External HD says it needs to be formatted after used with windows 7

[Frank28]

Hi,

I`m new to that forum but read many post.

My problem is with an external hard drive of 250 gig. It`s a seagate portable drive. It used to work fine until I used it with a windows 7 laptop. Since then, Windows ask me to format the drive. I have pictures and some important docs on that drive and I would like to recover them. Might have been foolish to trust an external drive...

 

Anyway, found some good discussion about data recovery and tried the following:

1.Used Recuva software, didn`t work

2.Used Lazesoft software, didn`t work

3.Used Photorec and testdisk, didn`t work.

 

What can I do from here?

Thank you for your help, very much appreciated.

 

Also, might be a stretch but, that Info was previously deleted from an old desktop, which I can access the hard drive with an enclosure. Could I recover deleted file from this drive?

[DennisD]

Hi Frank, and welcome to the forum.

 

Firstly. It would be well worth having a look at the old drive with Recuva, and the other reputable programs you mention. Being an old drive, a scan will no doubt pick up a lot of stuff, so I would suggest setting the Recuva "View" options in "Options\General\View mode" to "Tree View", which will enable you to zone in on the original location of your files without having to trawl through a long list of everything picked up by the scan.

 

They may have been overwritten of course if the drive was used for a time after you deleted the files, but still worth a try.

 

Secondly, the option to format the Seagate drive is a viable one as long as you carry out a "Quick Format" and not the "Full" variety. A quick format will simply initialize the file system again and make the drive space available to be overwritten, but without deleting any files. As long as you don't use the disk between the quick format and scanning it, then there won't be any overwriting of files at all.

 

However, I would use that as a final option.

 

The first thing I would do is attempt to find and restore the partition (or partitions) on that drive. It sounds like the MBR (Master Boot Record) and all the important partition and file information it contains has been damaged and it is possible to find and restore a partition and to give it a new MBR.

 

Recovering files and partitions isn't an exact science, and there's no guarantee that it will work, but I've personally saved external (and system) drives on a number of occasions in this way.

 

In your failures with the software you mention, did the drive have a drive letter when connected to your computer? And while you were using Lazesoft, did you just try the data recovery option?

 

OK. Download and install "MiniTools Partition Recovery" program (Freeware) from here ...

 

Partition Wizard Home Edition 8.1.1:

 

How to recovery a partition:

 

After installing, connect your drive and run the "Partition Recovery" module. Once loaded, if it picks up your drive, can you post a screenshot of it in your reply, like this ...

 

 

I would like to see how your drive is displayed. However, if you feel confident enough by all means follow the guide, but hang back if you aren't sure of proceeding. I'll help if I can.

 

You'll notice that Minitools also has a "Data Recovery" module which you can by all means try, but be aware that this free version is limited to 1GB of recovered data.

[Alan_B]

Windows ask me to format the drive.

 

That seems unlikely - please tell us more.

 

I can believe that if you normally use a non-Windows computer (Apple / Linux / etc) then a Windows computer might reformat to NTFS before using the drive.

 

I have a vague recollection that there are built in "data protection privacy" types of barriers that have been known to prevent easy access by XP of Win7 User documents or vice-versa.

If that is the cause then there are far simpler and safer ways of regaining full access.

 

What sort of Windows are you using ?

 

Exactly what did you do with the Win7 Laptop ?

 

Can that Laptop still see your pictures ?

[DennisD]

That seems unlikely - please tell us more.

 

 

Why unlikely Alan?

 

It's an external drive and the MBR or whatever is damaged, it will pop up the "drive needs to be formatted" error.

 

But, you go ahead mate.

[Alan_B]

Sorry, trying to quote a post and select the relevant portion sometimes goes wrong

 

What I intended to select, and thought I had selected, was

"It used to work fine until I used it with a windows 7 laptop."

 

I really do not see that a "Windows 7 Laptop"  is more likely than a Vista Desktop to result in "drive needs to be formatted" or cause any damage an MBR.

 

Whilst I fully agree with the suitability of the links you gave for

 

Partition Wizard Home Edition 8.1.1:

 

How to recovery a partition:

 

I suggest that there might be an easier solution if he is trying to use XP to read files that are now accessible only to the Windows 7 Laptop.

 

We do not know if the Windows 7 Laptop simply wrote or read files on the external drive,

or tried to install Linux

 

Regards

Alan

 

 

[daveheezy]

Hi Frank, and welcome to the forum.

 

Firstly. It would be well worth having a look at the old drive with Recuva, and the other reputable programs you mention. Being an old drive, a scan will no doubt pick up a lot of stuff, so I would suggest setting the Recuva "View" options in "Options\General\View mode" to "Tree View", which will enable you to zone in on the original location of your files without having to trawl through a long list of everything picked up by the scan.

 

They may have been overwritten of course if the drive was used for a time after you deleted the files, but still worth a try.

 

Secondly, the option to format the Seagate drive is a viable one as long as you carry out a "Quick Format" and not the "Full" variety. A quick format will simply initialize the file system again and make the drive space available to be overwritten, but without deleting any files. As long as you don't use the disk between the quick format and scanning it, then there won't be any overwriting of files at all.

 

However, I would use that as a final option.

 

The first thing I would do is attempt to find and restore the partition (or partitions) on that drive. It sounds like the MBR (Master Boot Record) and all the important partition and file information it contains has been damaged and it is possible to find and restore a partition and to give it a new MBR.

 

Recovering files and partitions isn't an exact science, and there's no guarantee that it will work, but I've personally saved external (and system) drives on a number of occasions in this way.

 

In your failures with the software you mention, did the drive have a drive letter when connected to your computer? And while you were using Lazesoft, did you just try the data recovery option?

 

OK. Download and install "MiniTools Partition Recovery" program (Freeware) from here ...

 

Partition Wizard Home Edition 8.1.1:

 

How to recovery a partition:

 

After installing, connect your drive and run the "Partition Recovery" module. Once loaded, if it picks up your drive, can you post a screenshot of it in your reply, like this ...

 

2014-03-20_152400.jpg

 

I would like to see how your drive is displayed. However, if you feel confident enough by all means follow the guide, but hang back if you aren't sure of proceeding. I'll help if I can.

 

You'll notice that Minitools also has a "Data Recovery" module which you can by all means try, but be aware that this free version is limited to 1GB of recovered data.

 

Dennis, I'm hoping you can help me.  Im having a similar issue as the original poster, except my drive was an internal drive that seems to have crashed.  I can see the partitions, but when I try to access them, I get "You need to format the disk in drive G: before you can use it.  Do you want to format it?"

 

I tried installing the MiniTool Partition Wizard, and the HD says "Bad Disk" next to it.  See screenshot:  

 

Any suggestions?

[DennisD]

Hi dave, and welcome to Piriform.

 

Apologies for the delay in replying as I've been away from the forum for a few days, but if you are still in the same position post back and we'll do what we can.

 

It could be that your drive has physical damage or hard errors the way Minitools has displayed it, but as this is the first time I've seen it display a drive in that way, I can't say that with any certainty, but I'll research that.

 

There's obviously a complete lack of menu items down the left side with the partition itself highlighted, so could you click outside of the highlighted (yellow) partition, and highlight the device itself, which should bring up a different list of menu items down that left side. As shown here ...

 

 

Let me know if you get the normal selection shown.