Ads

Tom's Hardware > Forum > Storage > Hard Drives > How do I install a new HDD Enclosure without formatting and potentially losing a

How do I install a new HDD Enclosure without formatting and potentially losing a

Forum Storage : Hard Drives How do I install a new HDD Enclosure without formatting and potentially losing a

I had a faulty connection on my Seagate Expansion Drive and could no longer access the data on it.
I purchased a 3.5 HDD Enclosure to house the old hard drive. (It is a 3.5 HDD Enclosure for SATA 1 HDD or SATA 11 HDD - from :??: usbex.com/stathdd08).
I have tried to open the hard drive on both a Windows XP and a Vista Laptop and in both cases I am asked if I want to format the new device. I have not done so as I am worried about losing all the info on the hard drive.

Is formatting the only way to access the hard drive in this new enclosure? and if so:
a) will I lose all the data on it?
b) if so, how can I get it back?

Reply to Ros11

It looks like the faulty connection caused an issue with the hard disk and that's why it no longer is accessible.

Quote :

Is formatting the only way to access the hard drive in this new enclosure? and if so:
a) will I lose all the data on it?

Definitely.

Quote :

b) if so, how can I get it back?

If the hard disk contents is really important to you, then send it to a data recovery service. If not, then I'm sure that someone will suggest tools that may or may not work to recover the data yourself. Presume that the risk of losing data is high, but a free data recovery tool may work. I would suggest trying a tool that doesn't do anything to the hard disk and that can still show you what files could be recovered. To play it safe, you could also clone that that hard disk to another hard disk and then try to recover from the cloned drive.

Reply to GhislainG

Thanks very much GhislaneG! Can I just reiterate so I'm sure of what I'm doing?
First format the HDD Enclosure with the old HD inside. Then try a free File Recovey to see available files so I can decide what to recover. ( I had already tried Easeus but as the drive was not formatted I got nowhere.)
Can you tell me how and at what point( ie before or after formatting) to clone? (I thought I could dump the new drive into my C Drive to make another copy but it wouldn't let me. Yours Ros11

Reply to Ros11

Quote :

First format the HDD Enclosure with the old HD inside.

No. If you format the hard disk, then you'll lose your data.

Quote :

Then try a free File Recovey to see available files so I can decide what to recover. ( I had already tried Easeus but as the drive was not formatted I got nowhere.

I presume that you tried the free version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard? I'm not surprised that you got nowhere because the hard disk has probably been damaged and standard data recovery tools might not work.

Quote :

Can you tell me how and at what point( ie before or after formatting) to clone?

Before; otherwise it serves no purpose.

Quote :

(I thought I could dump the new drive into my C Drive to make another copy but it wouldn't let me.

I don't understand what you mean by that statement. In order to clone the defective drive, you need another empty drive (internal or external) that's the same size or larger. You could also image the drive using a tool like EaseUS Todo Backup Free 4.0 or other similar utilities. A hard disk having enough free space (less than the original hard disk as the data is compressed) is required to store the image. If you image the drive, then you'll have to try recovering data on the original drive.

Again if your data really is important, then stop trying to recover it by yourself because the more recovery tools you try, the more damage you might be causing. It will cost you a significant amount of money, but I'm sure that in the future you'll always keep important files on at least two different external drives or other media and not in the same room either.

Reply to GhislainG