Laptops Forum·2,709 discussions

[kees_b]

Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

Tags: Linux, Windows

Hi, I had Windows 7 partitioned with four drives but decided to replace it with Linux Mint 19.3. I made a mistake erasing all the data as I assumed the new OS will only format drive C and leave the other drives intact. I am now left with Linux with no access to all my data with no backup. The question I have is whether I could recover any of my data (400 to 600 GB) with a data recovery software.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by kees_b.

Topic

Reply To: Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

In reply to Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

I suppose it is possible, but likely time-consuming and expensive. You might have to give up the HDD or SSD for more than a few days (removed from the computer). It won’t be cheap and there is no guarantee you can/will recover the lost data. Best of luck.

Re: drives

In reply to Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

That’s not the way it works. You should have installed Linux on an empty part of the disk, in stead of overwriting all. So it’s not Mint that deleted your data, you did it yourself.

Anyway, it seems quite unlikely to me that something can be recovered. But a specialised data recovery company might be able to do something. As birdmantd already wrote, it won’t be cheap.

Please help – further notes added

In reply to Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

Too scared to turn the laptop on as I might make a bad situation worse and reduce my very limited (if any) chance of data recovery. The laptop is an old one (HP Pavilion g series = Intel i3 – I think 2th Gen – Windows 7) so I guess it must have come with an HDD disk.

I had Windows 7 with four drives (C, D, E and F). I then decided to get rid of Windows OS and replace it with Linux Mint 19.3. During the installation, I went for a clean installation and erased all data. I mistakenly assumed my data on drives D, E and F would remain intact. Some data recovery software suggest that I might still be able to recover some data but I am not sure how. I just don’t want to do anything that makes it harder to recover the formatted data.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated as I badly need to recover my lost data.

To Birdmantd and kees_b

In reply to Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

Hi Birdmantd and kees_b, Thanks so much for your help. I was hoping to be able to use a data recovery software myself and try my luck. I don’t urgently need access to the data, however, I do need to recover as much data as I can. I know the gravity of the situation and the damage I have caused. My IT knowledge is limited to my online search and trial and error. Knowing the complexity of the issue, I wanted to know what steps to avoid to limit any further damage and how to go about recovering any data (if any).

Further notes

In reply to Linux Mint 19.3 deleted drivers. How to recover deleted data?

https://forums.tomsguide.com/threads/linux-mint-19-3-deleted-drivers-how-to-recover-deleted-data.504119/

My laptop:

– HP Pavilion g series = Intel i3 = Toshiba HDD drive (750GB) was made in 2011

– Previous OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit partitioned with four drives (C, D, E and F)

– The new or current operating system was installed mid-January 2022: Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon 64-bit installed with “Erase disk and install Linux Mint”:

748GB Block Device dev/mint-vg/root = Filesystem 748 GB Ext4 – Free 730GB

Device: dev/sda1

Partitioning: Master Boot Record

Volumes Partition 1 767MB Ext4 = Extended Partition 2 749GB = Partition 5 749GB LUKS = 749GB LVM2 PV

[Author]

Replies