BleepingComputer.com: How Do You Recover Data From Formatted External Usb Drive?

Hi,

I was installing XP on a machine that I had my external USB hd connected to at the same time. When the prompt came up to format the drive & partition it, I accidently chose the USB drive. By the time I realized the mistake, it was too late. Now I cannot see the USB drive at all when I plug it into other machines. I have tried exploring My Computer, Device Manager, Administrative Tools to no avail. My question is in two parts:

1. Is there a way to recover the data lost thru the formatting?

2. If not, then how can I access the drive to use it again?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

Formatting the drive will erase all of the information on it.

If the drive isn't formatted Windows will not recognize it.

Data recovery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_recovery

Data Recovery Software - Hard Drive Recovery - RAID Data Recovery - http://www.runtime.org/ This is not an all-inclusive list nor is it a recommendation of any of these.

Data Recovery Tool for Windows XP - http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm Same comment as above.

File Recovery & Undelete Software, Restorer2000 - http://www.bitmart.net/ Same comment.

Louis

It can be done. My dad did the same thing, He purchased a program that worked like a charm. I will get the info and pass it along.

The program he used was Easeus Data Recovery Wizard and it cost 69.95 to register the program. You can download a trial for free but you won't be able to save the recovered files until you register it. He said it worked like a charm.



"Data Recovery Wizard is complex data recovery software developed for non-destructive data recovery from Hard Disk drives and other storage devices. It may sound complicated at first, but after reading this manual and using Data Recovery Wizard, you'll found that despite the complexity of the software, it's very easy to use. Here's a little bit about the software:

Wizard mode leads data recovery.

Step-by-step guides walk you through recovery session painlessly and easily. Intelligentized partition analysis and file research, needless complicated setting.

Data Recovery Wizard can recover folders and files that were lost because of following causes:

1. Intentional (trashed files) or unintentional deletion
2. Viruses
3. Formatting a disk
4. FDISK or any other disk-partitioning tool
5. All other non-physical data loss problems

Data Recovery Wizard can recover files and folders from disks on which the following components have become corrupted (or even if they are completely missing):

1. Partition table (main or extended)
2. Boot record (sometimes called "BIOS Parameter Block" or BPB)
3. File allocation table (both FAT1 and FAT2 on file systems that use FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32)
4. Root folder
5. Master file table

When Data Recovery Wizard recovers your data, you need have the options of saving it to another hard drive, a network drive, a floppy disk or some other type of storage device."