[SOLVED] Scan formatted hard drive to find out which email I had used

[HenryChinaski]

I recently decided to reformat my windows PC because of how much it had slowed down over time.
Instead of backing up all my data on a hard drive, I had synced everything into the one drive account connected to that login.
However, reinstalling windows and logging in again, I found that none of the files were in the one drive of the email account I thought I had used
At this point I realised that I must have first set up that laptop with a different email - one I had forgotten and no longer used.
The problem is I can't recall what email I must have used! And therefore, all my files are currently inaccessible to me.

So my question is whether there is a way to scan the drive for references to what that email address might be? I think I must have set up a new hotmail or outlook account thinking that was necessary for a windows login. If I can discover the address, I can probably remember the password or at least try and reset it!

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Where, exactly, do expect to find this address? You've formatted and overwritten all of the old data. This is why local backups are so important.

 

[HenryChinaski]

Where, exactly, do expect to find this address? You've formatted and overwritten all of the old data. This is why local backups are so important.

I reinstalled windows, is that the same? The reason I ask is because I heard that registry files usually remain and it is hard to irreversibly erase data from a hard drive. Is that not right?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

You've formatted the drive and overwritten the old data and there's nothing left to retrieve. Yes, some (nowhere near all) of the old data is still there, now in the inaccessible parts of the drive, but, you've overwritten a goodly amount of data with the reinstall. Take this as a lesson in making sure that you have all the information you think you'll need (such as accounts and passwords to important data) before taking steps that may be irreversible. And, if this is an SSD, there is absolutely nothing left after a format.