A quick format doesn’t erase your files — it just resets the index, leaving the data in place until something overwrites it. Stop using the device, and we can often recover formatted hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks and memory cards, in-house.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sdb → Device: SanDisk SD card (256 GB) · camera → Status: FORMATTED — file system reset, data intact → Client: confidential · Jesmond NE1 3DY $ bdr engineer-working → Forensic image: taken · originals untouched → Previous file system: rebuilt → Found: 3,180 / 3,210 files $ bdr verify → ✓ photos — 2,940 files → ✓ video — 240 clips → ✓ formatted card — recovered
Once a quick format is done your files are still present — but only until fresh data lands on top of them. Skip the OS reinstall, don’t copy anything onto the device, and don’t save new photos to a formatted card; any of those can wipe out what’s still recoverable. The less that’s written to it, the more comes back. Put it to one side and get in touch.
Most formats are quick formats, which leave your data recoverable — but a few situations can wipe it for good. These are the cases we recover from most.
We recover formatted data from every kind of storage and every major brand. If it holds your files, the odds are we can help.
Hard drives · SSDs · USB sticks · SD, microSD and CF cards · external and portable drives · the drives inside laptops, PCs and Macs.
Recovering formatted media is a careful, copy-first job. We never work on your original device — we image it, rebuild the old file system, then recover your files from that copy.
Tell us what was formatted and how it happened. We judge whether the data is still recoverable and send a written quote — usually within 48 hours.
We make a forensic image of the device and work only on that copy, so your original is never altered or overwritten.
We hunt down the previous file system to bring back your original folders and file names wherever that’s possible.
Whatever can’t be recovered from the old file system, we carve out of the raw data by its file signatures instead.
We make sure the recovered files open correctly and are intact before any of it goes back to you.
We hand your recovered files back on fresh media, sorted and ready to use.
We copy your data to an external drive and post it back, or offer it as a free download for anything up to 75GB.
We recover formatted hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, memory cards and external drives — rebuilding the old file system and carving back documents, photos, video and more, always from a forensic copy.
Tell us what was formatted and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
No hidden charges and no hard sell — just a free diagnostic and a quote in writing before any work begins.
A handful of recent formatted-media jobs across different devices. Identifying details removed, every result verified.
A camera quick format, so the data survived intact. We imaged the card, restored the previous file system, and got almost every photo and clip back.
The file index had been reset while the data stayed put. Rebuilding the file system brought every document back intact.
We imaged the drive, restored the old file system and carved the rest, recovering the bulk of the data before anything overwrote it.
Send the device in for its free diagnostic and tell us briefly what happened; an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before anything starts.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
The things people most often ask us about recovering formatted drives, cards and sticks.
Usually, provided it was a quick format. A quick format only clears the file index, so your data stays put until it’s overwritten. A full format on modern Windows is a different beast — it writes zeros across the whole drive, which normally rules recovery out.
A quick format simply empties the file-system index and leaves your data in place, ready to recover. A full format on modern Windows writes zeros over the entire drive and usually destroys the data. Nearly every everyday format — Windows, Mac or camera — is the quick kind.
Stop using it right away. Don’t reinstall the OS, copy files onto it, or save anything new — each of those overwrites the formatted data. Then get in touch. The sooner you stop, the more there is to recover.
Yes — formatted camera and phone cards are among the most common jobs we see, because cameras use a quick format. As long as the card hasn’t been shot over since, we can usually rebuild the photos and videos.
No — leave it unformatted. That prompt usually means a corrupt file system, not an empty drive, and your data is still there. Formatting only makes recovery harder; we can rebuild the file system and get your files back instead.
Sometimes, though less reliably than a hard drive, USB stick or card. Most SSDs run TRIM, which can wipe the data permanently once the drive is formatted. We’ll always give you an honest read at the diagnostic stage on what’s realistically recoverable.
Hard drives, SSDs, USB sticks, SD, microSD and CF cards, external and portable drives, and the disks inside laptops, PCs and Macs. If it can be formatted, we can usually help.
It’s £250 + VAT for memory cards and USB sticks and £300 + VAT for hard drives, with a free diagnostic first and no fix, no fee on most jobs. Being a logical recovery, it’s usually one of our lower-cost services — and we always confirm the exact price in writing before starting.
Most formatted recoveries are done inside 1 to 3 working days, often sooner, with the diagnostic usually finished within 48 hours. Genuinely urgent cases can be moved up the queue — just say so.
Bring it to our Newcastle location Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post it in fully insured. Seal it up and tuck your contact details inside — name, address, phone number and email — so we can book it in. Once it arrives we run the free diagnostic and send a written quote before any work starts.
A free diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs, and formatted-media recovery from any drive, stick or card. The sooner you stop, the more we get back — begin today.