{"id":25419,"date":"2020-01-09T00:48:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T00:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=25419"},"modified":"2026-06-11T16:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T16:17:10","slug":"how-to-recover-files-from-a-formatted-hard-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Recover Files from a Formatted Hard Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Whether it happened accidentally, someone else did it, or you formatted on purpose before realizing you needed those files, you&#8217;ll need to know how to <b>recover files from a formatted hard drive<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n<p>We put together this walkthrough with help from our tech specialists to make it easier to understand, even if you don\u2019t spend your weekends reading about file systems. We\u2019ll explain what formatting does, when recovery is realistic, how to do it, and what options you have (spoiler: in many cases, recovery is more than possible).<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-secondary\" role=\"alert\">Our guide mostly focuses on Windows, but the general recovery path isn\u2019t that different on macOS. We\u2019ll add Mac-specific notes so you know what the same method looks like on macOS.<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vBVnC8vwncM\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_kind_of_format_was_it_recovery_chances_explained\"><\/span>What Kind of Format Was It? Recovery Chances Explained<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 alignnone wp-image-59936 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/formatting.jpg\" alt=\"Quick Format window\" width=\"720\" height=\"636\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/formatting.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/formatting-300x265.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/formatting-500x442.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>First, let\u2019s talk about what type of format happened, because this has a huge impact on your recovery chances.<\/p>\r\n<p>On Windows, you\u2019ll usually deal with two main types of formatting: Quick Format and Full Format. (Technically, there\u2019s also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/What-is-the-difference-between-high-level-and-low-level-formatting-of-a-hard-drive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">low-level formatting<\/a> done by specialized tools, but that\u2019s a different situation. For most cases, it&#8217;s all about one of the first two.)<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>A <b>Quick Format<\/b> (the default one) is the better scenario for recovery. It writes a new file system structure over the old one and marks the drive space as available for new data. That\u2019s why recovery is often possible: the files themselves may still be on the disk. They\u2019re \u201cinvisible\u201d, but <a href=\"\/hard-drive-data-recovery.html\">hard drive data recovery software<\/a> can scan the drive and restore them. So if you need to recover files from a formatted hard drive, and it was a quick format, your chances are often good.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>A <b>Full Format<\/b> is more serious. On modern OSs, a full format doesn\u2019t only rebuild the file system. It also checks the disk and writes across the formatted area. In plain English, that means the old data gets overwritten. And once that happens, format data recovery tools won\u2019t have much (or more like anything) to work with. (There is only one possible exception: if the full format was interrupted before it finished, partial recovery may still be possible from the areas of the drive that weren\u2019t overwritten yet.)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>The type of your drive also plays a part. SSDs are much trickier. If the formatted drive was an SSD where <a href=\"\/help\/can-i-recover-data-if-trim-is-enabled-on-my-ssd-drive\/\">TRIM commands<\/a> cleared the blocks, the chances drop sharply.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4a1; External SSDs have different TRIM behavior than internal ones. On Windows, TRIM commands typically aren&#8217;t issued to external SSDs during formatting. On Mac, TRIM might occasionally be called on external drives, but the chance is small. This is why external <a href=\"\/howto\/ssd-data-recovery.html\">SSD data recovery<\/a> tends to be more successful than recovery from internal SSDs, especially on Windows systems.<\/div>\r\n<p>But we still encourage you to try a scan before you write your data off. The best way to know whether anything survived is to check for yourself with a proper recovery tool and preview the results.<\/p>\r\n<p><b>Note for Mac users<\/b>: macOS has its own formatting options in <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-gb\/guide\/disk-utility\/welcome\/mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Disk Utility<\/a>. If you used Erase with a normal file system choice like APFS, Mac OS Extended, exFAT, or MS-DOS (FAT), recovery may still be possible. This is similar to a Windows quick format in many real-world cases: the file system is rebuilt, but old file data may still exist until overwritten.<\/p>\r\n<p>The situation gets worse if you used Security Options in Disk Utility and chose a multi-pass erase. That process intentionally overwrites the drive (similar to a Full Format on Windows), so recovery software usually won\u2019t help. That said, this option will not appear on newer versions of macOS; starting with macOS Sequoia, Apple removed the Security Options button from Disk Utility.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4a1; <b>Good to know<\/b>: Interestingly, formatting to a different file system than the original actually improves recovery chances. When changing from NTFS to FAT32 (or vice versa) on Windows, or from APFS to HFS+ on Mac, parts of the old file system structure often remain intact. This means <a href=\"\/data-recovery-software.html\">data recovery software<\/a> can find files using remnants of the original file system pointers rather than just pattern-matching file signatures.<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_to_recover_data_from_a_formatted_hard_drive\"><\/span>How to Recover Data From a Formatted Hard Drive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Now let\u2019s get to the practical part.<\/p>\r\n<p>We have three recovery paths for you: first, hard drive data recovery software; then two backup-based methods. We\u2019ll start with <a href=\"\/hard-drive-data-recovery.html\">recovery software<\/a> because the other options assume you already had some kind of backup in place. (And let\u2019s be honest, most people searching for how to recover data from a formatted hard drive are doing it because they don\u2019t have a clean backup ready to restore.)