External Hard Drive Issues

I have a Seagate Free Agent Go 1-T drive. I have had this drive for about 8 years. I plugged it into my surface laptop with Windows 10 OP System and it began formatting automatically. All my data has been erased. What software can I use to bring my data back? Also, now this drive is not appearing in file explorer. Does this mean I have a virus or malware? I have also tried plugging the drive into a HP Pavilion laptop with Windows 10 OP System and a HP desktop with Windows 10 OP System and it doesn't appear in File Explorer on any of the computers. I am looking for help with data recovery and the recognition of the external drive when plugged into a computer.

 

Try Partition Wizard.
I have found it possible to roll back a format- as long as you do not try to do anything else to it.
Install PW, and run it , with the hard drive connected as a slave, or,in a caddy.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/minitool_partition_wizard_home_edition.html
Scroll down the left for partition recovery

 

It may be toast. You need to get it recognized first. Hopefully Partition Wizard can help there. You may need to remove the drive itself from the enclosure and connect it directly to your computer as a secondary drive - not boot drive.

From there, if you can see it, you can try using Recuva from the makers of CCleaner to recover your data. Wise Data Recovery is also popular.

No promises. 8 years is a long time for a drive.

Note too, a good backup plan includes multiple backups to different devices.