My dad has a couple of old SATA hard drives that he used to store family photos and videos, but unfortunately, the computers they were in have stopped working. I'm trying to access the files using an external SATA to USB drive reader, but it's prompting me to format the drives first. I'm worried that formatting will erase all the precious data. I'm using Windows 10 Pro, and the old drives were formatted for Windows 7, so I'm not sure why they're not being recognized correctly. Can anyone guide me on how to safely retrieve those files?
3 Answers
Formatting the drive will definitely wipe all your data, so definitely don't do that! The issue may be that the filesystem on your dad's old drives isn't compatible with your Windows 10 setup. If they're from a Windows 7 system, though, they should typically work with Windows 10. Have you tried different USB ports or connecting the drives before booting up? Sometimes that does the trick. Also, double-check that your SATA to USB cable is functional; a faulty cable can cause issues too.
Just to clarify, did the drives come from one computer or two separate ones? That might change how you approach the recovery process.
You definitely want to avoid formatting. Data recovery software can be your best bet here. Have you looked into any specific programs? They can often help you recover files without needing to format.
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