Recover files from a drive quick formatted

Using PhotoRec to recover lost data
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fumbledoor
Posts: 2
Joined: 07 Jan 2018, 19:38

Recover files from a drive quick formatted

#1 Post by fumbledoor »

Hi,
I searched the forums trying to find an answer but I can't seem to find one, so I was hoping to get help. I have a drive that was accidentally formatted from a windows install. It was I believe the quick format because it only took a few seconds. Can I recover the file structure, including folders and file names in those folders? If so are there instructions on how to do that?

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cgrenier
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Re: Recover files from a drive quick formatted

#2 Post by cgrenier »

TestDisk and PhotoRec can not recover the file structure and the original filenames after a quick format.
The exception: if the partition was a FAT32, run PhotoRec, enable the expert mode, start the recovery, answer Y when asked "Try to unformat a FAT filesystem (Y/N)".
Otherwise PhotoRec can recover most files but without the original file structure and filenames.

fumbledoor
Posts: 2
Joined: 07 Jan 2018, 19:38

Re: Recover files from a drive quick formatted

#3 Post by fumbledoor »

Thank you for the reply. Is there any way to do that? I can see the file names and file structure by using another program but the program doesn't restore them.

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