0

Is data recovery possible from an SSD where the partitions were deleted, and new partitions were created, then formatted? The file system is NTFS.

I understand data recovery is generally not possible on SSDs with TRIM when files are deleted, but I'm not sure if TRIM applies to deleted partitions. Also, it was deleted in the Preinstallation Environment, and I'm not sure if TRIM functions there.

Jason
  • 7,873
  • What file recovery/partition recovery software have you tried? Have you even tried? This a practical question or a “is it possible” question? – Ramhound Nov 23 '17 at 19:53
  • @Ramhound I tried Recuva, but you have to select a volume, not a physical drive, so it didn't work. – Jason Nov 23 '17 at 21:26
  • @Ramhound I'm currently trying to learn Autopsy, but it doesn't list the file extension I'm looking for, and the search feature can't search for specific extentions... – Jason Nov 23 '17 at 21:29
  • 1
    Here's an answer of mine that should help you: https://superuser.com/a/1144489/278831 – Andrea Lazzarotto Nov 24 '17 at 23:59
  • @AndreaLazzarotto Thanks, good information, but pertains to deleted files, not deleted partitions. Funny how these sorts of questions get modded down and the answers modded up... – Jason Nov 27 '17 at 16:56
  • @Jason the linked answer absolutely pertains to deleted partitions. – Andrea Lazzarotto Nov 27 '17 at 17:27
  • @AndreaLazzarotto Really? It doesn't even mention partitions. – DavidPostill Dec 12 '17 at 13:29
  • @DavidPostill yes. RecuperaBit can rebuild broken, deleted and partially overwritten NTFS partitions. Actually also some other tools but I didn't mention them in my answer. – Andrea Lazzarotto Dec 12 '17 at 18:39

2 Answers2

3

If you only did quick format of the partitions, recovery might be possible by using a product that scans the disk. Deleting a partition only changes the partition table and does not TRIM the partition data.

The disk tables are not of much help, since someone did a good job of destroying them, so the recovery of files whose sectors are not contiguous on the disk is doubtful or only partially possible.

Some recovery products you may try are : Recuva, TestDisk, PhotoRec.

harrymc
  • 480,290
  • "only partially possible" Definitely partially possible, but not with those tools listed there (which are great but for slightly different scenarios). – Andrea Lazzarotto Dec 12 '17 at 10:06
  • Testdisk does not do any kind of MFT reconstruction. Neither does Recuva. Photorec is a file carver. None of them will work if parts of the MFT are broken or if the partition boundaries are not clearly defined. – Andrea Lazzarotto Dec 12 '17 at 10:59
  • When it comes to damaged MFTs, there are several tools that work better than the aforementioned ones. Examples include DMDE, Restorer Ultimate Pro and GetDataBack. I use Testdisk and Photorec quite often. They are great but they do different things which save the day in different scenarios, just not with damaged MFTs. I know what they do and how they do it. Again, they are great but for slightly different purposes. – Andrea Lazzarotto Dec 12 '17 at 18:36
0

There are two types of formatting: Quick formatting and full formatting. If you have done quick formatting then you can recover your data back, but if you have full formatting of data then the chances of recovery are very less.
Quick-format helps you remove/delete data from the hard drive. When you quick format a hard drive, only the file pointers get deleted, and the drive space becomes available for new data storage. However, data becomes inaccessible but remains available. There are various data recovery software that can help you to recover data from deleted partitions, you can try that.