When you format an external hard drive, all its stored content, including photos gets deleted. Formatting a hard drive doesn’t immediately delete its stored data; instead, the space it was occupied will be marked available for new data. Recovering lost photos from an external hard drive can be a challenging process, but with the right photo recovery methods and tools, you can easily restore your lost or deleted photos.
This article will explore various photo recovery methods to recover photos from formatted hard drive. Let’s get started!
Prerequisites Before You Format a Hard Drive
Before formatting a hard drive, it’s important to prepare adequately to avoid accidental data loss and ensure a smooth recovery process. Here are the key prerequisites to consider before formatting a hard drive:
- Backup Important Data: Maintaining Regular backup of your important data before formatting is very helpful in the easy restoration of deleted data. You can use cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. or external hard drives to create a backup of your files.
- Check the Drive’s Health: Before formatting a drive, it’s essential to check if the drive is in good working condition. Formatting a failing drive could lead to complications and further data loss.
- Ensure You Have the Right File System: Choosing the correct file system as per your requirement is crucial when formatting a hard drive. Different operating systems and use cases may require different file systems.
- Check for Partitioning Requirements: If you are formatting a drive to use for a specific purpose, such as creating a bootable drive, gaming, or installing a new operating system, you may need to partition the drive into different sections.
- Verify Device OS Requirements: Before formatting a drive, especially if you are doing so to reinstall an operating system (OS), ensure that your hardware is compatible with the OS you need to install.
How do I Recover Photos from a Formatted External Hard Drives?
Now when you encounter sudden deletion of photos on your external hard drive after its formatting, it’s time to proceed with photo recovery methods. Here are some quick and easy approaches that you can try to recover photos from hard drive:
Method 01: Use Third-Party Photo Recovery Tool
Let’s start with the simplest method first! You can use a photo recovery software like Stellar Photo Recovery to restore your deleted photos. This all-in-one photo recovery software allows you to restore deleted photos, videos, and audio files in a few simple clicks. It supports the recovery of files deleted due to accidental deletion, formatting, virus attacks, and many other reasons.
The Stellar Photo Recovery software is known for several amazing features, some of which are:
- It is compatible with both Windows and Mac devices.
- Allows you to restore deleted multimedia files of various formats.
- Can recover files deleted from multiple storage devices, including HDD, SSD, USB, smartphones, etc.
- Allows you to preview the recoverable files after scanning the storage drive.
- The photo recovery tool is available in multiple versions, which vary in features and prices. Check and compare their features and select the one that best fits your requirements.
Here’s quick steps for recovering photos from a formatted External hard drive using the Stellar Photo Recovery tool:
Step 1: Firstly, download and install the Stellar Photo Recovery software on your Windows or Mac device. Launch the software and from the homepage, select the location where your deleted photo was earlier stored and click Scan to initiate the scanning process.
Step 2: Once the scan is completed, you will get a dialog box displaying ‘Scanning Completed Successfully!’ message. After that, preview the recoverable files and choose the photos you need to restore.
Step 3: Click the Recover button to save selected photos at the desired location on your device.
Method 02: Use Cloud Backups to Recover Deleted Photos
If you have synced your device with cloud backups, such as Google Photos, Google Drive, etc. before formatting it, recovering lost photos is relatively straightforward. Follow the below steps to recover photos using cloud backups:
- Firstly, access the cloud storage account where your photos were backed up using your credentials.
- Locate the deleted photos in the specified folder where you’ve saved them. Many services have dedicated folders like “Photos” or “Backups.”
- Now, select the photos or albums you need to recover, and then download them to your device.
- Once done, check if the photos have been successfully restored and saved at the location where you have saved them.
Method 03: Restore Photos From Formatted Hard Drive Using File History
Another backup alternative that you can try to restore deleted photos on your device is the built-in File History utility. If you’ve previously set up File History backups on your Windows system, go through the below steps to recover your lost pictures:
- Type CP in the search box of your device and double-click on the Control Panel to launch it.
- Go to ‘System and Security’ > ‘File History’.
- Now, click ‘Restore personal files’ from the left pane.
- Browse through files and folders and choose the deleted photos that you need to recover.
- Lastly, click the green Restore button to save them back to your device.
Tips for Better Recovery Results
Though the above steps to recover photos from hard drive are quite easy to implement, it is important to consider below tips to enjoy a smooth recovery process:
- Use Reliable Software: Opt for well-reviewed and reputable recovery software to increase your chances of successful recovery.
- Avoid Writing New Data: Do not save or write new data to the formatted drive to prevent overwriting the old data.
- Regular Backups: Regularly backup your files to avoid the risk of data loss in the future.
Conclusion
Recovering photos from a formatted external hard drive requires careful handling and the right photo recovery approach. You can increase the likelihood of recovering your lost photos by choosing the appropriate photo recovery tool and carefully applying the steps mentioned in the outlined methods. Remember to take preventive measures in the future, such as regular backups, to minimize the risk of data loss.