How to Recover Data from Laptop Hard Drive That Turned to RAW

Why is My Laptop Hard Drive Appearing as RAW?

A RAW file system means that Windows cannot recognize the file system type of a drive (such as NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT). Instead of showing the usual format, Windows marks the disk as RAW, which makes it unreadable and inaccessible. When a drive becomes RAW, you cannot open files, access folders, or store new data on it without repairing the issue. Why this occurs? Common causes include:

• File System Corruption: Improper shutdowns, power failures, or incomplete writes may damage the file system.
• Bad Sectors or Physical Errors: If the hard drive develops bad sectors, Windows may fail to read the file system and classify it as RAW.
• Interrupted Updates or System Crashes:A failed Windows update or sudden crash can alter partition table records, leading to RAW format.
• Unsafe Removal of External Drives: Disconnecting a drive without safely ejecting it may corrupt the file system.
• Virus or Malware Infection: Malicious software can damage the master boot record (MBR) or partition table, making the drive unreadable.

How to Recover Data from Laptop Hard Drive That Turned to RAW?

When a laptop hard drive becomes RAW, Windows may show an error message asking you to "format the disk before using it". While formatting can often fix the RAW problem, it will also erase all the data stored inside. For most users, this is unacceptable because important files—such as videos, photos, and backups—would be permanently lost.

That’s why many users are eager to find out proper laptop RAW hard drive recovery solutions for Windows 10 or Windows 11. Once files are safely restored, you can proceed to repair or reformat the disk without worrying about data loss.

Note:✎...

you can also format it first and then recover data from formatted drive using professional data recovery software.

MyRecover: Top Laptop RAW Hard Drive Recovery Software for Windows 10/ 11

To extract data before attempting to fix the file system, professional data recovery software like MyRecover is often the safer choice because it can scan RAW partitions and restore files without formatting.

Steps to Recover Data from Laptop Hard Drive That Turned to RAW

Step 1: Install and Launch MyRecover

Download MyRecover, and install it on your laptop. Make sure not to install it on the RAW drive to avoid overwriting data.Open MyRecover.

Step 2: Select the RAW Drive

From the main interface,select the RAW hard drive that you want to recover data from, then click "Scan".

If your laptop RAW hard drive does not appear in MyRecover, use "Partition Lost Recovery" option to search all missing and lost partitions. Once it is found, please click "Scan" as well.

Step 3: Scan the RAW Drive

The program will automatically perform a "quick scan" for recently deleted files, anda "deep scan" for severaly damaged or formatted drive to locate more lost data.

Step 4: Preview and Filter Files

After scanning, preview the found files and use "filters" to quickly find the data you want.

Step 5: Recover and Save Files

Choose the files you need, click "Recover", and save them to another safe location instead of the RAW drive.

Once the recovery process completes, the system will display a summary notification indicating: (1) the total number of files successfully restored, and (2) the specific directory where these recovered files have been saved.

Bonus Tip: Repair the RAW Drive (Optional)

Once you have successfully recovered your files, you can repair the RAW drive to make it usable again. The simplest way is to reformat the drive in Disk Management: right-click the RAW partition, choose Format, and select NTFS or exFAT as the file system.

If Disk Management doesn’t work, you can use Command Prompt with DISKPART to clean and reinitialize the drive. Remember that formatting will erase all data, so only proceed after recovery is complete.

Apart from formatting the RAW laptop hard drive, you can first try to check and repair potential file system errors using the CHKDSK tool, update or reinstall the disk driver via Device Manager, or scan for and remove any possible viruses.

Conclusion

In this article, we explain why drive becomes RAW file system, how to recover data from laptop hard drive that turned to RAW as well as how to repair RAW drive. Although a RAW hard drive can be alarming, you can easily recover data from it with MyRecover. As a comprehensive data recovery tool, it is even able to recover files when your laptop won’t boot by creating a bootable rescue media.