How to read an external HDD without formatting?

Disks installed in a USB case are readily readable by other PCs although you might have to resolve some access permission issues. The phenomenon you report can be caused by one of these:

• The file system on the disk is damaged.
• The partitions are encrypted.
• The disk uses a proprietary file system, e.g. to prevent the disk from being read while outside the PC.

I also wonder if the problem that forced you to remove the disk could be related to your inability to read the disk.

Lastly I would boot the machine with an Ubuntu boot CD in order to find out what a different operating system reports about this disk.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/use-ubuntu-live-cd-to-backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/

Hi

Thanks for your posting in Microsoft Community

If windows is asking to format::means there is bad sector on HDD platter

Reasonable thing to try, but I would try it later, if other things do not work.

To me, the symptoms sound more like there is a problem with the directory structure of the hard drive in question. Something got corrupted.

Plugging the drive directly into the computer bypasses the USB interfaces, and would tell if the trouble was coming from there. This would be an uncommon cause of this problem. You might try simply plugging the drive into a different computer to see if that helps.

If these simple things don't work, Please consider giving the drive to a professional data recovery company. It will cost a bit of money, but to you will be worth it. Another alternative is to get another 1 terabyte drive (less than $100 from Ecost) (sounds like you need one anyway) and try to use one of the data recovery programs to write the data to that (It woujld be much too laborious to write to DVDs at this stage)(You should have done that before now).

Once the data is safe, you can try all sorts of things including formatting the broken one.

If the data recovery program doesn't give you the option of saving your files, you might try booting to a live Linux environment, such as Mint, and recovering your data via flash drive or optical media, then formatting the drive through Windows.

Thank you Guys.  If there is a problem with the file structure or corruption then this was almost certainly part of Windows 7's lock down process.  My partner was getting a series of "Windows Not Genuine" prompts while I was away abroad for an extended period - unfortunately she ignored the warnings, assuming they were just another form of SPAM.  The OS has now seemingly blocked all external connectivity - Internet, LAN, USB, Optical Drives, etc - hence my need to retrieve important data by other means, removing the HDDs and buying an enclosure.

I am quite sure the HDDs are good as I was able to see all the files I want before removing the drives - I just couldn't copy or export any.  Also a trial version of iCare (which was prompted by another community user) finds the HDD through the enclosure and lists the files but is limited to 2GB worth of retrieval unless I buy the full version ($70).  This suggests to me the HDD is fundamentally OK and, as Oberwald suggests, this is a Windows access permissions issue.

I'll try Ubuntu next......

I forgot to mention one option: A flawed USB case.

No progress whatsoever - I have tried one of the Win 7 HDDs connected directly to my spare Win Vista PC via SATA cable and also via the USB enclosure.  In both cases the HDD is allocated Drive F: automatically but cannot be read (prompts for formatting every time).  I have no idea whether the problem is different OS, some kind of access restriction or a drive setting which I am too ill informed and nervous to make.

Booting my spare PC from the Ubuntu DVD I made, it won't even detect the Win 7 HDD whichever way it is connected.

I am getting very disillusioned with the whole situation - I simply don't have the money to spend on specialist data recovery but I desperately want to retrieve files that are valuable to me (foremost of which are messages and photographs from my late father).  It seems grossly unfair that I am suffering from Microsoft's measures aimed at piracy criminals - of which I am not one - with no viable means of recovery.