Why does it say my WD external drive needs formatting

[bonniesadler]

I have files on my external hard drive and when trying to open it up, it asks me to format the drive, but also says I could lose my files, what should I do

 

[livebriand]

Perhaps the drive hasn't been formatted yet - new ones sometimes are preformatted, but other times aren't. Assuming your files aren't on it, format the drive.

 

[GOPINATHAN]

I have files on my external hard drive and when trying to open it up, it asks me to format the drive, but also says I could lose my files, what should I do