Deleting partitions and retrieving data?

[Kam Dumper]

I got my 500GB hard drive split to 2 partitions,if i delete them both and format them to 1 partition,will i be able to retrieve the data i had before using any data retrieving programs?

 

[USAFRet]

Maybe.
But why take that risk? Save the data elsewhere first. Then you can delete/format to your hearts content.

 

[Kam Dumper]

well its the only storage i got at the moment,and being able to retrieve the files would save me the hassle of redownloading them

 

[USAFRet]

well its the only storage i got at the moment,and being able to retrieve the files would save me the hassle of redownloading them

That is a risky proposition.

1. Delete the existing partitions with data on them.
2. Rebuild into one partition.
3. Hope and pray you can reconstitute the data that lived in the previous partitions.

What 'data' is this?
Decidedly risky.
Is your personal data worth $60? Just buy another drive.

 

[Kam Dumper]

well its Steam games lol about 200gb so retrieving them would save me lots of time instead of redownloading them,and im on a tight budget atm so i cant buy another drive

 

[USAFRet]

well its Steam games lol about 200gb so retrieving them would save me lots of time instead of redownloading them,and im on a tight budget atm so i cant buy another drive

Ahhh....Steam games
See here:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

Some creative partitioning, and you could do it.

 

[Kam Dumper]

that looks great! but is there any free software like it?

 

[Brandy-lee00]

Yeah! That really takes risks. But, if you insist, you could try to delete these two partitions and then combine them as one.
In the process, you should never try to save anything new on this drive in case of any data loss.
In fact, after deleting or formatting a partition, the inner data on this formatted or deleted partition is not actually erased. It is only the space used to save it that has been marked as "free space" so that the new data would be easily saved there. In other words, as long as the new data is not written here, the original data would be saved there forever to some extent. Therefore, you should pay attention to this point.

After the combining process, you'd better select a proper partition recovery application to retrieve your needed data back.
Here is always a free partition data recovery application that may help you a lot:
http://www.freeware-fix.blogspot.com/2013/02/deleted-partition-file-recovery.html

I hope you could buy another drive to back up all your important data in the future.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

$70 at Walmart (open 24x7) 1TB external drive. Plug in, backup what you want to keep, then wipe the HDD in your computer. Simpliest, cheapest and LEAST RISK solution.

 

[Kam Dumper]

that looks great! but is there any free software like it?

What's your OS? The AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition is free and supports Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP.

you cant merge with the free version,any other software?