Solved: Seagate External Hard Drive Showing as RAW - Step-by-Step Fix
Is your Seagate external hard drive showing as RAW or its light on but not detected? This article explains the common reasons behind these errors and delivers actionable methods to repair the drive, from simple checks to data recovery techniques.
Last Updated September 11, 2025
Seagate External Hard Drive Not Reading Problem!
When you insert a Seagate external hard drive, and it pops up a window show that your Seagate external hard drive need to be formatted because it shows up as RAW. It’sheart-stopping moment!
Don’t hit the Format option if your Seagate external hard drive showing RAW. This issue is easy to fix, and it’s not a permanent physical failure. It simply means your computer can’t understand the drive's file system.
This guide will walk you throughthe causes and solutions to recover your files from Seagate external hard drive easily.
Why Seagate External Hard Drive Shows RAW?
This frustrating situation can stem from a handful of common culprits.
⭕ Bad sectors on the drive’s platters can also develop over time, physically damaging the areas where this crucial file system data is stored.
⭕ Then there’s the ever-present threat of malware or viruses, which can deliberately corrupt data, and even sudden power outages during file transfers can throw a wrench in the works. Understanding this is the first step to a calm and collected recovery process.
⭕ Computer issues. Sometimes, it just cannot detect hard drives for somehow.
Recover Files from Seagate External Hard Drive
If you are sure that it’s your Seagate external hard drive issues, it’s highly recommended to try a professional data recovery software to recover files from it. Fortunately, here comes the comprehensive Windows data recovery tool MyRecover to help.
With MyRecover, you are able to:
- Recover files from complex situations. You can recover data from an external hard drive (HDD, SSD) local computer, an emptied recycle bin, a crashed computer, a formatted hard drive, a corrupted SD Card, etc.
- Preview files. You’re able to preview files before recovery to find the intact files instead of the corrupted one.
- Recover unlimited data. With MyRecover, you can recover unlimited files from any situation.
- User-friendly interface. You can recover files easily even for a novice.
- Fast recovery. With simple clicks, you can recover files fast and easily.
So, how to recover files from Seagate external hard drive with MyRecover, check the simple guide:
1. Please connect your Seagate external hard drive to your computer, and ensure it can be detected in Disk Management. Download and install MyRecover.
100% Secure2. Run MyRecover, and hit Disk Data Recovery, point to the Seagate external hard drive, and hit Scan.
3. It will start scanning all the files, and hit OK when finished.
4. Choose the files and folders you need to recover, hit Recover.
5. Select a safe location instead of the Seagate external hard drive to save the recovered files.
- Tips:✎...
- You can also recover files from an uninitialized hard disk easily.
- MyRecover can recover many types of files, like documents, photos, videos, audios, PDF, HTML files, and many more.
- Recover Files from A Crashed Computer
- 1000+ File Formats Supported
- Support HDD, SSD, External Hard Drive, USB Drive, SD Card, etc.
- Quickly Find Files Using File Types, Name, Size, etc.
- Preview Files Before Recovering
- Recover Unlimited Data
100% SecureHow to Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Showing as RAW?
To troubleshoot the problem and regain access to Seagate external hard rive, please try the following fixes.
Solution 1. Reconnect Seagate External Hard Drive
Plug the Seagate external drive into another USB port on your computer, preferably one directly on the motherboard rather than a front panel hub.
Solution 2. Try Another Computer
Please connect your Seagate external hard drive with another computer if you have, it helps you to identify the problems is on the Seagate external hard drive or the computer.
Solution 3. Change Drive Letter and Path
If your Seagate external hard drive shows normally on one computer, and it shows RAW when connecting to the current one, you can try to change drive letter and path for it to fix.
1. Right click My Computer and select Manage. Meanwhile, ensure your Seagate external hard drive is connected.
2. Select Disk Management on the left.
3. Find the RAW Seagate external hard drive, and right-click it, and select Change Drive Letters and Paths.
4. Tap Change....
5. Choose a new drive letter for Seagate External hard drive, and hit OK.
Now, the Seagate external drive should be available in My Computer and show as NTFS in Disk Management.
Solution 4. Use Chkdsk Command to Fix
To repair a raw file system on a Seagate disk using the chkdsk command in Windows, you can follow these steps:
1. Connect your Seagate disk to your Windows PC.
2. Press the Windows key, type "Command Prompt", right-click on "Command Prompt", and select "Run as administrator".
3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:
chkdsk g: /f /r
- Tips:✎...
- Replace "g" with the drive letter of your Seagate disk.
- The Command Prompt will display a message stating that the disk is locked and ask if you want to schedule a disk check on the next restart. Type "Y" and press Enter. Close the Command Prompt window and restart your computer. During the restart process, Windows will perform a disk check on your Seagate disk. Once the disk check is finished, Windows will boot normally.
Solution 5. Format Seagate External Hard Drive
Formatting Seagate external hard drive is the last option because it delete everything. So, please ensure you have recovered files from Seagate hard disk, then do the format. Here is how to format your RAW Seagate external hard drive:
1. Please press Windows + R to open Run dialog.
2. Input diskmgmt.msc to open Disk Management.
3. Right-click the Seagate external hard drive, choose Format....
4. Rename the Volume label, and choose file system, then hit OK > OK.
5. Wait for the process to complete, then you can regain access to Seagate external hard drive.
FAQs about Seagate External Hard Drive Won’t Read
Why is my Seagate drive showing as RAW?
A: The file system is corrupted. This can happen from unplugging without ejecting, viruses, bad sectors, or power outages. Windows asks to format because it can't read the drive, but formatting erases everything—so recover data first.
Can I fix a RAW drive without data loss?
A: Yes, usually. Use data recovery software like MyRecoverfirst to copy your files to another drive. After saving your data, you can safely format the RAW drive to fix it.
Seagate hard drive light on but not detected?
A: The light means it has power, but your computer can't communicate with it. The issue is likely a faulty cable, USB port, outdated drivers, or a partition error. Try different cables and ports first.
How to fix Seagate external hard drive not showing up in Windows 11?
A: Try a different USB port and cable. Then check Disk Management to see if it appears there. If not, go to Device Manager to update or reinstall the drivers for the drive or USB controllers.
Is a RAW error a physical failure?
A: Usually not. It's often a software (logical) corruption, not broken hardware. Physical failure signs are clicking noises, the drive not spinning, or overheating. Logical errors can be fixed with software.
On the Bottom Line
Now, Seagate external hard drive showing as RAW should have been fixed. First of all, please recover files before formatting using a professional data recovery software in case of data loss. Then troubleshoot the Seagate external hard drive errors. Formatting is the last option because it deletes everything.
With MyRecover, you can recover files from power outage situations, recover files from a formatted USB flash drive, etc.