Table of Contents
About the Author
Reviews and Awards
- Video Recovery
- SD Card Recovery
- Recycle Bin Recovery
- Recover Data from USB
- Recover Deleted Emails
- Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Windows
- Recover Unsaved Word Documents
- Recover Deleted Files in Windows 10
- Recover Files from Virus Infected Hard Drive
- Best Free Photo Recovery Software
- Recover Files from Formatted Hard Drive
Format vs Unformat
Format: It is the process of preparing a partition for data storage by deleting all the data on it and set up a file system for the drive. You will need to format a hard drive in some specific situations like when your hard drive has a RAW file system, Windows reports "disk not formatted", or your hard drive is infected by a virus. In addition to these cases, you may accidentally format your hard drive or external storage devices, which happens frequently among users.
Unformat: It is the process of recovering data from a formatted storage device, be it a hard drive, a USB flash drive, or an SD card. Unformatting a hard drive is needed when users want to recover their data lost due to format. It can only be done with third-party software or manual data recovery services.
How to Unformat a Hard Drive with Data Recovery Software
- Notice:
- To avoid any chance of data overwriting, don't put files into your hard drive after the format. Although putting data on the disk won't necessarily cause data overwriting, once data is overwritten, there is no chance to get it back.
To unformat hard drive, in other words, users need to recover all data that wiped from the hard drive. As mentioned before, you have to pick up a data recovery service to execute the recovering process. Here we recommend a hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. It could help you unformat the HDD and get your files back in simple steps.
Besides recovering data from formatted hard drive, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can do more for you:
- Recover All Kinds of Lost Data. It also supports to recover deleted files emptied from the Recycle Bin or data lost due to partition loss, software crash, virus infection, boot-up problem, or other reasons.
- Recover Data from Various Devices. It can also perform data recovery from USB flash drives, memory cards, digital cameras, and other conventional storage devices.
- Preview Before Recovery. To make sure the file contents are alright, it enables you to preview lost files before the actual recovery.
Now download the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and follow the guide below to unformat HDD.
Steps to Unformat HDD with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard:
Step 1. Click the hard drive that has been formatted by mistake and click "Scan".

Step 2. The software starts scanning all lost data on the selected hard drive. "Filter" button helps you quickly find a specific file type if you have difficulty in looking for wanted files. You can also search for the specific type of files, such as pictures, documents or videos in the Search box by inputting its file name or file format.

Step 3. Finally, select all the wanted files and click "Recover". Choose a location to store the files and click "OK".

As long as your formatted files are not overwritten by new content, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will help to get back all your lost files from the hard drive. If the
- 1. Unformat the drive
- 2. Repair the RAID, RAW disk, or operating system
- 3. Recover lost partition (the one that cannot be recovered by software)
Why Can We Unformat HDD?
In this part, we will demonstrate the theory of unformatting a hard drive. If you want to know why a formatted hard drive can be recovered. Keep reading and check more details.
For all the storage devices, there are two types of format: quick format and full format. A quick format only writes the blocks that contain the file system structure and delete all files from the device, while a full format writes zeroes to all data sectors. After a quick format, the data are still on the hard drive and you just don't have the access to it. By rebuilding the volume, you can access and recover the formatted files.
However, as mentioned, overwritten data cannot be recovered, which means the data lost after a full format cannot be retrieved. Luckily, in Windows, a quick format is the default format option. Thus, if you accidentally formatted a hard drive, it is a quick format and you can unformat your hard drive using data recovery software.
The Bottom Line
When you accidentally formatted a hard drive, USB flash drive, memory card, or other storage devices, don't worry. Stop using your device and apply data recovery software to unformat your hard drive. Then you will get all your files back.
Was This Page Helpful?

Gemma is member of EaseUS team and has been committed to creating valuable content in fields about file recovery, partition management, and data backup etc for many years. She loves to help users solve various types of computer related issues.

Written by Tracy King
Tracy is enthusiastic to share technical tips and solutions about computing and technology. Being an EaseUS member since 2013, she also writes instructional content about data recovery, file/disk partition/system backup and recovery, partition management and iOS/Android data recovery.
-
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a powerful system recovery software, designed to enable you to recover files you’ve deleted accidentally, potentially lost to malware or an entire hard drive partition.
Read More -
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the best we have seen. It's far from perfect, partly because today's advanced disk technology makes data-recovery more difficult than it was with the simpler technology of the past.
Read More -
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro has a reputation as one of the best data recovery software programs on the market. It comes with a selection of advanced features, including partition recovery, formatted drive restoration, and corrupted file repair.
Read More
Related Articles
-
Stuck at Windows Is Loading Files Loop? Fixes Here
Roxanne/2021/01/27
-
How to Fix Blank SD Card and Recover Data
Roxanne/2021/01/28
-
10 Best Data Recovery Software for Windows 7 Free Download [2021]
Tracy King/2021/01/28
-
2021 TOP| Corrupt File Repair Software Free Download & Online Free
Jean/2021/01/28