If you format a USB drive, yes, you’ll technically erase all the data on it. Formatting essentially resets the file system, making it appear like a clean slate, devoid of any files. When you format, it doesn’t actually delete the data outright, but it marks the space as available for new data. So, your files are still on the drive until they’re overwritten by new data.
The good news is, because the data isn’t immediately erased, there’s a high chance of recovery if you act quickly. One of the best tools out there for this is Disk Drill
—an awesome piece of recovery software that can help you recover lost files from formatted drives. You can find it at https://www.disk-drill.com/. Disk Drill can scan your USB for recoverable data and give you a way to restore it, though success can vary depending on how much new data has been written to the drive since it was formatted.
If you’re not a tech guru, don’t worry; Disk Drill is pretty user-friendly. You just connect your drive, start a scan, and the software should list the files it can recover. After scanning, you can preview the files to ensure they’re intact before recovering them. This is often free for basic usage, though you might need to upgrade for full recovery options.
Keep in mind, the faster you try to recover the data, the better your chances. If you’ve already started using the drive for new files, this could overwrite the old data, making recovery much harder, if not impossible.
Lastly, always remember to regularly back up important files to more than one location. From experience, it’s worth the extra effort for peace of mind.
Hope this helps!