Data Recovery From Formatted Drives – How is This Done

You would maybe think that data recovery from a drive that has been formatted would be impossible, but in most cases, it is possible to find a large number of documents. This article gives a technical overview of how data is stored and what happens when it is formatted to explain how software can still be used to find files.In most cases, formatting a drive only removes the index to your documents without actually wiping the drive clear of your data. Each of your files are stored with an index in the file allocation table (FAT) system file to associate them with data clusters on the disk (how your files are actually stored on the drive).Formatting a drive generally only resets the FAT document references to state that the documents no longer have a directory attribute and that the data cluster locations can be re-used. Without a directory location, you do not see them when browsing folders. This may seem lazy on the part of the operating system (to not wipe the drive) but it is just extra work that it does not perceive as necessary.Most data recovery software can simply read the FAT for lost files and/or scan the drive for data clusters which can be formed into proper documents (the clusters can be dispersed around the drive). The one proviso is that, over time the data clusters flagged as free to reuse will be overwritten so the data clusters are gradually cleared of your original documents.Finally, one danger of some data recovery software is their method of data cluster recovery. The tools should only ever clone the clusters (as opposed to removing them) during retrieval as extracting clusters straight off of the disk has the potential for calamitous damage if the wrong clusters are extracted (e.g. if clusters relating to operating system files were to be removed).