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When the last Microsoft updates were applied something did not go right. Windows provided the RESTORE Screen and proceeded to restore my computer (to some extent). Everything seemed okay except for 1of my 4 External Hard Drives. This drive was unreadable. I used DISKPART to find that the file system was changed from GPT to RAW which makes it unrecognizable to Windows 11. The hard drive contained a significant number of Videos and my backup files. My other external drives also contain videos, so I have to wonder if the Backup files caused the issue. They were created using Seagate's Toolkit, as I have no desire to put my data on Microsoft's Cloud.
I am wondering if there is any way to get this drive working WITHOUT losing all the resident data and without buying a 3rd party product. I think I've read enough to know I can initialize this drive to its original state using DISKPART but from what I read, I would lose everything. I would appreciate any advice. Thank You.
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Hi Chas, my name is Jose, a Windows user like you. I'll be glad to help you today.
I'm sorry to hear this. In order to fix it, please select the Start button and type CMD. From the right side, select run as administrator. In the CMD screen, type: CHKDSK /F X:
Replace the X with the drive letter and press enter. Wait until the scan is ended.
Please let me know if you need any further assistance.
RAW indicates that the data cannot be read by the Windows operating system.
The data on the drive may be able to be read by another operating system or may not be able to read at all.
The first step is to see whether the data can or cannot be read by another operating system.
If the data can be read then backup the data.
If that data cannot be read by another operating system then use partition recovery software to recover any data that can be recovered.
If partition recovery software fails then consider professional recovery options.
I'm sorry to tell you this: RAW means that the partition is not formatted. That means the partition is not readable. If anything was previously on the partition it is now lost. Your best recourse is a professional file recovery service.
If the partition still has a drive letter, there is a slim chance that running the CHKDSK command will recover the formatting. However, running CHKDSK can also destroy any chance of recovering the files on the partition. You have to decide if you're willing to take the chance the chance.
You're taking the same chance if you try to use consumer file recovery software on the partition. There is a slim chance that it will recover some files, but there is also a chance that it will make it impossible to recover files. Again, you have to decide if you're willing to take that chance.
