Fix : Hard disk suddenly shows Raw partition, not accessible in Windows 8 , 7 , Vista , XP

Windows cannot access this drive, do you wish to format it, is the message that you will receive when you try to open your hard disk drive or a partition on your HDD. This post will help you fix this issue in a few simple steps. This guide will also help you recover your data from the hard drive which is now detected as RAW in your Windows PC. Recently my 2 TB Seagate Go Flex drive started to show RAW partition & I feared loosing all my data, below mentioned is the method that worked for me.

Pre-requisites for this method:

  • Windows Installation CD / DVD /USB ( Windows 8 , 7 , Vista )
  • OR
  • Windows 8 , 7 repair disk
  • Test Disk – Click to download ( Use this, if the problem hard disk drive is not your primary drive )
  • OR
  • Parted Magic –Click to download the ISO file and burn a CD ( Use this ,if your primary hard disk drive is the problem hard drive and you lost your operating system )

Note: Do not use this method on a Solid State Drive

Test Disk usage remains the same from Within Windows & from Parted magic

If you wish to use parted magic :

  • Burn the disc image to a CD or make a Bootable USB
  • While booting, Choose option 1. Default settings, Run from RAM
  • After the booting sequence is complete,
  • Locate and click on the Terminal Icon ( Bottom left area )
  • type testdisk & press Enter

WP_000276

Test Disk Usage :

  • You can choose to either create a Log or not ( depends on you )
  • testdisk1
  • Select the hard disk drive with the Raw partition from the given list & press Enter
  • testdisk2
  • In this step, check the hint part & select accordingly ( for me it shows Intel )
  • testdisk3
  • Select Analyse & Press Enter
  • testdisk4
  • Now, Select Quick Search at the bottom of the screen & press Enter
  • Select your partition and press Enter
  • testdisk5
  • After the quick search is complete, press P to see your file and folders, if you are satisfied with the results here, press Q
  • Select Write at the bottom & press Enter
  • testdisk6
  • Press Y to confirm Write
  • If you do not see your files and folder, you can try Deeper Search.
  • Now,
  • Press Q , until you reach the screen below
  • testdisk7
  • Select Advanced & press Enter
  • testdisk8
  • Now, at the bottom, select boot and press Enter
  • testdisk9
  • Now, In case your Boot sector is bad and your Backup boot sector is OK,
  • Select Org. BS & press Enter
  • Press Y to write backup boot sector to the primary boot sector
  • But,
  • If in case both your boot sectors are BAD
  • Select Rebuild BS & press Enter
  • This process will take some time to complete, Press Y in the end to execute

 

Now,

  • Boot from Windows Installation CD / DVD / USB or the repair disc
  • After the initial boot sequence completes Press Shift + F10
  • OR,
  • Click on repair your computer
  • & from Recovery options
  • Select Command Prompt
  • Type chkdsk x: /f      – here replace X with your drive letter
  • Let this process Complete
  • Restart your computer
  • Your disk should now be working fine

 

You can use the Test Disk utility to copy your file & folders from the damaged drive as well.

  • Get to the screen where the main options are ( refer screenshot below )

testdisk4

  • Select Analyse
  • Select Quick Search
  • Press Enter on your partition
  • Press P to see your files & folders
  • Now, press C (shift + C ) – to copy multiple files & c (to copy one file)

testdisk

  • Check out the options at the bottom of the screen

 

This should help you in recovering your data & getting your hard disk drive to a usable state. If, in case of any queries / suggestions, please feel free to use the comment / Contact form

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