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How to read an external HDD without formatting?

I am in the process of trying to recover valuable files from 2 x 320GB HDDs which have been removed from a Windows 7 PC (the Win 7 PC decided after 4 years that the OS was no longer genuine and locked itself down).

I have bought a SATA HDD enclosure but when this is attached via USB to a separate PC or Laptop their respective systems demand formatting of the HDD.  Clearly this would defeat the purpose of their removal.  The HDDs are sound and I know the files I want are there - I am just reluctant to spend more on specialist data recovery software if there is a Windows workaround.

I have trawled for previous threads on this forum and elsewhere and can find no definitive solution - obviously I don't want to tamper with HDD settings I don't understand and then find I've ruined my chances of retrieving the contents.

Advice that helps me move forward with this would be gratefully received.   
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/

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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.

MicrosoftMVP.Lead Software Engineer-Directory Service & Exchange.AWS,AZURE, Jenkins,DevOps ,Maria DB(,MCSE. MCP .MCSA, CCNA ,RHCE)

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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......

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

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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. 

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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. 
It is far more likely that the file system of your disk got damaged and that it triggered the message you saw. I have seen similar cases that were caused by some system file that became unreadable. You might have to treat the loss as a harsh lesson that important files must be backed up regularly to an external medium. Unfortunately many people skip this step until they suffer a major disaster.

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Are you serious - you think this whole episode - Windows calling into question the provenance of the original OS software and all the downstream effects - is entirely down to a hardware failure?


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Are you serious - you think this whole episode - Windows calling into question the provenance of the original OS software and all the downstream effects - is entirely down to a hardware failure?
Yes, I am. The "non genuine" message can be triggered by a number of events, e.g.
- Missing system files
- Modified system files
- Modifications to the registry
- And, of course, an illegal installation.

When an illegal installation is detected (whether genuine or by error) then the machine will no longer receive operating system updates. The subject of virus scanner updates was discussed in the press some time ago, with some people suggesting that preventing pattern updates would be counterproductive because it would result in more infected machines. There was never ever the slightest suggestion of Microsoft rendering a disk unreadable because of pirated software. If this ever happened then it would cause an instant and very serious backlash to Microsoft.

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I recently had a customer bring me a failed system also with vital files on it. When I moved the drive to my workshop PC the Windows also wanted to format the drive i.e. it would assign a drive letter but not let me read it.

 

I found TestDisk from CG Security which is free. This allowed me to navigate the drive and recover the files needed back to my system. It is command line driven and some of the commands are a bit obtuse but I was able to get all the files off of the drive. It took a little time to work out but eventually I was able to pull entire directories and it even worked with the disk in a USB docking station.

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Last updated April 1, 2025 Views 10,417 Applies to: