External Drive is showing as RAW

Discussion in 'Paragon Partition Manager Product Line' started by Dajiang, Jul 4, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Dajiang

    Dajiang Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2010
    Posts:
    2
    Suddenly my external drive that I was using for Paragon backup of my C drive is showing as RAW in Disk Management when it used to be NTFS. So now I cannot see it in Windows explorer. Strangely, Paragon HDM says it is NTFS and sees the directory structure. If I try to do a Convert File System, Paragon fails with an error message saying Invalid Cluster size.

    How do I get my disk back?

    Help appreciated please.
     
    Dajiang, Jul 4, 2010
    #1
  2. tgell

    tgell Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2004
    Posts:
    1,097
    A RAW disk means that Windows sees it as unformated. You might want to try TestDisk to recover the partition table. I am not sure if TestDisk will see the USB drive. If it does not see the drive and it is in an enclosure, remove it from the enclosure and install it as a slave in a desktop computer and try again. Otherwise you may have to purchase the below mentioned programs to recover your data then partition and format the drive. If the data is not important, you should be able to partition and format the drive from within windows or use a GPARTed Live CD.

    TestDisk

    Documentation

    There are paid software that will recover data on a RAW disk. "Recover my Files" and "Easeus Disk Recovery Wizard" are two. I believe both will let you try to see if anything can be recovered before you purchase a license.
     
    tgell, Jul 4, 2010
    #2
  3. Cutting_Edgetech

    Cutting_Edgetech Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2006
    Posts:
    5,694
    Location:
    USA
    I had the same problem with 2 Western Digital external drives. Explorer in windows did not even recognize that the drive was connected. I tried everything possible to make windows recognize the drive, and nothing worked. I purchased Filescavenger, and recovered the data to a new drive. It worked for me.
     
    Cutting_Edgetech, Jul 4, 2010
    #3
  4. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2005
    Posts:
    11,164
    Location:
    UK / Pakistan
    File Scavenger is the best I think.
     
    aigle, Jul 4, 2010
    #4
  5. Dajiang

    Dajiang Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2010
    Posts:
    2
    I have got my drive back.

    I used Partition Wizard Home Edition to recover the partition information and then assigned a drive letter to the drive.

    Thanks all for your comments
     
    Dajiang, Jul 5, 2010
    #5
  6. tgell

    tgell Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2004
    Posts:
    1,097
    I forgot about Partition Wizard's partition recovery. For being free, it's an excellent program.
     
    tgell, Jul 5, 2010
    #6
  7. SIW2

    SIW2 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2009
    Posts:
    1,572
    Doesn't your edition of Paragon have a partition undelete function ?

    It is an excellent feature - it doesn't come with the free BR10 , though.

    Glad you got it sorted out.
     
    SIW2, Jul 5, 2010
    #7
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Accept Learn More...