External hard disk

[Mercy_83]

5oogb iomega Hdd cannot open, it ask to be formatted but i have very important programs on it and can't afford to format

 

[WyomingKnott]

First try it on another machine. If the other machine can read it, quickly copy what you need.

Second, if you are handy or have a handy friend, remove the hard drive from the external case and attach it directly to the motherboard. This solves the problem if there is a flaw in the external enclosure's circuitry.

Otherwise, you go down the path for a corrupted drive, and use some sort of recovery program to attempt to read every sector and recover what files are possible. If you search the forums for "hard drive recovery" you will find a plethora of alternative pieces of software to do this. Many will scan the drive for free, but require that you pay $50-$100 for actual file recovery.

This can be a lengthy process, running a day or more.