard drive to its original file system. However, this process can be complex and may not be able to recover all deleted files. Users should exercise caution when using the quick format option and consider using a full format instead to avoid data loss.

Get the Qiling formatted drive recovery tool on your computer.
Launch the software and click the "Scan" button beside the quick formatted hard drive.
To preview all the found files in the quick formatted hard drive, you can use a data recovery software that supports quick formatted drives. The software will scan the drive and display a list of recoverable files.
Select them and click "Recover" to save the erased data.
To format a hard drive, right-click on the disk in File Explorer, select "Format", and choose the original file system for the hard drive, then click "Format".

To undo a quick format, you can restore your data and file system to their original state. This process will retrieve your lost data and return the file system to its previous configuration, effectively reversing the quick format.

Q: How to restore quick formatted drive free

There is a freeware, Qiling Free Data Recovery, that can recover data from a formatted hard drive for free, but with a limited file size. Specifically, up to 2GB of files can be retrieved for free.

Download and install free data recovery software on your Windows PC.
Launch the freeware and click "Scan" to scan the hard drive that was quickly formatted.
Wait for the scanning process to finish.
Check the erased files from disk.
1. Select the files you want to recover.

Q: Is it possible to recover 100% of my formatted data?

If you quickly try to recover data from a formatted hard drive, you might be able to get most of the data back, but it's unlikely to recover 100% of the data, and some recovered files might be corrupted.

Q: How to recover data from formatted SSD?

Deep Data Recovery is a reliable option for recovering data from any type of hard drive, including SSDs. If your SSD has been formatted, you can still retrieve your files using the data recovery software provided by Deep Data Recovery.

Get and install the unformat SSD application on your PC.
After launching the app, click "go to setting" to cancel unwanted file types, allowing you to customize the app to your preferences.
The user needs to click the "Scan" button beside the SSD hard drive in the drive list.
1. Wait for the scanning process to finish. 2.
Click "Recover" to retrieve data from formatted SSD.