<\/p>\r\n<p>The key rule is simple: <b>do not install the recovery app or recover files back to the same formatted drive<\/b>. Use another disk or external drive if possible.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_1_use_data_recovery_software\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 1:<\/span> Use Data Recovery Software<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><b>Disk Drill<\/b>\u00a0is an excellent option when looking for an answer as to how to recover a formatted hard drive. There is a\u00a0<a href=\"\/download.html\">free version<\/a> available to download, so you can try the tool and see what it can do for you.<\/p>\r\n<p><b>Here\u2019s how to use Disk Drill to recover files from a formatted hard drive:<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/download.html\">Download<\/a> the free version of Disk Drill and install it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Attach the formatted drive you wish to recover to your computer first. Once you launch Disk Drill, it will display the drives that it can access.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 alignnone wp-image-59930 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Select the formatted hard drive\" width=\"1611\" height=\"966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-1-1.jpg 1611w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-1-1-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-1-1-500x300.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-1-1-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-1-1-1536x921.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1611px) 100vw, 1611px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select the formatted hard drive and click on the <b>Search for lost data<\/b> button to scan it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If the app asks you to choose a scan mode, go with <b>Universal Scan<\/b>. It works well for this type of case because it checks the drive most broadly.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 alignnone wp-image-59931 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-2.jpg\" alt=\"Universal Scan\" width=\"1611\" height=\"966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-2.jpg 1611w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-2-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-2-500x300.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-2-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-2-1536x921.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1611px) 100vw, 1611px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go through the scan results and use the filters to narrow things down. For example, you can click Pictures if you only need photos, or Documents if you\u2019re looking for Word files or spreadsheets.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 alignnone wp-image-59932 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-3.jpg\" alt=\"The scan results\" width=\"1611\" height=\"966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-3.jpg 1611w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-3-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-3-500x300.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-3-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-3-1536x921.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1611px) 100vw, 1611px\" \/> <br \/>\r\n(If you want to recover everything the scan finds, let the scan finish first, then click Recover all. This is usually the easiest option when you formatted the whole drive and aren\u2019t sure exactly what was lost.)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click any file to open a preview before you recover it. Disk Drill can preview many file types that your OS can open natively or with the right app installed. This is useful after a format because original file names and folder paths don\u2019t always survive. A preview is a quick way to confirm what the file actually is. <br \/>\r\n<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 alignnone wp-image-59934 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-5.jpg\" alt=\"Click any file to open a preview\" width=\"1611\" height=\"966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-5.jpg 1611w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-5-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-5-500x300.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-5-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-5-1536x921.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1611px) 100vw, 1611px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose the files that you want to recover from the potentially recoverable files that are displayed by Disk Drill and click the <b>Recover<\/b> button. You will be asked to select a suitable recovery destination for the selected files (one that&#8217;s different than the formatted hard drive). <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 alignnone wp-image-59935 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-6.jpg\" alt=\"Click the Recover button\" width=\"1611\" height=\"966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-6.jpg 1611w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-6-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-6-500x300.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-6-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/disk-drill-6-1536x921.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1611px) 100vw, 1611px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\"><b>Note for Mac users<\/b>: Perhaps the biggest difference between Disk Drill for macOS and Windows is that the Windows version can recover up to 100 MB of data for free, but the Mac version still can be used to scan and preview with no limits, so you can verify exactly what can be recovered and decide if it\u2019s worth upgrading to the full version. As for the steps themselves, they\u2019re identical after installation: select the formatted drive, run the scan, preview the files, and recover them to a different storage device.<\/div>\r\n<p>If you want to compare more software options for retrieving lost data after formatting, we also have separate rankings for <a href=\"\/howto\/top-5-data-recovery-software-windows.html\">Windows<\/a> and <a href=\"\/howto\/top-5-data-recovery-software-mac.html\">Mac<\/a>. Each list includes apps tested by our QA team, so you can see how different recovery tools offer before you choose one.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_2_use_native_os_backups\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 2:<\/span> Use Native OS Backups<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Backups are not always helpful in formatted hard drive cases. (In fact, many people look for recovery software exactly because they don\u2019t have a backup ready.) But if the lost files were backed up in any way before the format, then you should be able to recover data from a formatted hard drive with no problems, even if you\u2019ve already overwritten the drive with new data.