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RDR / By symptom / The volume shows as RAW

Cause of loss · a drive turned RAW

RAW drive recovery for Reading. Nothing has left the disk. Only the index failed, and it can be rebuilt.

Do not format the disk, and pull the plug. Windows will prompt you to format if it can't understand the volume you've given it, because its only answer is to replace it. Usually, your hardware is intact, and your files are still in their original location; what is written across them has simply stopped adding up. More data is lost by those who agree to format the disk than by the failure that caused the prompt. First get a quote over the phone or using our quote form, then send it to the Oxford intake lab, either by post or by dropping it off there; the examination is free of charge, and the recovery cost begins at £250 + VAT per memory card or USB stick and £300 + VAT for a single hard disk.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs The diagnosis is free; then one fixed figure in writing Parcels arrive from Newbury, Woodley and Theale

An engineer answers, and looking is free
0800 6890668

Match the symptom to the fault.

Different fault? Begin at the triage →
What you noticeWhat is likely wrongWhat happens next
Windows will not let you access your drive and wants you to format it firstWindows doesn't know how to read this file system, so it labels the volume RAWSay no, then unplug it
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.CHKDSK can't be run: there is no file system for CHKDSK to work onUnplug it from the PC
File or directory corrupted and unreadable (0x80070570)MFT entries that no longer readShut the window and stop browsing
Disk structure is corrupted and unreadable (0x80070571)Damage to either the partition table or the Master File Table (MFT)Copy it first, repair it afterwards
The parameter is incorrect — X:\ not accessible.Broken structures sitting over failing sectorsTreat it as a hardware failure as well
…does not contain a recognized file systemNothing left that identifies a file systemThe contents are still down there
The disk you inserted was not readable (macOS)It is the exact same problem as with Windows, but in Mac terms. Whatever else you do, don't click Initialize.Disconnect it, and never Initialize
By post: obtain a quote first, either over the telephone or by completing our quote form. Add padding so that everything stays securely in place, put a declared value on the package which represents the value of the information inside, and post it tracked and insured to the Oxford intake lab. Alternatively take it personally to the Oxford intake lab, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, without an appointment. When sending from a laptop or desktop computer please only send the drive itself. A single external hard disk drive comes complete with its cable and power supply. We pay for return postage. If you prefer, one of our engineers can talk the packing through with you over the telephone before you seal the box. Full details are on the packing and postage page.

Which structure on the RAW drive has broken.

A boot sector that has failedThe very beginning parts of a volume, the data Windows needs before it will mount the drive. Extremely small, and the error messages can look like a disaster, but it can often be repaired.
The Master File Table under NTFSAn inventory of all the files on your volume, along with where each file begins. If part of this inventory is damaged, you receive an error message like 0x80070570; however, the actual clusters containing your files are undamaged.
A partition table that has goneIt is essentially a road map indicating where one volume leaves off and the next begins. When this is lost, what was once a good working drive displays as unallocated space and nothing else. Re-creating the entries for this road map will restore your volumes.
CHKDSK: no ground to gainThe RAW volume does not support CHKDSK running, so nothing will come of attempting it. However, the cost is significant: on an older drive, repairs are repeatedly done to the same bad sectors, so do this on your image file and not the drive that needs recovery.

From your parcel to your files coming back.

Jobs we have closed →
01

Logged the day it lands, and the look costs nothing Free

A case number is assigned to your device when we receive it. An engineer then finds the real fault (free) before anything else occurs; you will be advised clearly of what will be returned and what will not, along with a single written price. Charges cannot begin until you have read this and accepted.

The look costs you nothingA fixed price, in writingStill nothing to pay
02

A full image comes first

No repair begins until the copy exists, sector by sector. The slower-reading areas are logged and left until the rest of the data has been copied. Because damaged structures and failing mechanisms tend to appear in the same job, one image covers both.

Slow-reading areas loggedNo writes to your disk
03

The rebuild runs on the copy

The copy is used to rebuild the partition table, the boot sector and the MFT. The original drive is never modified, and if at any point something goes wrong, the step can be wound back and tried again.

Every step can be wound backThe original goes home unaltered
04

When the index will not come back

However much damage was done to the MFT, the contents of files remain in the exact clusters they were always in. Each file is carved out of the image based on the signature its format starts with, and whatever folder structure the remaining records hold is rebuilt around them.

Found by their headersFolder tree where records remain
05

The list first, then the bill, then the files

You look at the file list first and make a decision about what to do. We will never invoice anything until you have said yes, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. All of the information that we recover will be put on new media purchased by us specifically for this job, and our company pays the cost of postage back to you. The case stays open on the bench until you tell us the files open on your own machine.

Nothing billed until you say yesNew media, bought for the jobPostage home is on us

What goes wrong most often

  • Blank isn't the same as unreadable: take a copy, fix the volume there, and normally it will open up with everything inside it.
  • The format takes away more than the corruption took: one click creates an empty file system right over the records a rebuild would have used.
  • Corruption usually doesn't come alone: weak sectors spread until they reach the metadata (the table of contents), so nothing is treated as purely logical until an image shows that it is.
  • NTFS always keeps some spare parts for itself: each volume stores a copy of the first few records of its Master File Table (MFT) plus another copy of the boot sector, and typically rebuilds are put together from that pair.

There is one thing that all of them do: whether it is CHKDSK, Disk Utility's First Aid or this month's free RAW repairer off a forum, they all write data to the disk they claim to be repairing. If you have good hardware underneath, no problem. If you have failing hardware, what could have been a full recovery ends up in pieces. An image takes a day; a free diagnosis tells you which sort of disk is in your hand.

How one of these actually went.

RG · RDG-2026-1783ON FILE ✓

The cable came out mid-write, and the volume showed as RAW

Someone caught the cable while the disk was mid-write, and by morning Windows had exactly one suggestion: format it. Before anything else was done, the whole 4TB was imaged from beginning to end. Every repair then went onto the copy, starting with the boot sector and then the damaged copy of the MFT's first records. Not a single byte was written back to the original. Fifteen years of client files came home in the same folder structure as before.

100%was recovered3 days from arrival to return

What helps, and what makes it worse.

First things to do

  • Do not Format or Initialize the disk
  • Power it down and put it away in a safe place
  • Were there any unexpected events beforehand (a power cut, a cable pulled out while data was being written)?
  • Have you already run CHKDSK on this drive? If so, please let us know

What makes it worse

  • Clicking Format, or Initialize on a Mac
  • Running CHKDSK with /f or /r on a drive that you already have doubts about
  • Using free RAW repair software on the original drive
  • Going through the folders to find out what is still there

Answers before you commit to anything.

Windows keeps offering to format it. What if I say yes?

Turn it down. A format doesn't wipe the disk; it creates a new file system where the damaged one stood, right on top of the records containing your folder names, structure and dates, which are what a rebuild is put together from.

What is RAW actually telling you?

Windows has lost track of the structures describing the volume: the MFT (Master File Table), the boot sector or the partition table. Below them, your files are in their original locations.

Is CHKDSK worth a try?

No. There is nothing CHKDSK can do on a RAW volume, so nothing is achieved, and on worn hardware each repair pass wears the disk a little more. Any such work should be done on an image and never directly on the drive you want back.

It went RAW after I pulled the cable out. My fault?

Most likely yes, and you're not alone. Pull a cable out mid-write and the index is left half-written, still pointing at files that suffered no damage whatsoever.

If this sounds like yours, start here.

The disk inside the machine → Pocket and desk drives → Nothing shows up in Windows → Every device we handle →

Nothing gets worse while it sits switched off.

There is no charge for the look. You then receive a list of the files that opened, those that did not, and a fixed amount to complete the job. Keep it switched off until you have received that in writing.

0800 6890668

Get it looked at Posting it to Oxford