Windows 7 How to recover lost data

[hummer7]

By a mistake today, a partition (400 GB) containing important data was deleted. The partion is now restored to NTFS format. Please advise me how to restore some of the lost data. Thank you.

 

[patcooke]

Try recuva - free download from here:

Recuva - Download

Most important that you do nothing with the drive before running it - the more activity on the drive the fewer files may be successfully recovered.

 

[hummer7]

Patcook,
Thank you for your prompt response. I have a quick question on the use of Recuva. Should the deleted partion should be restored to NTSF format before using Recuva?

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

I would at least try and recover it without doing anything to it before hand.
As Patcooke says the less activity on the drive the better.

I never deleted a whole partition and then tried to recover it, not sure that when you make a new partition that it even uses exactly the same space on the hard disk or not but it's worth a shot.

I'm not sure that I understand exactly what you are doing you stated in the first post that the partition NTFS format already.
What format was the partition to start with.

Mike

 

[patcooke]

You say in your original post that the partition has been recreated. Whether or not the partition has been created recuva should be able to restore much, if not all of your lost files - just don't store or make any further amendments to the drive concerned.

 

[austin447]

Hi,

You can recover your important files using Link Removed. The software has capacity to recover all your files that are deleted accidentally, formatting, reformatting etc. You can download the demo version of the software and recover all your important files easily and quickly.

 

[patcooke]

Hi,

You can recover your important files using Link Removed. The software has capacity to recover all your files that are deleted accidentally, formatting, reformatting etc. You can download the demo version of the software and recover all your important files easily and quickly.

These demos usually run and identify what files might be recoverable but invariably then require you to buy the package before it enables any actual recovery. I would still recommend Recuva, as described earlier which is a very effective freeware option.

 

[lucycook]

By a mistake today, a partition (400 GB) containing important data was deleted. The partion is now restored to NTFS format. Please advise me how to restore some of the lost data. Thank you.

Dear Hummer,

Kernel for Windows Data Recovery is impeccable and most proficient Windows Disk Recovery software that has been devised to cater the need of recovering the data lost from computer's hard disk or other storage media like PEN drive, ZIP drive, etc. The tool has got GUI that further makes it easy to operate and user-friendly Windows data recovery utility.
you can download this software for Free Trial here.. Link Removed

[TD="align: left"][/TD]

 

[Jaydencool]

By a mistake today, a partition (400 GB) containing important data was deleted. The partion is now restored to NTFS format. Please advise me how to restore some of the lost data. Thank you.

Hey, I ever had the same trouble, and I used a tool called Tenorshare Data Recovery Pro to recover lost data from my computer, it had 6 recovery modes, you can have a try: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LCivfg6Mmo&feature=youtu.be

 

[maicz]

what are some good recovery tools these dazs

 

[ChatGPT]

If you mean file/partition recovery tools in 2026, these are the ones I’d actually look at:

Best recovery tools right now​

• TestDisk + PhotoRec
  Best free/open-source option when a partition was deleted, the partition table is damaged, or the file system is badly broken. TestDisk is aimed at recovering lost partitions and repairing boot sectors/file systems; PhotoRec is the fallback when metadata is gone, but it may recover files without original names/folder structure.
• DMDE
  Very good for deleted partitions and more advanced recovery work. Its docs specifically cover restoring accidentally removed partitions, and it warns to recover to another disk and avoid writing to the source drive.
• Recuva
  Good for simple accidental deletion on Windows, and the official page says it can also recover from damaged or newly formatted drives and offers a deep scan mode. It’s easier than TestDisk/DMDE, but I’d use it more for deleted files than for serious partition-table repair.
• Windows File Recovery
  Microsoft’s own command-line recovery tool for Windows 10/11. It works on local storage devices such as internal drives, external drives, and USB devices, but not cloud storage or network shares.
• R-Studio
  Best paid/pro-level choice if the data is important and the free tools don’t get enough back. The official site says it can recover from formatted, damaged, repartitioned, or deleted disks and includes features like disk imaging and broader filesystem support.

My practical ranking​

• Deleted partition: TestDisk or DMDE first.
• Deleted files only: Recuva or Windows File Recovery.
• Need the best chance and don’t mind paying: R-Studio.
• Metadata is destroyed and you just need the files: PhotoRec.

Very important before you try anything​

1. Stop using the affected drive immediately.
2. Do not save recovered files back to the same drive.
3. If possible, recover to a different physical disk.
4. If it’s an SSD, chances can be much worse because of TRIM/overwrite behavior.

If you want, tell me which situation you have:

• deleted files,
• deleted partition,
• quick format,
• full format,
• HDD or SSD,

and I’ll tell you which one to use first and the safest recovery steps.