Deleted files and formatted drives

The folder emptied from the Recycle Bin, the drive formatted by mistake, the partition that vanished during a Windows reinstall. The drive is healthy; the data has simply been marked as gone.

Ask about data recovery Call 020 7237 6805

What deleting actually does

On a hard drive, deleting a file or formatting a volume removes the index entry, not the data. The contents stay on the platters until something new is written over them. That is why these cases are often fully recoverable, and why continuing to use the drive is the main risk.

SSDs are different. When a file is deleted, the operating system tells the SSD that the space is free, and the drive clears it in the background, usually within minutes. Recovery from an SSD is possible only if that process was interrupted or was never active.

What decides the outcome

How much has been written since

Every new file, update or download can overwrite part of what was deleted.

The type of drive

Hard drives and memory cards give good results. SSDs depend on TRIM.

The type of format

A quick format leaves the data in place. A full format or secure erase does not.

Fragmentation

Large files stored in pieces, such as video, take more work to rebuild.

Overwritten data cannot be recovered by anyone. If a tool or a company claims otherwise, be sceptical.

Recovery starts with a professional evaluation, charged at £94.80. It tells you what has failed and what can be recovered, and you then receive a fixed price for the recovery itself.

What to do now

Stop using the drive. If it is the system drive, shut the computer down.
Do not install recovery software on the drive you are trying to recover from.
Do not save recovered files back to the same drive.
For an SSD, power off immediately. Minutes matter.

We collect drives and devices by insured courier from anywhere in the UK, or you can post yours tracked and insured, or bring it to the workshop in London SE1. See how to send a drive safely.

Common questions

I reinstalled Windows over my files. Can they be recovered?

Partly, in most cases. The reinstall overwrote some of the drive, and whatever lay outside that area can usually be found.

Recovery software found my files but they will not open. Why?

The index entries survived but the contents were overwritten or fragmented. A deeper recovery on a copy of the drive sometimes does better, and the evaluation will show whether it can.

Get a price from a technician

Tell us the make, the model and what has gone wrong. A technician replies with a price and the quickest way to get your laptop to us – normally the same working day.

020 7237 6805

Creative IT workshop
Unit 1, 80 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SY
Monday to Saturday, 9am–6pm