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Just booted my PC this morning, running Windows 7 64 bit, and my 2tb Seagate External drive is not showing up, after downloading Testdisk and running it. My files are all still there but, after following the step by step guide to repair the partition no change.

I am start to get very annoyed with it now, getting error about file size mismatch also, so any ideas on how to try and fix it.

Thanks

Hi. I have a Seagate FreeAgent Pro, 1TB external HD. It's a few years old, at least. A couple of weeks ago I realised it was not showing up as a connected drive. Using Disk Management I discovered that the drive is now in RAW format (I get a message saying I need to format the drive - I've said cancel each time). I suspect the corruption occurred when I transferred 4 or 5 folders each containing between 2-5GB worth of photographs around the time the drive disappeared. I moved these folders separately, so unless there was an error message on the last folder and I don't recall it, I don't think the computer made any complaint. Since then I've tried SeaTools which identifies the drive but when tested fails. I've also unplugged several times, in an attempt to reboot, and I've connected via SATA cable which prompts Intel Matrix Storage Manager to start. I get the following properties:
Status: Normal
Device Port: 4
Location: Internal (don't know why it says this???)
SATA Mode: Generation 2
Model: Seagate FreeAgent Pro
Serial Number: 9QJ0LY3V
Firmware: 4109
Queuing support: No
Size: 931.5GB

I've never partitioned the drive, but I thought it worth trying TestDisk. The drive was listed with the appropriate size. I first tried the Intel table option and it went for hours but didn't find anything. Second I tried the None table option and it very quickly got stuck at 99%. It did show the drive as NTFS, which I thought perhaps was a positive thing. I'd rather not loose the content of the drive, so if anyone can suggest where I should go to next, I'd be grateful. Otherwise, I guess I'll just buy a new one. Most of the content is backed up on a second external drive which I keep offsite.

Ta.

If you don't have a backup of the most recent files, you can use TestDisk, Advanced, List, navigate in the folder with the missing files and try to copy them.
Another possibility is to clone the disk to a new empty disk using GNU ddrescue
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Damaged_Hard_Disk

get knoppix live dvd. there in lower left corner is filemanager. easy copying. recover/restore/backup all files. its much quicker than recovering with testdisk.

i lost 3 months with two drives when i was on non-special forum(here it is the right place).
i also recovered data with testdisk after finding out how its was working but only one directory after the other. very timeconsuming. also with knoppix you need time but i think its quicker.
with testdisk-recovering you need patience.
i have a seperate thread about these findings. we need a more precise information how backup is working.
cloning drive is good but saving the way i described does not damage anything. i would clone/backup the saved data afterwards so you have a copy.