How to Recover Data after Formatting HFS+ Disk

"How do I recover data after formatting HFS+ disk by accident? Well, there are two partitions on my Mac and the partitions have HFS file system. However, I mistakenly formatted HFS+ partition and lost all data stored on this partition. I want to know if there is any way to perform HFS file system data recovery after formatting. Can anyone give me some help?"

recommendRecovering data from mac free? Try 5 free mac data recovery software

Compared with PC which runs Windows OS, Many people like to use Mac computer. Mac OS is quite different from Windows OS. As you know, NTFS file system and FAT32 file system are common file systems on Windows OS, while HFS or HFS+ file system is commonly used in Mac OS. When you format HFS+ disk partition by mistaken, files will be erased immediately. However, all files are not erased permanently, so you still have chance to recover data after formatting HFS+ disk on Mac.

Recover Data after Formatting HFS+ Disk

There are several free data recovery tools available that you can use to recover formatted Mac disks. Here are a few options:

  1. TestDisk: TestDisk is a powerful open-source data recovery tool that can recover lost partitions and repair the file system. It works on multiple platforms, including macOS. It has a command-line interface and can recover data from formatted disks. You can download TestDisk from their official website (https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download).

  2. PhotoRec: PhotoRec is another open-source tool developed by the same team behind TestDisk. It is specifically designed for recovering lost files, including photos, videos, documents, and archives. Despite its name, PhotoRec can recover various file types. It also has a command-line interface and supports macOS. You can download PhotoRec from the official website (https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec).

  3. Disk Drill: Disk Drill is a popular data recovery software that offers a free version for Mac. It has a user-friendly interface and provides advanced scanning algorithms to recover lost data. Disk Drill can recover data from formatted disks, as well as other data loss scenarios. You can download Disk Drill from their official website (https://www.cleverfiles.com/free-data-recovery.html).

Remember, when recovering data from a formatted disk, it's important to avoid writing any new data to the disk to prevent overwriting the lost files. Also, make sure to back up the recovered data to a separate storage device to avoid potential data loss.

Last updated on March 26, 2025

Related Articles