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View Full Version : How do I Unformat C drive


KazaaBoy
09-14-2006, 02:51 AM
I formated my C drive and I had so many files on there. Is there a way or software that can do this? I just done it so it would be poosible I think since not so much time has passed. Anyone help me on this one and I am forever greatful! I installed "Windows Media Center Edition" with service pack two.


Thanks
100%
09-14-2006, 03:01 AM
try ontrack easyrecovery
it has search formatted
FreeDoom
09-14-2006, 04:16 AM
If you installed Windows, the files in the space ocuppied by the installation aren't possible to recover i think. Only sections where new files weren't recorded...
peat moss
09-14-2006, 04:43 AM
Your Fucked ! I'v been privy to some very expensive so called recovery programs and they lied .
sear
09-14-2006, 07:39 AM
Good luck with that I tried to recover some stuff of mine when it was reformated and all I could find was junk. still if you have any success let us know about how you did it.
KazaaBoy
09-14-2006, 07:41 AM
I am trying different softwares and it's ok so far. No breakthrough yet but the more I try the closer I get. If the governmant can see your files after they are formated I am sure we can also. I just need to find the right software to dig deep!

Will keep you informed tho!
pECi
09-14-2006, 08:27 AM
use hiren's boot cd v8.4

it has the following

Recovery Tools:
- Active Partition Recovery 3.0 - To Recover a Deleted partition.
- Active Uneraser 3.0 - To recover deleted files and folders on FAT and NTFS systems.
- Ontrack Easy Recovery Pro 6.10 - To Recover data that has been deleted/virus attack
- Winternals Disk Commander 1.1 - more than just a standard deleted-file recovery utility
- TestDisk 6.5b - Tool to check and undelete partition.
- Lost & Found 1.06 - a good old data recovery software.
- DiyDataRecovery Diskpatch 2.1.100 - An excellent data recovery software.
- Prosoft Media Tools 5.0 v1.1.2.64 - Another excellent data recovery software with many other options.
- PhotoRec 6.5b - File and pictures recovery Tool.

+ TONZ of other tools

also u could try iolo's Search and Recover 3
limesqueezer
09-14-2006, 09:36 AM
http://www.getdata.com/ is the best i tryed out of almost all known recovery software, since most of people here only know what they heard is the best, i tryed most of them, cause i had your problem 2 times. You will have it hard to recover files after you formated or if you copied anything on the disk since than. You have to know that lots of recovery software find all the files but they fail to recover usefull, not corrupted files. Don't ever recover files on same disk.
100%
09-14-2006, 09:47 AM
since most of people here only know what they heard is the best,
dude i tried many if not more,went thru the same shit Kzboy went thru, ontrack recovered most of my formatted drive easy.
limesqueezer
09-14-2006, 09:57 AM
dude i tried many if not more,went thru the same shit Kzboy went thru, ontrack recovered most of my formatted drive easy.

I tryed easy recovery also, but didn't helped me. Could be that now its better or i used the wrong version.
KazaaBoy
09-14-2006, 08:29 PM
I tried almost everything but nothing works. I think it's because I installed windows over it when I formated.

Thank for the help!
FreeDoom
09-14-2006, 09:28 PM
Hmmm, you should be able to recover something...
I've tried recover2000 and recovered most of the things although i should say, some of the files where corrupt :(
KazaaBoy
09-14-2006, 09:51 PM
I guess something like this only the government can do.
cheshirecat
09-15-2006, 10:13 AM
did you try GetDataBack ?
KazaaBoy
09-15-2006, 12:57 PM
Yep tried it but not as good as Recover My Files. It got for me stuff I needed and couldn't get the bigger things like a AVI file.
100%
09-15-2006, 02:44 PM
I guess something like this only the government can do.
The government gets it's software from somewhere... :naughty:
limesqueezer
09-15-2006, 03:46 PM
Well don't know about government or software, but i know its done with big machine to recover files from a pc of their choice of some criminal, it takes lots of time, whole day probably and it goes byte by byte. I know germans have that, saw it on tv once.
cool skill
09-15-2006, 06:55 PM
If I format my C drive, there is a way to restore the files I formatted?
I did not think this was possible.
I always figured that formatting deletes everything.
FreeDoom
09-15-2006, 10:29 PM
I think if we format and fill up the drive about 10 times, there's no way they can recover...
Chewie
09-15-2006, 11:22 PM
I think if the authorities in a country want to see what is or has ever been on a hard drive, then they'll go a long way to find out. I think that they'd eventually get what they want, too.

