Formatting will further destroy the original file system and erase all drive data, which badly reduces the chance of success to recoup files from the RAW drive. What to Do First if a Drive Becomes RAW?Īt the very beginning, NEVER format the RAW drive even though your PC asks you to do so. Luckily you can still search for a solution to rescue the RAW drive. Thus, it can no more be opened to check the files. When its file system is missing or damaged, the drive gets nowhere to manage the storage and file location. The difference is that it’s still there but cannot be used temporarily. Why? A RAW drive is not disappeared, but inaccessible. Yes, a RAW drive is possible to be recovered without any information loss.

File system shows as RAW or even does not show any file system type.

The volume does not contain a recognized file system”.

Error message pops up like “Cannot Access Disk.

Error message arises like “You need to format the disk in drive W: before you can use it.Drive cannot be recognized or detected by your computer.Generally speaking, there are certain symptoms or messages to show that your drive has became RAW. Hence, it is unlikely to tell the file location in your RAW storage device. A RAW drive would be like a container without compartments, in which all files will heap together in a jumble.

When the file system of a drive is lost or corrupted, this drive will turn RAW. In accordance with Wikipedia, RAW file system indicates a state of your hard drive which has no or unknown file system.Īs is known to all, each normal drive is formatted with one specific file system, either FAT12/FAT16/FAT32/NTFS or HFS/HFS+, etc. What does this mean? Is there any possibility to fix the RAW drive and rescue your valuable data from it? Not to worry, this article will offer you a complete answer. In all likelihood, the hard drive has turned RAW. At times when you try to access files stored at a hard drive, you fail and an error message pops up asking you to format your drive.

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