Format media before you can use it?

My external hard drive is not recognized on the laptop or it indicates that it should be formatted before using it.

I found on the internet that there's a tool to restore the data. Strictly speaking, it is https://de.minitool.com/datenwiederherstellungssoftware/kostenlos-fuer-windows.html. This tool supposedly finds all the data, but it can only display the data. You have to pay to save it, the problem is that it's not cheap

is there a similar tool where you can do it for free?

I use the Data Recovery tool, which is a promotional version of https://katfile.com/xtgmyylbeblw/RS.File.Recovery.5.0.rar.html
can be loaded.

What comes out of me with strange with antivirus program