When installing Windows 7 on my computer, I accidentally deleted partitions on my 4 TB HDD. I can see some files on my HDD with TestDisk, but I failed to access the data in Windows File Explorer with a warning, 'You need to format the disk before using it.' How can I recover data from the HDD?
Dany· Answered on Jun 30, 2025
You cannot access the partition on HDD with TestDisk may because it has done an MBR conversion. Select "Reset GPT + MBR signatures" from the context menu when you right-click the first line, "Disk 2(Your HDD)". To see "GPT" on the first line rather than MBR, you might need to toggle GPT Off and On again. The NTFS partition should thereafter be able to be added at that point. If you cannot get what you want with TestDisk, you can try to use a partition recovery tool to recover lost partitions or recreate the partitions after recovering data.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a helpful tool to recover data from lost partitions on HDD. This tool will help you recover all files from your lost HDD partitions, including emails, documents, audio, videos, etc. No matter whether the data was lost on HDD, SSD, external hard drives, memory cards, or SD cards, this tool will help you recover the lost data.
1. The first thing after launching EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is scanning the lost partitions. This step allowed users to scan the lost partitions quickly or deeply. Scanning a 4TB HDD will take a while.
2. You can select the files while scanning the HDD. If you want to recover photos only, you can choose "Pictures" from the Filter option.
3. Recovering files to another hard drive by clicking "Recover".
After recovering data from your HDD, you can follow the prompts to format your HDD to use it. In most cases, when a partition is destroyed or deleted, the system also deletes the hard disk assignment for that area, allowing the memory segment to be replaced as necessary. There is still a possibility to utilize the recovery tool to recover deleted partitions as long as this portion of the disk is unaltered. You'd better back up your HDD regularly with backup software or enable Windows File History to avoid data loss.
Use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover deleted or lost files easily and quickly.
Tutorials on how to recover lost, deleted, or formatted data from HDD, SSD, USB, SD card, or other storage media on Windows and Mac.
How to Recover Bitdefender Deleted Files Without Asking
Bitdefender deleted files without asking? Want to restore files deleted by Bitdefender? Read this post to learn why this issue happens, how to use the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover deleted files, and how to stop important files from being deleted by Bitdefender.
Jaden
Dec 12, 2025
How to Recover Videos Deleted from Quest 2 by Accident
What to do when accidentally deleting videos from Quest 2? You can find solutions in this post: recover from Recycle Bin, press ctrl + Z, or try third-party software to help you find your lost videos. If you also encounter the problem that Quest 2 does not appear on your PC as an external drive, read on, and you'll work it out.
Daisy
Dec 12, 2025
What Are Prefetch Files, and Is It Safe to Delete Prefetch Files
Is it safe to delete prefetch files on a Windows PC? This article will tell you the answer. And if you want to recover the permanently deleted files on your Windows PC, keep reading.
Brithny
Dec 12, 2025
I Accidentally Deleted Footage from My GoPro, How to Fix?
This post will walk you through some possible fixes to help you recover accidentally deleted footage from my GoPro. Read till the end to get more information.
Finley
Dec 12, 2025
How Can I Restore My Data From the E Drive, Which Was Completely Lost
How can I restore my data from the E drive, which was completely lost? This article will introduce how to recover data from a lost hard drive on your Windows PC.
Brithny
Dec 12, 2025
How to Delete a File/Folder at Logon [GPO Script Settings]
It is not a good thing that agents and supervisors can check some sensitive information. We will help you use the logon/logoff script to solve the issue in this passage.
Dany
Nov 11, 2025