What to do,can't open hard drive

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by gonefishin, Dec 25, 2012.

  1. gonefishin

    gonefishin MDL Novice

    Dec 23, 2012
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    I have a external WD 1T hard drive and when I try to open it (with win 7) it tells me it needs to be formatted.I have some precious files on this drive,how can I retrieve these files?

    Many Thanks in advance.
     
  2. urie

    urie Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 21, 2007
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  3. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    ive used with success
    1: find and Mount (in hirens boot cd)
    2: active@ partition recovery
    3: file scavenger

    all have saved my butt when many other failed.
     
  4. TacoChuck

    TacoChuck MDL Novice

    Apr 30, 2011
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    I'd try a different machine with different o/s if you have access before trying to recover, may be able to back up there first!
     
  5. thatguychuck

    thatguychuck MDL Member

    Feb 6, 2011
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    I've had a handful of drives that I was able to access with an Ubuntu live CD that did not come up with Windows 7.
     
  6. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    #7 LatinMcG, Dec 25, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2013
    the hidden 100MB partition will do that in 7.
    i use gparted to remove it and it mounts from USB in 7 after.
     
  7. Marilyn35

    Marilyn35 MDL Novice

    Jul 5, 2013
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    The “not formatted error” message generally indicates hard disk problems. This can occur for many different reasons including a computer virus, hard drive problem, power surge, or problems with the operating system. If you receive this type of error message, it is important that you act carefully to keep your important data safe.

    1. Do NOT say "yes" to format the drive.

    2. Do NOT attempt to write anything new on this hard drive.

    3. Download data recovery software to help you. There are many data recovery tools out there. But, no all of them could be efficient and useful enough. You should pay much attention to opt for a proper one.

    There are many drive data recovery freeware online that could works efficiently to get your data back, such Recuva, EaseUs Data RecoveryandiCare Data Recovery Free, etc.

    4. Run the selected hard drive recovery tool to retrieve your inner files and pictures.

    Note:
    Actually, in your case, if you have backed up everything important on another drive before, you would not have so many troubles. Therefore, you should learn a lesson to do regular data backup.
     
  8. EFA11

    EFA11 Avatar Guru

    Oct 7, 2010
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    6 plus months later, but hey someone might make use of your post:spoton:
     
  9. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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