<\/p>\r\n<p>Both Windows and Mac can back up their data in a number of different ways. Best of all, the same methods that can save you after a disastrous formatting can also protect you from future formatting mistakes if you implement them now.<\/p>\r\n<p>Let\u2019s take a closer look at File History.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4dd; <b>Note<\/b>: File History only helps if it was turned on before the hard drive was formatted. It also needs to have been configured to back up the folders where your files were stored. By default, File History only protects standard user folders like Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Desktop, and some offline OneDrive files. If your formatted drive held a folder that wasn\u2019t included in File History, this method won\u2019t restore those files.<\/div>\r\n<p>Time Machine is the default backup solution for macOS, and it works by creating regular snapshots of your system and files. If you had Time Machine set up before the hard drive was formatted, then recovery shouldn&#8217;t be a problem.<\/p>\r\n<p>To recover files from a formatted hard drive using File History:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open Windows Settings.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>This is where you can access system settings including backup and recovery options.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Search for File History in the Settings window. This will bring up the option for <b>Restore your files with File History<\/b>. Click on this option to proceed.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>In the File History window, look for the backups of the formatted drive. You can browse through different time stamps to find the most relevant backup.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go through the backups and select the files or folders you wish to recover. File History allows you to choose specific items for recovery.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-49854 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/restore-personal-files-with-file-history.jpg\" alt=\"Select files for recover in File History\" width=\"1865\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/restore-personal-files-with-file-history.jpg 1865w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/restore-personal-files-with-file-history-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/restore-personal-files-with-file-history-500x357.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/restore-personal-files-with-file-history-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/restore-personal-files-with-file-history-1536x1097.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1865px) 100vw, 1865px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>After selecting the necessary files or folders, right-click the green button and choose <b>Restore to<\/b>. Then select a destination, such as your main internal drive or another external drive. This matters because if the formatted drive was part of a File History library or backup location, Windows will not be able to restore the files back to their original path after formatting with the regular <b>Restore<\/b> button. That original location will no longer exist in the same form.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-49853 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/success-recovery-files-to-original-location.jpg\" alt=\"Restored files in original location\" width=\"1962\" height=\"1229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/success-recovery-files-to-original-location.jpg 1962w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/success-recovery-files-to-original-location-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/success-recovery-files-to-original-location-500x313.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/success-recovery-files-to-original-location-768x481.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/success-recovery-files-to-original-location-1536x962.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1962px) 100vw, 1962px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\"><b>Note for Mac users<\/b>: The macOS alternative to File History is Time Machine. It works in a similar way: it needs to have been enabled before the data loss happened, and it must have backed up the files or folders that were on the formatted drive. If Time Machine was already set up, recovery is usually simple: open Time Machine, go back to a date before the format, select the files you need, and restore them. We recommend watching the video demo linked below, it shows the full Time Machine recovery process step by step.<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e6TLn8P5BW4\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_3_check_your_cloud_backups\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 3:<\/span> <span id=\"cloud\">Check Your Cloud Backups<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Another recovery path is cloud backup\/sync. The logic is the same as with File History: the cloud service had to be active and syncing files before the drive was formatted. If the formatted hard drive was never synced up anywhere, <a href=\"https:\/\/onedrive.live.com\/login\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OneDrive<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icloud.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iCloud<\/a>, or any similar service won\u2019t help.<\/p>\r\n<p>Still, this method is worth checking. People often copy files from an external hard drive to a synced folder and forget about it. Maybe you dragged a work folder into OneDrive, or your photos were uploaded to Google Drive.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>Let\u2019s use OneDrive as the example, since it\u2019s Microsoft\u2019s default cloud storage service and Windows 11 comes with the OneDrive client pre-installed.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>You can recover your OneDrive-backed-up files from the web:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onedrive.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">onedrive.com<\/a> in a browser and sign in with your Microsoft account.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Browse the OneDrive interface to locate synced or uploaded files from your formatted drive.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select the files or folders you want to recover and click <b>Download<\/b> to save them to your computer. If the files or folders are located in the Recycle bin, then you need to <b>Restore<\/b> them instead.