If anyone's gonna dump a computer or hard drive at the local amenity site, their best chance of preventing information falling into the hands of thrid-world (give a big wave to Nigeria, everyone) ID thieves is to modify the hard drive with a 4lb hammer first.
This wouldn't prevent governmental agencies with the wherewithall and inclination to find data though; for that I'd say nuke it. :lol:
gamer4eva
09-15-2006, 11:27 PM
If I format my C drive, there is a way to restore the files I formatted?
I did not think this was possible.
I always figured that formatting deletes everything.

I thought the same too but apparently when it formats it just overwrites the blocks as empty....but the data is not deleted until new data is added.:) Anywayz if you do a full format...not the quick one would that erase all previous data and make it unrecoverable. Or does it not matter what type of format takes place and therefore is all the data recoverable regardless of this?:lol:
Virtualbody1234
09-16-2006, 01:16 AM
DOS has UNFORMAT command.
cool skill
09-16-2006, 03:16 PM
This makes no sense. I have a few hard drives that I have formatted many times over. I don't even know what a quick format is for a hard drive.
I have to go to DOS, and format my hard drive.

Once it is formatted, it is completely empty. No files found. I them proceed to install XP and other software. 100% free space. If I have a 200GB hard drive, I can now put in 200GB worth of information into it. It cannot possibly store the previous information, and continue to add the new information. It would go beyond its limited capacity which seems to me as logically impossible.

When it is time to format it again, I do so. Again, I can fill up and empty 200GB hard drive with 200GB worth of brand new information. How could it possibly be that a formatted hard drive can be unformatted when everything in it is gone?
Virtualbody1234
09-16-2006, 04:16 PM
This makes no sense. I have a few hard drives that I have formatted many times over. I don't even know what a quick format is for a hard drive.
I have to go to DOS, and format my hard drive.

Once it is formatted, it is completely empty. No files found. I them proceed to install XP and other software. 100% free space. If I have a 200GB hard drive, I can now put in 200GB worth of information into it. It cannot possibly store the previous information, and continue to add the new information. It would go beyond its limited capacity which seems to me as logically impossible.

When it is time to format it again, I do so. Again, I can fill up and empty 200GB hard drive with 200GB worth of brand new information. How could it possibly be that a formatted hard drive can be unformatted when everything in it is gone?

Well... The previous information leaves residual magnetism even under the newly written data. Enough for law enforcement to retrieve data.

To prevent data access, you would need to write over the disk several times.


Active@ KillDisk Professional version suggests several methods for data destruction. For example, in US DoD 5220.22-M method it overwrites all addressable storage and indexing locations on the drive three times: with zeros (0x00), complement (0xFF) and random characters; and then verifies all writing procedures. This complies with the US DoD 5220.22-M security standard.
http://www.killdisk.com/
cool skill
09-17-2006, 04:55 AM
Crap! So that means I could have recovered all of that info form my old hard drive that fried?
limesqueezer
09-17-2006, 10:55 AM
As long as you don't open the disk and damage the platter you can recover it and also if its damged little it is possible but not with softwares only. You would need to have a laboratory than. :P
cheshirecat
10-26-2006, 02:24 PM
if you have some divx movies and mp3's, quick format will suffice
if you hacked FBI.. then use 5 kg hammer and then throw the hdd out of the window

if you have some extra important info that you need to recover - pay the professionals. There are enough data recovery firms out tere on the market. The prices could be from 1$ for 1mb to 1$ for 1 kb!!