I. Recovering a Formatted External Hard Drive Using Command Prompt
When an external hard drive is formatted, it can be a distressing situation as all the data seems to be lost. However, in some cases, it might be possible to recover at least a portion of the data using the Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows. The process mainly involves using commands that can interact with the file system and potentially retrieve lost or deleted information. But it's important to note that the success of data recovery depends on various factors such as the extent of formatting, whether new data has been written to the drive after formatting, and the type of file system.
II. Before You Begin
Stop Using the Drive Immediately
As soon as you realize that you need to recover data from a formatted external hard drive, you should stop using the drive for any other purpose. Every time you write new data to the drive, there is a higher chance of overwriting the existing data that you might want to recover. For example, if you continue to save new files or install software on the drive, the sectors where the old data was stored may be occupied by the new data, making recovery more difficult or even impossible.
Understand the File System
The file system of the external hard drive plays a crucial role in the recovery process. Common file systems include NTFS (New Technology File System), FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32 - bit), and exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table). NTFS is a more advanced and commonly used file system in modern Windows systems. It offers features like security access control, journaling (which helps in recovering from system crashes), and support for larger file and partition sizes. FAT32 is an older file system that is still used in some cases, especially for compatibility with older devices. exFAT is designed to be a more modern alternative to FAT32. suitable for external storage devices such as flash drives and external hard drives, especially for handling large files.
Knowing the file system of your external hard drive can help you use the appropriate commands and recovery tools more effectively. You can usually find out the file system of a drive by looking at its properties in the Disk Management utility in Windows.
III. Using CMD to Recover a Formatted External Hard Drive
Check the Disk and Volume Information
The first step is to open the Command Prompt as an administrator. You can do this by searching for "Command Prompt" in the Start menu, right - clicking on it, and selecting "Run as administrator".
Once the Command Prompt is open, you can use the diskpart command to manage disks and partitions. Type diskpart and press Enter. This will open the DiskPart utility.
Inside DiskPart, you can use the list disk command to see a list of all the disks connected to your computer. Each disk will be assigned a number. For example, you might see something like:
Disk 0 - Usually the internal hard drive of your computer
Disk 1 - Could be the external hard drive you want to recover
After identifying the external hard drive (let's say it's Disk 1), you can use the select disk 1 command to focus on that particular disk. Then, use the detail disk command to get more information about the disk, such as its size, whether it's online or offline, and the partition style (MBR - Master Boot Record or GPT - GUID Partition Table).
You can also use the list volume command to see the volumes on the selected disk. Volumes are logical partitions on the disk. Each volume will have a number, and you can use the select volume [volume number] command to focus on a specific volume for further operations.
Enable Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) can be a useful tool in data recovery. VSS creates snapshots of files and folders at a particular point in time. In some cases, these snapshots can contain data that was present before the drive was formatted.
To enable VSS, you need to use the vssadmin command. Open a new Command Prompt window (as an administrator). Type vssadmin list shadows to see if there are any existing shadow copies for the external hard drive. If there are, you might be able to restore data from them.
If there are no existing shadow copies, you can try to create one using commands like vssadmin create shadow /for = [drive letter]:. For example, if your external hard drive is assigned the drive letter E:, you would type vssadmin create shadow /for = E:. However, this may not always work, especially if the drive has been thoroughly formatted.
Recover Data Using the Recover Command
Windows has a built - in recover command that can be used to attempt to retrieve data from a formatted drive. The basic syntax of the recover command is recover [file name] [drive letter]:. For example, if you want to recover a file named "document.txt" from drive E:, you would type recover document.txt E:.
However, this command has some limitations. It works best for text - based files and may not be very effective for recovering complex file formats such as multimedia files. Also, it requires you to know the exact name of the file you want to recover. If you don't know the file names, you can try to use other third - party data recovery software.
Using CHKDSK Command for File System Repair
The CHKDSK (Check Disk) command can be used to scan and repair file system errors. It might be helpful in cases where the formatting has caused some file system corruption. The basic syntax of the CHKDSK command is CHKDSK [drive letter]: /f /r.
The /f parameter tells CHKDSK to fix any errors it finds. The /r parameter tells it to locate bad sectors on the drive and attempt to recover readable information from them. For example, if your external hard drive is drive E:, you would type CHKDSK E: /f /r.
When you run the CHKDSK command, it will first analyze the file system and then attempt to repair any problems. This process can take a long time, depending on the size of the drive and the extent of the damage. After the CHKDSK process is complete, it's possible that some of the data may become accessible again.
IV. Third - Party Data Recovery Tools
It offers a wide range of capabilities to recover different types of data. Whether it's files accidentally deleted from a computer's hard drive, data lost due to a virus attack, or information that seems to have vanished after a system upgrade or hard drive formatting, Panda Data Recovery aims to help.
The software's scanning process is efficient. It can quickly analyze the storage device to identify potential recoverable data. It supports various file systems such as NTFS, FAT32. and exFAT, making it versatile for different storage media like external hard drives, USB flash drives, and internal hard disk partitions.
In addition to its recovery functions, Panda Data Recovery provides a simple and intuitive user interface. Users can easily navigate through the steps of selecting the drive to scan, viewing the found files, and choosing which ones to recover. The preview feature allows users to assess the quality and relevance of the files before recovery. This is especially useful when dealing with a large number of recovered files to ensure that only the necessary data is saved.
V. Precautions and Limitations
Data Overwriting
As mentioned earlier, the biggest risk during data recovery is overwriting the data you want to recover. Even the act of running data recovery software or commands can potentially overwrite data if not done carefully. Therefore, it's crucial to avoid writing new data to the external hard drive until the recovery process is complete.
Partial Recovery
In many cases, it's not possible to recover all the data from a formatted external hard drive. The success of recovery depends on factors such as the type of formatting (quick format vs. full format), whether the drive has been used after formatting, and the condition of the drive itself. For example, if the drive has physical damage or bad sectors, it may be more difficult to recover data.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
It's important to ensure that you have the legal right to recover data from a particular external hard drive. If the drive contains data that belongs to someone else or is subject to copyright or other legal restrictions, you need to obtain proper authorization before attempting recovery. Additionally, using data recovery tools to access data that you are not authorized to access can be considered unethical and may even be illegal in some cases.
