I have an iMation external HDD I've been using for a couple of years. I gave it out to someone and when they returned it, whenever I plug it in my computer it asks me to format it.

There is so much information on it thhat I don't want to loose. Is there a way I can at least get mmy data back?
Thank you.

What is the size of the hard disk. Also have you tried chkdsk ?

Ichiato:
What is the size of the hard disk. Also have you tried chkdsk ?

250GB

Where do I get the chkdsk menu and does it take time? So I know if to do it now or when I'm plugged in

Trillyonaire:


250GB

Where do I get the chkdsk menu and does it take time? So I know if to do it now or when I'm plugged in

Sorry I assumed you are using a windows os which is where chkdsk works. If I'm correct then the time it takes depends on the size and and number of errors the hard disk has, so I can't give an exact time frame but from experience I never seen it run for more than 20mins tops. Anyway the chkdsk is a windows command that scans and attempts to fix errors on the hard disk. The link below describes how to run it on windows 8,7 and xp

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/184611en

Ichiato:

Sorry I assumed you are using a windows os which is where chkdsk works. If I'm correct then the time it takes depends on the size and and number of errors the hard disk has, so I can't give an exact time frame but from experience I never seen it run for more than 20mins tops. Anyway the chkdsk is a windows command that scans and attempts to fix errors on the hard disk. The link below describes how to run it on windows 8,7 and xp

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/184611en

It says "This disk check could not be performed because windows can't access the disk"

Trillyonaire:


It says "This disk check could not be performed because windows can't access the disk"

Oops, sorry
The only other solution I know of is to format the hard disk and use a file recovery software to retrieve important files but there are no guaranties the files you need will be recovered.

Wait guy before you format....use a "recovery software to recover your files...then format..because you will have a 99% change of recovering most files..b/4 formatting than after formatting