Find your lost data

Sometimes when erasing a drive completely to make room for new files, the variety of formatting options could lead you to mistakenly wipe important files and folders. In that situation, don't panic! There are plenty of software titles that can help you retrieve your data.

 
disk volume is usually formatted for a particular purpose such as to get rid of a virus that is not being removed by an anti-malware program, to replace a damaged file system, to reinstall the operating system or to remove files and folders from the hard drive. If you accidentally format the wrong drive, it is possible to retrieve the data since formatting doesn't exactly remove these files unless they are specifically overwritten. The files remain intact, however, they do become inaccessible. In this situation, you have to use one of these software programs which are designed for retrieving data from the index files of the hard drive.

“Remo Formatted Drive Recovery Software”

Available for $179 (as of 2011), Remo Formatted Drive Recovery Software can help you recover accidentally formatted data from a drive on your Mac computer. The software can recover files from both HFSX and HFS+ formatted volumes.
Before purchasing the software, you can try the demo version. Download it from the Remo Software website and install on the system where you would like to recover files. Run it by going to the “Applications” folder. Choose the “Recover Partitions/drives” option from the window, and choose “Formatted/Reformatted Recovery.” The software will then show you a list of detected logical drives from which you can select the one you accidentally formatted.
Click the “Next” button so the software starts scanning. After the process has finished, you may view the recovered files by clicking “File Type View/Data View.”

“Recover Data For Mac”

Recover Data for Mac is another data recovery program helpful for recovering files such as documents, songs, games, photos, videos and other file types from a formatted drive. As of 2011, the software is available for purchase for $49, along with a free demo that can help you recover limited data. Once you download and install the application, run it and select the recovery disk and the recovery mode from the list. The application will then scan for all the recoverable files from the disk and will show you a list. Click “Next” and let the program restore all the files.

“Stellar Macintosh Data Recovery”

Stellar Macintosh Data Recovery, available for $99 as of 2011. This software can help you recover lost data from all the native drives on Mac OS X or any other drive you may have mounted in your computer.
Once you have downloaded the demo version or purchased the full version, open the Stellar Macintosh Data Recovery program from the “Applications” folder. Then click the “Fresh Recovery” icon, and select the “Recover Hard Drive” option.
You will then see a new window, where you must select the option “Formatted Media/Lost File Recovery.” Select the particular volume/drive from which you want to restore the data. After you click “Continue,” you will be able to see all the recoverable files in a list. Select them all or choose a few particular ones, and click the “Recover” button.

"Boomerang Data Recovery Software"

Available for $99.95 as of 2011, Boomerang Data Recovery Software works much the same way as the rest of the software mentioned above. It comes with a demo-version that you can download and try before purchasing the full version of the software. It has six different modules for recovering data in different types of situations, for instance, to restore deleted files from damaged or unmountable drives and RAID volumes. The software has a step-by-step recovery wizard designed for layman usage.
Once you install and launch the application, select the option "Drive/Disk" from under the "Recovery Modules" menu on the left. The wizard will then show you more options from which you must select "Formatted my hard drive or disk." Then click "Continue" and follow the instructions in the wizard to restore all or some of your data.

"iDisksoft Data Recovery"

iDisksoft Data Recovery also comes with a demo-version and once expired, you can purchase it for $79, as of 2011. The software has four modules just like Boomerang Data Recovery Software, all of which have designated tasks.
Once you have downloaded and launched the application, select the "Deep Recovery" mode and specify the particular drive you formatted. Then click "Next," choose the file types that you want recovered, select the files and folders and select a path where you want to save the recovered data. iDisksoft Data Recovery will then get to work and will show you the recovered files once its done.

Resources

To read more about software titles that can be used for retrieving deleted files on a Mac OS X computer, check out the article Top 5 Choices for Mac OS X Deleted File Recovery Software.

References

Apple Mac Data Recovery Software. (2011). Recover Data.
Boomerang Data Recovery Software for MacOS X. (2011). Six Brand New Recovery Modules in Boomerang Version 2.0!
iDiskSoft. (2011). iDisksoft Data Recovery for Mac.
Remo Software. (2011). Recover Data from Formatted Drive.
Wonder Share (2011). How to Recover Mac Files after Formatting Macintosh HD?
Image Credits:
Recovery Data Tools
Remo Software
Wondershare
Boomerang Data Recovery Software for MacOS X
iDisksoft Data Recovery for Mac

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/119703.aspx#ixzz1TtPbvRWe