Format C:/

[LaL]

hi,
i just wanted to know if there was any way of undoing a FORMAT on a hard disk?
doesn't sound possible...but is it?

[jwenting]

no, it's final. There used to be an unformat tool under DOS that could undo some formatting actions IF no data had been written to the disk afterwards but it wasn't very reliable and was scrapped. I guess it worked by having format store a copy of the directory information somewhere safe during formatting whence it could then be read back if needed.

As you may know formatting (unless you specify special flags, and depending on operating system) often doesn't actually delete all data but only overwrites the disk table of contents/directory info/whatever the name for your file system.

[alc6379]

Norton used to make a tool as part of its Disk Doctor suite that could recover files off of a formatted hard drive. Ell if I know whether they make it any more, though...

[Dani]

Just don't touch the hard drive after the format. When you format a hard drive, you erase the table that tells where all the files on the drive are physically located (what sectors of the drive are used and which are free). Just so long as you don't use the drive, you don't overwrite any of the actual files - it may be possible to rebuild the table.

[LaL]

hey guys,
thanks for all the replies,
but i realy wanted to know if there was anyway of getting the data back.
all the work that was on there.

[Thong_Ispector]

Yes, you can recover almost everything.
The key is to leave it alone, do not allow anything to write to it.
Identify the old format fat, ntfs whatever...
Identify the exact size and specs for the drive heads, cyl sectors etc...
Identify how it was partitioned...

Go to ebay or search the web and purchase a tool that is specifically for your OS as well as your hard drive size and specs...

You really only get one shot at this...

[suRoot]

CSGAL that's only true if you do the quick format (format c: /q) if you just
did (format c:) then it acctually 0's the drive, or rather puts a new layer on the drive, so you can still recover it :D.. just need some expert to do a hard format.. if you look at data distruction you'll find that data is recoverable after many read/writes, if you get some software to permanently deletes stuff (ie military standard) it 1 then 0's it somewhere near 40 times, but still it is possible to recover it aparently.