[Solved] Recover deleted documents after drive format

[Sebastian Robles]

Accidentally formatted the wrong drive. My documents were on it.
How to restore them now? Please advise

[robleyd]

If you haven't re-installed something on the drive, try a file recovery application such as Recuva or Photorec.

You might also consider implementing a backup strategy for future peace of mind.

Good luck.

[Sebastian Robles]

ok. I`ll try
thank you

[RoryOF]

Depending on the size of the hard disk, this may take a long time, perhaps overnight. Start it and WALK AWAY!

[Hagar Delest]

And make sure the device to receive the files is big enough.

[Sebastian Robles]

If you haven't re-installed something on the drive, try a file recovery application such as Recuva or Photorec.

You might also consider implementing a backup strategy for future peace of mind.

Good luck.

I tried Photorec, but it didn't find my documents at all.
Recuva found the documents and recovered them, but they are not working (they don't open)

I'm looking for a solution now.

[robleyd]

but they are not working (they don't open)

How are you trying to open them, and hat happens when you try? Specific error messages?

[keme]

Some thoughts

Where did you download Recuva from? As far as I can tell, the maker is Piriform, which is also the maker of Ccleaner. If you download from ccleaner.com, I'd think you get the most recent version. There are multiple file sharing sites which turn up early in a search. Most of them will have an authentic (but possibly older) version of the software. Many of those sites will try to push some other software, and some may also serve you malware or "cheat products" labeled Recuva.

If you started to use the reformatted disk/partition before entering the recovery process, some old content will be overwritten. Most likely there are "sidetrack" traces of the old data, but Recuva will not try to decode that. It is still possible for Recuva to recover directories, so file names appear with pointer to the storage blocks, but those blocks are rewritten, and content no longer represents a valid office file. You should get some files recovered, but not all.

If you have altered volume setup (changed RAID settings or repartitioned the disk), a deep scan may still retrieve directories, but now the pointers most likely go to different physical locations, so every file will have messed up content. Decoding old schemes from existing data is possible, but difficult.

Paid recovery services are recommended if you badly need those old files. The service will need you to submit the physical disk unit. They have equipment to analyse "sidetracks" and skills to rebuild lost structure. They are not cheap.

[Sebastian Robles]

but they are not working (they don't open)

How are you trying to open them, and hat happens when you try? Specific error messages?

https://prnt.sc/asP0LXuId3AX

[Sebastian Robles]

Some thoughts

Where did you download Recuva from?

I downloaded from ccleaner.com.

Edit: Removed quote of whole message being answered; leaving just relevant part [robleyd, mod]

[robleyd]

For others' benefit the error message is Format error discovered in the file in sub-document content.xml at ...

This suggests that the file is damaged, but may be repairable in part or in full. See [Tutorial] Format error discovered in sub-document for some advice on repairing.

[Sebastian Robles]

Finally, I came across this article
https://hetmanrecovery.com/recovery_new ... cument.htm

I downloaded Hetman Office Recovery™ 4.7, scanned the disc, and the program found my documents and allowed me to view them. In the programme itself, they looked working and readable. I decided to buy the program for $57.95. And now, the program has successfully recovered my documents. I am very happy.

Thanks to everyone who tried to help me)

[Sebastian Robles]

For others' benefit the error message is Format error discovered in the file in sub-document content.xml at ...

This suggests that the file is damaged, but may be repairable in part or in full. See [Tutorial] Format error discovered in sub-document for some advice on repairing.

Sorry, but I've already solved the problem. But thank you very much for your help and your time.