Recovering data from Format & Fdisk
Explanation: The Format and Fdisk commands are typically run to prepare a new hard disk for use – enabling the installation of an operating system, application programs & eventual user data. The two commands have been around for a long time, formerly they were stand alone DOS programs before being integrated into Windows.
Symptoms: Where previously the computer would boot and be usable, systems that have been Formatted or FDisked often report the following errors: (these errors are frequently displayed on a black screen with white text)
- No boot device
- Operating System not found
- Primary Hard Disk not found. Press F1 to Continue
- Master Boot Record Not Found
- Invalid or corrupt FAT
- Invalid partition table entries
- Invalid sector
- Cannot find file or program
- Invalid command.com
- Primary/Secondary Hard disk failure
- Non system disk
- Disk error
Recovery possibilities: Data Clinic are usually able to successfully recover greater than 99.9% of the data from Formatted &/or FDisked drives.
Do Not: Under no circumstances should you run a Fimages utility such as Scandisk or Chkdsk. It”s also very important that nothing else is done to the drive – the best option is to power down and remove the drive from the machine. Click to read more about the use of Scandisk and Chkdsk in data recovery
Note: When installing / upgrading computers, the next step after a Format or Fdisk is often to install an operating system, if this has been done please refer to our data recovery from re-installed operating system (or Ghosted image) page.
What should I do?: Call the Data Clinic and talk your problem through with us on 0800 151 2207, or fill out out the callback form and we’ll call you back