Is it still possible to recover data?

So I got miscommunication with my brother (he ask me to reinstalling windows) because the pc is laggy and buffering on boot. Then, I reset using the windows feature from troubleshoot menu and I decided to delete everything to speed things up, of course i didn’t panic and unplug it but still…

I’m in the middle trying to recover with TestDisk and next I’m gonna try Extundelete

I’m gonna send the news when I already did it

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The answer is YES.

Even though you deleted you pendrive and SD Card, lets suppose its porn :sweat_smile: they can be recovered using a particular software…Tried it long times ago, I was shocked​:joy:

Even you format your laptop, your deleted stuffs stays in temporary drive on your laptop/mobile storage

You did the right thing by staying calm and going straight to recovery tools; now the main goal is to avoid further damage and give TestDisk (and anything else) the best chance to find data.​​

What you should do right now

  • Stop using that PC for anything except recovery work (no browsing, no installing big apps, no updates).​​

  • If possible, boot from a USB (Windows PE, Linux live USB, or a recovery disk) and run TestDisk from there so the internal drive is only read, not written.

  • When TestDisk shows recoverable files or partitions, always copy recovered data to a different physical drive (external HDD/SSD/USB), never back to the same disk.

  • extundelete only works on ext3/ext4 (Linux) partitions, so it will only help if that drive previously had a Linux filesystem or you’re recovering a Linux partition from that disk.

  • If you use extundelete, make sure the target partition is unmounted or mounted read‑only before running it, then restore either specific paths or use --restore-all and check the RECOVERED_FILES directory.

About “Reset this PC – Remove everything”

  • That option is designed to wipe personal files and user accounts from the Windows drive, not just reinstall Windows.​​

  • In practice, some or a lot of data can sometimes still be recoverable (it depends on how Windows reset did the cleanup and how much has been written since), which is why tools like TestDisk or commercial recovery tools can sometimes find files after a reset.​

If TestDisk and extundelete don’t find much

If these don’t give you what you need, you still have a few options:

  • Try a dedicated Windows file‑recovery program (EaseUS, Recoverit, etc.) and scan the entire disk deeply from another OS or another machine.​

  • If the data is very important (work, family photos, etc.), consider stopping DIY attempts and taking the drive to a professional data‑recovery service; every extra write or re‑partitioning step can reduce their chances.​

When you share the “news” (what TestDisk found or any screenshots/logs), mention: 1) is it an HDD or SSD, and 2) did you install anything or copy data after the reset,

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If you do a “Reset PC” it does not mean that you lose your data and applications installed on your PC!
You have 2 options:
1.Keep my files: Reinstalls Windows but keeps personal files, removes apps and settings.
2.Remove everything: Deletes all personal files, accounts, apps, and settings, providing a clean slate.
Make a copy of the BOOT partition to try to restore deleted data later. There are applications that recover data from disk images.

Steps to Reset Your PC (Windows 11 & 10)

1.Open Settings: Click the Start menu and select the gear icon, or type “Reset” in the search bar.
2.Navigate to Recovery: Go to System > Recovery (Windows 11) or Update & Security > Recovery (Windows 10).
3.Reset Button: Under “Reset this PC,” click Reset PC or “Get Started”.
4.Choose Options:
a.Keep my files: Reinstalls Windows but keeps personal files, removes apps and settings.
b.Remove everything: Deletes all personal files, accounts, apps, and settings, providing a clean slate.
5.Reinstall Method: Select “Local reinstall” (easier) or “Cloud download” (requires internet, ~4GB download).
6.Finalize: Follow the prompts to confirm and start the process, which will restart your computer.

This video demonstrates how to factory reset your Windows 10 or 11 PC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoC7frPlh8k&t=2s

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Even deleted data can only be restored if you have not actively downloaded or installed new programs, otherwise new programs will replace what you deleted and the data will disappear

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