# HD keeps asking me to format it.



## Andrew Marchi (Jan 5, 2016)

Hey guys, So I bought a new 4TB Seagate HD a bout a month ago and recently it has decided to go nuts. When I go to access something I have on there I get a message telling me I need to format the drive before I can use it. Gyazo - dae308610196b9d4c142700da711cea2.png

This has been done about 3 times now.

I record alot of gameplay so I have a few questions.

A. is there anyway for me to get in and grab one of my clips?


B. Is there a way to stop it from doing this or did I get a bad hard drive?

Thank you so much for reading!


----------



## Lincon_WD (Jan 5, 2016)

Hi Andrew Marchi,

It could be a file system error. When the first sector in a HDD known as the boot sector containing the MBR Code and the partition table gets corrupted, Windows is unable to see and read any file system. Since Windows sees no file system in the partition, it prompts you to format it in order to create a file system on it.

This happens mostly by directly disconnecting the drive instead of using “Safely Remove Hard drive” option. This can happen in many ways such as a power failure, unplugging the drive from the USB port or from its AC adapter, a problem with the computer that causes it to temporarily disconnect the USB hubs and many more circumstances can lead to this occurring.

 I’d suggest you to always use “Safely remove hardware” to disconnect the drive. Left click the icon on the task bar, select the device from the menu, and wait for the confirmation message.

If you still face the same issue continue to post here.


----------



## topgear (Jan 5, 2016)

[MENTION=321268]Andrew Marchi[/MENTION] - give us some more details about your pc config.


----------



## Andrew Marchi (Feb 15, 2016)

Thank you for the quick response but sadly it doesn't seem to work  
I'll try the recovery tool.
Is there any way to prevent it from doing this in the future or is this a hardware problem?


----------



## Lincon_WD (Feb 15, 2016)

Hi Andrew Marchi,

I know exactly how it feels like. I am wondering if you have tried to run a diagnostic test on your drive?

If yes can you show us the results of the test?

You can also try to format the drive after taking the required backup and see does it resolve your issue?

Note: Make sure you have a copy of the important data before making any changes to the drive. 

Do let us know about the results.


----------

