Can I recover data from external HDD or do I format and lose it all?

Posted by Col on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Col
Published on 2012-12-04T16:19:12Z Indexed on 2012/12/04 17:10 UTC
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hard-drive

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external

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reformat

I have a Maxtor external HDD 500GB but haven't used it for a year or so. I have plugged it into a new laptop as the one I used it with before is busted. I know that there is a ton of data on the HDD that I would love to have the use of - mostly family and friends photos to be honest. But when I click on the HDD in Windows Explorer the only option I am given is to reformat the drive and lose the data.

I'd be grateful if anyone could tell me if there is a way to get the data off the external drive before formatting it and losing it all.

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