Former C Drive - Where is My Data?

[macb19]

Several months ago I started having problems with my internal hard drive (C: drive), a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750 GB (I don't remember exactly what was going wrong).

I replaced it with an SDD. I need files off the old C: drive but when I place it into an external enclosure it says I need to format the disk before I can use it. I decline formatting because I don't want to lose the data on it.

The drive will show up in My Computer but when I click on it, it says the drive is not accessible. It also says the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

Any idea what may be wrong? Will data recovery software help or do I need to find another alternative? Thanks.

 

[cklaubur]

Usually, if the computer wants to format a drive when it is plugged in, you're in trouble. That means that file system information has been lost. Data recovery software MAY be able to recover your data as long as the media itself is undamaged.

The most important thing to remember at this point is do not write anything to the drive. Your chances of recovery drop the more you write to the drive.

Casey

 

[macb19]

So my best course of action is to search these forums and find a good data recovery software?