Is there a way to recover deleted files after removing NTFS partitions?

Question

I have windows disk. I accidentally remove its partitions and created Linux ext3 partition. I know that there is recovery software. I don't know before using software should I delete that volume or I can check immediately? Is presence of that volume will allow software to find previous NTFS volumes?

Answer 1

I've had a lot of success using Runtime Software's GetDataBack products and have been using them for over 10 years.

If your data is there this will find it.

It's also free to use to inspect your device. So no need to pay for it if you can't recover anything.

Answer 2

should I delete that volume

Absolutely not. The first rule in performing data recovery is preventing any further changes to the drive.

Basic data recovery software will only look for a NTFS boot record (which you probably destroyed) or it's backup (which might be there). For instance, you could use Testdisk to scan the entire drive and see if it lists the contents of the partition. This requires that the MFT itself has not been damaged.

Conversely, advanced data recovery programs will scan the drive for artifacts and remains of NTFS data structure. They will then assemble those together in order to rebuild a working directory structure. There are also techniques to infer where the partition begins without using any boot record (this is essential for extracting the files).

If you want a free, open source advanced NTFS reconstruction software you can use RecuperaBit (of which I am the author).