\u00a0<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-54328 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive.jpg\" alt=\"restore important folder onedrive\" width=\"2600\" height=\"1594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive.jpg 2600w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive-500x307.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive-768x471.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive-1536x942.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/restore-important-folder-onedrive-2048x1256.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2600px) 100vw, 2600px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Services like <a href=\"https:\/\/workspace.google.com\/products\/drive\/\">Google Drive<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/\">Dropbox<\/a> are also common for storing files, both through manual uploads and automatic folder syncing.<\/p>\r\n<p>The recovery process is virtually always the same, but different services offer different data retention policies and recycle bin durations.<\/p>\r\n<p>With Google Drive, a deleted file is moved to the Trash, where it stays for 30 days before being permanently deleted. During this period, you can restore files directly from the Trash folder. After the 30-day window, the files are permanently removed from your account.<\/p>\r\n<p>With Dropbox, deleted files are moved to the Deleted Files folder. The duration they remain recoverable depends on your plan: 30 days for Basic, Plus, and Family accounts; 180 days for Professional and Standard plans; and up to 365 days for Advanced, Enterprise, and Education plans. After this period, files are permanently deleted.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\"><b>Note for Mac users<\/b>: Nothing changes here if you\u2019re on macOS. You can open the cloud service the same way in your browser, sign in to your account, and check whether your files are there. If you had cloud sync enabled on a Mac, the first place to check is usually iCloud Drive, since it\u2019s Apple\u2019s default option.<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"final_words\"><\/span>Final Words<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Of course, there\u2019s also the option to send your drive to a <a href=\"\/data-recovery-center.html\">professional data recovery service<\/a> and let someone else handle the work. That can make sense when the drive has physical damage or other signs that it\u2019s failing. But we didn\u2019t want to overbuild this guide around lab recovery, because formatted hard drive recovery is usually a DIY case. If the drive is healthy and the only problem is that it was formatted, a recovery service will often do the same basic thing you can do yourself: scan the drive with professional recovery software, check what survived, and copy the recoverable files to another storage device.<\/p>\r\n<p>So, to summarize the safest approach: stop using the formatted drive, scan it with a tool like Disk Drill, review the results (preview the files), select what you need, and recover everything to a different drive. Anything that still physically exists on the disk has a chance to come back.<\/p>\r\n<p>But your chances depend heavily on the things we covered at the beginning: what type of format it was, whether the drive is an HDD or SSD, and whether anything new was saved to the drive afterward. That\u2019s why the best move is to scan first.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"related_posts\"><div class=\"related_posts__inner\"><div class=\"h4\">Read also<\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Frame-62.png\" alt=\"disk\" width=\"140\" height=\"160\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/hard-drive-data-recovery.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">Hard Drive Data Recovery Software<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/hard-drive.png\" alt=\"hard drive recovery software\" width=\"144\" height=\"144\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/howto\/crashed-hard-drive-recovery.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">How to Recover Files From a Crashed Hard Disk<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"faq\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<div><section itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq1\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq1\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_to_recover_data_from_a_formatted_hard_disk_in_windows_11\"><\/span>How to recover data from a formatted hard disk in Windows 11?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq1\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>If you&#8217;ve accidentally formatted a hard disk with important data, then you need to use a data recovery software solution like Disk Drill to scan it and retrieve the lost files. Keep in mind that your data can be recovered only until it becomes overwritten, so act quickly and don&#8217;t write any new data to the formatted hard disk.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq2\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq2\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"can_a_data_recovery_service_recover_a_formatted_hdd_if_i_already_tried_diy_recovery\"><\/span>Can a data recovery service recover a formatted HDD if I already tried DIY recovery?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq2\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>It depends on what \u201cDIY recovery\u201d looked like.<\/p>\r\n<p>If you scanned the formatted HDD with trustworthy recovery software, recovered the files to a different drive, and didn\u2019t write anything new to the formatted disk, a lab may not find much more than you already saw. In a healthy formatted HDD case, recovery labs often go the same way: they scan it with advanced recovery tools, and check what data still exists. Where a service can help is when the drive has physical problems, connection issues, or starts failing during the scan. In that case, their equipment and cleanroom process can make a real difference.<\/p>\r\n<p>But there\u2019s a hard limit. If the old files were overwritten with new data, no lab can rebuild them from nothing. The same goes for many formatted SSD cases where TRIM cleared the blocks. No matter how experienced the company is, how fancy the lab looks, or how many glowing reviews it has, overwritten data is gone.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq3\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq3\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"can_i_recover_a_formatted_hard_drive_using_cmd\"><\/span>Can I recover a formatted hard drive using CMD?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq3\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Windows doesn\u2019t have a built-in CMD command that can recover lost files from a formatted hard drive. Commands like chkdsk, diskpart, or sfc are not data recovery tools, and using those commands can make the situation worse.