Formatting external HDD

M

macnewbie_sg

Guest
I have an external HDD which contains 2 partitions of 20Gb each (FAT32). I was sharing files between my PC and iMac until last night that I decided to use the Disk Utility to format one of the partitions as 'Mac OS Extended'.

For some reasons, all my 2 partitions are gone. I can see from the Disk Utility that it is a 40Gb drive without any volumes. I remember reading somewhere that erasing the volume will not affect our volumes. Anyone knows if I can get back my 2 partitions? Thanks!
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2004
Messages
542
Reaction score
5
Points
18
I think your out of luck. Formatting permently erases partitions, except with certain 3rd party utilities. I think that iPartition performs this function.

Sorry to break the news to you.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
10,345
Reaction score
597
Points
113
Location
Margaritaville
Your Mac's Specs
3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
He is correct.
 
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
204
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Baltimore, MD (USA)
Your Mac's Specs
Powermac Dual G4 1.25 Ghz
djlee12 said:
I think your out of luck. Formatting permently erases partitions, except with certain 3rd party utilities. I think that iPartition performs this function.

Sorry to break the news to you.

Formatting does NOT permanently erase your data. It can most likely be recovered with a free or inexpensive recovery utility. Check out http://r-tt.com or google for a Knoppix LiveCD. You may just be able to use a utility to restor your MBR.

I formatted a hdd twich (FAT32) and recovered 2,997 out of 3,014 files. PM me if you need a hand.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
10,345
Reaction score
597
Points
113
Location
Margaritaville
Your Mac's Specs
3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
Well, I guess he could try it on his PC, since the page doesn't show the App as being Mac compatible. Hope it can see beyond/around the HFS+ format....

it is the most comprehensive data recovery solution for recovery files from FAT12/16/32, NTFS, NTFS5 (created or updated by Windows 2000/XP/2003), Ext2FS/Ext3FS (LINUX file systems) and UFS1/UFS2 (FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD file systems) partitions.

No mention of HFS+ on that list....
 
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
204
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Baltimore, MD (USA)
Your Mac's Specs
Powermac Dual G4 1.25 Ghz
baggss said:
Well, I guess he could try it on his PC, since the page doesn't show the App as being Mac compatible. Hope it can see beyond/around the HFS+ format....

it is the most comprehensive data recovery solution for recovery files from FAT12/16/32, NTFS, NTFS5 (created or updated by Windows 2000/XP/2003), Ext2FS/Ext3FS (LINUX file systems) and UFS1/UFS2 (FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD file systems) partitions.

No mention of HFS+ on that list....


The HFS+ should not be a problem. If I read his post correctly, the partitions that he messed up were FAT32, which is probably the easiest file system to restore.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
10,345
Reaction score
597
Points
113
Location
Margaritaville
Your Mac's Specs
3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
I see your point....
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top