I'm using an external hard disk of sea gate 500 gb.but from few days its not being working properly.when i connect it to my usb port it says "drive must be formatted before its use.do you format it now"there are many useful files and movies on it.I don't want to loose that data at any cost.
You might get this message sometimes if the USB ports are not working properly or the Hard Drive has gone bad. Please try the below mentioned steps and check if the problem is fixed:
1. Remove the computer from any power sources.
2. Remove any External peripherals from the machine.
3. Press and hold the power button for 10-15 seconds. This will remove any Flea Power stored in the machine.
4. Re-connect the power source and try to power on the computer.
5. Reconnect the USB Drive and check if you still get this message.
6. If the problem continues please check this Hard Drive in another computer.
7. If the Hard Drive works fine in another computer please backup all the data.
8. Also run a "chkdsk" on this Hard Drive. To run "chkdsk":
a. Go to start button on windows.
b. Type "cmd" and right click on "cmd" and click "Run as Administrator"
c. C:\Windows\system32>
d. Now type : chkdsk <Your hard disk letter>: /f
e. For e.g If my hard disk is named "f" then just type ---------- chkdsk f: /f