<\/p>\r\n<p>But some recovery tools do run through Command Prompt. Two common examples are <a href=\"\/howto\/photorec-review.html\">PhotoRec <\/a>and <a href=\"\/howto\/windows-file-recovery-tool.html\">Windows File Recovery<\/a>. PhotoRec is capable but signature-based, so it loses original file names and folder structure. Windows File Recovery is Microsoft\u2019s free command-line tool, but it has a learning curve and serious limitations.<\/p>\r\n<p>So, CMD-based recovery is possible with the right tool, but don\u2019t expect much.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 01px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq4\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq4\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_to_recover_data_from_a_formatted_hard_disk_without_software\"><\/span>How to recover data from a formatted hard disk without software?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq4\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Recovering data from a formatted hard disk without using software is inherently challenging, your options are basically limited to backups.<\/p>\r\n<p>Check File History, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or any external drive where you may have copied the files earlier. If you\u2019re on Mac, check Time Machine and iCloud Drive. These methods only work if the files were backed up or synced before the hard disk was formatted.<\/p>\r\n<p>If no backup exists, you\u2019ll usually need recovery software to scan the formatted drive and look for data that still physically remains on it.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether it happened accidentally, someone else did it, or you formatted on purpose before realizing you needed those files, you&#8217;ll need to know how to recover files from a formatted hard drive. We put together this walkthrough with help from&#8230;","protected":false},"author":7868,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1753],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-hard-drive-data-recovery-tips"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/og-cleverfiles.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Morelo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/The-meaning-of-life-is-to-find-your-gift.-The-purpose-of-life-is-to-give-it-away..jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MoreloWrites\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Cleverfiles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Morelo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"24 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)","description":"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)","og_description":"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html","og_site_name":"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/og-cleverfiles.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"David Morelo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)","twitter_description":"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/The-meaning-of-life-is-to-find-your-gift.-The-purpose-of-life-is-to-give-it-away..jpg","twitter_creator":"@MoreloWrites","twitter_site":"@Cleverfiles","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Morelo","Est. reading time":"24 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html"},"author":{"name":"David Morelo","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/cb572c3c6f21975a615fae2d1c5ce0c4"},"headline":"How to Recover Files from a Formatted Hard Drive","datePublished":"2020-01-09T00:48:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T16:17:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html"},"wordCount":2982,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Hard Drive Recovery Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html","name":"How to Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive (3 Easy Ways)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-01-09T00:48:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T16:17:10+00:00","description":"Acidental formatting is a major mishap, but there are some options available to you that can restore your system to full operational order.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-formatted-hdd.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f","item":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Recover Files from a Formatted Hard Drive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","name":"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization","name":"CleverFiles","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dd-mac-1024-flat.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dd-mac-1024-flat.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"CleverFiles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/Cleverfiles"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/cb572c3c6f21975a615fae2d1c5ce0c4","name":"David Morelo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/web-fin-headshot-site-color-background-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/web-fin-headshot-site-color-background-96x96.jpg","caption":"David Morelo"},"description":"David Morelo is a professional content writer focused on the technology sector, with expertise ranging from consumer products to the latest tech innovations. His approach involves personally testing each product according to strict editorial standards before writing detailed reviews, guides, and articles. David brings firsthand experience with Mac, Windows, and iOS platforms to his work. With over six years in the field, David\u2019s writing helps readers get the most out of their tech products. His content is straightforward, making complex topics easy to understand, even for non-technical users. As Content Team Lead at CleverFiles, he specializes in making data recovery topics accessible. Education: David Morelo holds a Bachelor's degree in English for Education. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys spending time with his family, biking, and sharing memorable moments with friends. Experience: David Morelo is a writer who shares his expertise on various reputable technology platforms. You can check out his portfolio at davidmorelo.com. He is also the author at Maketecheasier, where he delves into technical topics. You'll find his work at handyrecovery.com, where he shares his knowledge of data recovery. In addition, David writes at pandorarecovery.com, where he shares his knowledge in software testing.","sameAs":["davidmorelo","https:\/\/x.com\/MoreloWrites"],"url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/author\/david-morelo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25419"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60176,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25419\/revisions\/60176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}