External Hard disk

[Haqmal]

My external Hard disk have problem when i am connecting to laptop, and give the message " Please format before using" but i have very important data in my Hard disk could you guide me please?

 

[Reyaz123]

Your external drive is most likely corrupted and needs to be replaced

Open cmd
Type in
Chkdsk /f (drive letter that is your external drive. Example. Chkdsk /f d:

Afterwards,
Open disk management (with your backup drive still plugged in)
Locate your external drive in there
If it is listed as RAW format, it has been damaged.

Check if it is failing first with a smart test: http/www.howtogeek.com/134735/how-to-see-if-your-hard-drive-is-dying/

Contact the company for that backup drive, they probably will replace it for free

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there Haqmal,

In case the chkdsk command doesn't help out, you need to use some partition recovery software as it seems that the HDD has lost its partitions. You can check whether this is the case in Disk Management.
Most of the times, this is a result of unsafe ejection of the drive.

After that, I guess you can test the drive with some brand specific testing tool. The results will show you whether there is something wrong with it.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD