How To Unformat Hard Drive In Windows 10?

When a file is written to a hard drive, the file entry and content are stored on different areas of the disk, similar to how a book is organised. The entry is saved in the file system and contains information such as the file name, path, size, type, creation and modification times, and so on.

When the operating system needs to access a file, it first receives the information from the file system and then looks for the appropriate content on the disk. The most generally used file systems for Windows hard drives are NTFS and FAT, with file entries stored in FAT (File Allocation Table) and MFT (Master File Table) (Master File Table).

When you use Quick Format to format a hard disc, Windows creates a new file system to replace existing FAT or MFT, erasing information like file names, directory structure, and so on. The content of the files, on the other hand, will not be impacted until they are overwritten with new data. When you conduct a Full Format on a hard drive, the system not only performs a rapid format, but it also verifies and overwrites all of the drive's sectors. This will entirely erase any lost files, rendering them unrecoverable.

Is it possible to unformat a hard drive?

Microsoft Windows 10 operating system provides many advanced and new features to it's users, but there is no built-in unformat hard drive option in Windows 10. However, unformatting a hard drive directly refers to recovering data from a formatted Windows 10 hard drive.

Among the several data loss scenarios, formatting the hard drive partition is the most common one that many users are facing in these days. Just right click on the hard drive and click the Format button! That’s it, your entire data will disappear in an eye blink.

Caution: Stop using your formatted Windows 10 hard drive until you recover files from it. Otherwise, chances of recovering deleted data from the formatted hard drive will be reduced.

How to Recover Files from Accidentally Formatted Hard Drive Windows 11/10?

Method 1: Unformat Hard Drive on Windows 10 Using Remo Recover

Remo Recover is a professional tool to unformat HDD Windows 10. This tool recovers data from the drive that is accidentally formatted, corrupted, deleted or damaged. It supports the drive that is formatted with FAT32, FAT16, NTFS, NTFS5 and exFAT file systems. Furthermore, the Remo Recover program enables you to recover deleted data from external hard drives, SSD drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, SD cards, FireWire devices, and many other storage devices.

1. Download and install Remo Recover on your Windows 10 computer.

2. From the main screen select the hard drive from where you want to recover data.

3. Click on the Scan option to start the scanning process.

Note: Once the Quick Scan is completed it directly initiates the Deep Scan option. You can now navigate to the Lost Partition. Now you can also click on the Preview option to verify the recovery results.

4. Finally, click on the Recover option to save the recovered files to the desired location.

Method 2: Unformat Hard Drive Windows 10 Free

Previous version backs up copies of files and folders on Windows. You can restore files and directories that were mistakenly edited or deleted, or that were damaged, using previous versions.

• Right click on the files/folder and click on the Restore Previous Version.
• Select from the list of previous version files, and then click on Open to view it to make sure it’s the version you want.
• Now select the previous version you want and click on the Restore option.

Wait for the process to complete, now you will be able to restore and access the files again. This process works only if you have already taken the backup of the data. In case you have not taken the backup of the data then it is recommended to make use of Remo Recover.

Note: Each hard drive should be formatted so that it can be accessed by users. A formatted hard drive would have a certain file system like NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT. If the file system of an external hard drive is corrupted, it will lead to the external hard drive unformatted error and you will get either of the following messages:

• “The disk in drive E is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?”
• “You need to format the disk in drive E: before you can use it. Do you want to format it now?”.

Method 3: Recover Formatted Drive in Windows 10 using Cmd

The Chkdsk command is a Command Prompt that checks a specific disk and fixes the drive and recovers data.

• Type CMD in the search bar.
• Click on the Command prompt and run as Administrator.



• Now type Chkdsk G: /f/x/r. Replace G with your drive letter represents formatted HDD.



• Hit Enter.

Note: Limitations of CMD

• The chkdsk method involves repairing the minor corruption on the disk or in revealing the hidden files.
• Any wrong command entered on the command line interface will result in permanent damage to the hard drive. It is recommended to first recover your data by making use of reliable hard drive recovery software prior to repairing the hard drive using the Chkdsk command.

Do’s and Don’ts with HDD:

Do's

• Regularly scan your hard drive using an updated anti-virus program
• Maintain a suitable backup of your important data
• Check twice before formatting a hard drive

Don'ts

• Do not add new data or any file to a formatted hard disk
• Do not abruptly shut down your Windows PC when it is being in use
• Do not alter or change the existing file system

Conclusion:

Accidentally formatting your hard disk, or other storage device does happen. Stop using your device and unformat your hard drive with data recovery software. Then you will get all your files back.