# Recovering lost data... **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [March 31, 2009, 10:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391 "2009-03-31T10:37:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Djs87](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/djs87/32/5132_2.png) [@Djs87](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Djs87)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 10:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391/1 "2009-03-31T10:37:43Z")
So I did a fresh install of vista. But before that, I backed up at 3-400GB worth of stuff onto my WD 750GB External. I checked it afterwards, and everything was there, and it was fine. Then after my windows install, I went to hook it up, and it says I need to reformat it before using. It said the same thing when I hooked up the external on my downstairs PC too. So this is an area Ive never had to deal with before and am looking for some advice. I can’t reformat it for obvious reasons. I dont wanna lose all my shit. Are there any data recovery programs I can use to get the stuff off the external HD before I reformat it? ---
**Author:** ![greenbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@greenbull](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/greenbull)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391/2 "2009-03-31T10:42:08Z")
There are a few free programs out there that will recover data from NFTS. I actually just went ahead and purchased Recover Data for NFTS from: [http://www.recoverdatatools.com/](http://www.recoverdatatools.com/) Main reason for me was i couldn’t find a free program that kept the original files names intact. [http://free-backup.info/data-recovery-software.htm](http://free-backup.info/data-recovery-software.htm) [http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/datarecovery.shtml](http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/datarecovery.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![JayS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jays/32/15375_2.png) [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391/3 "2009-03-31T10:48:50Z")
[http://www.officerecovery.com/freeundelete/](http://www.officerecovery.com/freeundelete/) I’ve used that one a few times at work to recover stuff off removable drives and thumb drives. ---
**Author:** ![Djs87](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/djs87/32/5132_2.png) [@Djs87](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Djs87)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391/4 "2009-03-31T11:38:39Z")
Im trying the one from recovery data right now. Its going to take a loooooooooong time… ---
**Author:** ![Resurrected\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Resurrected\_J](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Resurrected_J)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391/5 "2009-03-31T18:32:46Z")
a little off topic, i have a harddrive that messed up on me and i swapped it out. someone told me there still might be salvageable items on it. How would i go about seeing if i can get anything off of it? ---
**Author:** ![greenbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@greenbull](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/greenbull)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/recovering-lost-data/65391/6 "2009-03-31T18:37:27Z")
plug it back in as a slave drive and try one of the recovery programs and see if it finds anything.