Is there a way to recover information after a computer reformatting?

Answer 1

There are various Unformatting programs, some free, others cost money. I am not familiar with any of them, and I am loath to make a recommendation. Writing on the newly formatted disk also overwrites data that may have survived reformatting. In general, if it's that important, I would get professional help.

I would be astonished if the files on the disk before formatting could all be produced in undamaged condition. I use DBAN on rebuilt systems, so there is no hope of getting anything off an old disk that I reformatted..