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Unformat USB External HDD
Have you ever encountered an unformatted USB external hard disk drive? You need to format the disk in drive R before you can use it. Do you want to format it now? Sentences above are the common message prompt the USB external hard disk drive is unformatted. We can not access any data saved on the USB external hard disk drive before we format it. But we still can not view them after formatting the USB external hard disk drive. At this present, the correct way is to retrieve inaccessible files with data recovery software.
Example of the USB external hard disk drive not being formatted
I meet a strange USB external hard disk drive problem and have no idea how to cope with. I am asked to format the USB external hard disk drive when I connected to the computer and try to open it. It can not be opened but shows unformatted. All data saved on it would be lost if it is formatted, but I can not lose those important and useful files and folders. What should I do to restore my losses? Should I format the USB external hard disk drive right now or not format it? -Lin from Australia
How to retrieve files from the unformatted USB external hard disk drive with data recovery software
Though data saved on the unformatted USB external hard disk drive is inaccessible, it could be visible again with the help of data recovery software. It just disappears for a moment and could be retrieved by the data recovery tool as long as it has not been overwritten by any new contents. The following steps will show you how it works:
Recover data from formatted USB external hard disk
Preparation: Download and install data recovery software on your computer. Then, you can connect the USB external hard disk to your computer and run the software and select proper recovery module.
Proper usage to USB external hard disk drive to protect its data
There are many reasons which may lead to an unformatted USB external hard disk drive and result in losing its files and folders, such as virus attacks, RAW file system error and other matters. We can not resist the inevitable factors, but we can avoid some data loss situations that happened due to our own carelessness. Firstly, we could use the USB external hard disk drive correctly to avoid losing data. Here are some common proper usages to USB external hard disk drive as follows:
1. Plug the USB external hard disk drive out of computer safely. When we intend to unplug the USB external hard disk drive from computer, the correct steps are: close the related programs-click the USB external hard disk drive icon-left click on the safe removal button. Then the v external hard disk drive is removed from the computer safely. Not just the USB external hard disk drive, we should plug other portable storage devices out of the computer as the same way.
2. Avoid downloading the harmful software and files on the USB external hard disk drive. Some software and files contain virus and worms or other harmful matters which could infect the information saved on the USB external hard disk drive originally even lead to the previous information lost. The consequence is so severe that we can not resist. So what we can do is to not save such harmful software and documents on the USB external hard disk drive.
3. Copy the needed files to other disks. Some people like to remove information to other disk by cutting them, which has a huge risk. If there is something goes wrong in the process of cut and paste, we can not find the shifted data both on the aim disk and the original drive. No one knows where they have been. So in order to keep the safety of information, it is better to copy the needed files and paste them on the object disk.
4. Other similar proper usages to USB external hard disk drive.
Common brands of USB external hard disk drive
We not only should use the USB external hard disk drive correctly in order to protect the information saved on the USB external hard disk drive from being lost, but also should pick up the USB external hard disk drive with good quality when we purchase one. There also is risk if we store files on the poor quality USB external hard disk drive. Here are some popular manufactures of USB external hard disk drive as follows: Kingston, SanDisk, Adata, Teclast, HP, PNY, Patriot, Apacer, Netac, SSK.
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