Do you know what low-level format is? Can low-level format be recovered? How to recover data after low-level format? This article from MiniTool offers you detailed information about these questions.

Can Data Be Recovered After Low-Level Format

Contrary to high-level format, low-level format , also called LLF, bypasses the file system layer and writes data directly to storage media, which is an operation performed directly on disk sectors. When there are a lot of bad sectors on the disk, you can low-level format the hard disk to initialize the disk and re-partition the sectors.

However, low-level formatting of a hard drive can physically damage the disk, and after low-level formatting of a disk with data installed, all data will be erased and cannot be recovered. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not low-level format the hard disk under normal circumstances.

High-Level Format vs Low-Level | Differences & Format Tools
High-Level Format vs Low-Level | Differences & Format Tools

High-level format vs low-level format: which to pick? If you hesitate between the two formatting ways, find the difference in this post and make your decision.

Read More

How to Recover Data After a Failed Low-Level Format

As mentioned above, after a low-level format is complete, the data on the disk cannot be recovered. However, you still have a chance to recover your files in the following cases.

  • The low-level format fails or is disturbed due to various reasons, such as a sudden system crash or a power failure.
  • You terminated it during the process of low-level formatting.
  • The bad sectors are not completely cleared.

In these situations, to recover data after low-level format, the best data recovery software – Minitool Power Data Recovery is recommended here. It is an all-in-one file recovery tool that can help you recover many types of files (emails, pictures, documents, videos, etc.) in all file storage devices including hard disks, external hard drives, USB flash drives, and so on.

Tip: The Minitool Power Data Recovery Free Edition supports recovering files of no more than 1 GB for free. To break this limit, you can choose the full edition .

Now let us see how to recover data after low-level format with Minitool Power Data Recovery.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

Free Download

Step 2. Under the Logical Drives section, find and select the low-level formatted disk and click Scan (Or you can double-click it to start scanning).

select the target drive to scan

Step 3. Preview and select all wanted files, then click Save to choose a storage path for them (Never store them in the original path).

save all desired files

Note: In case of data loss due to mistaken operations, it is suggested to back up your files regularly.