![\"raw](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hard-drive-platter.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n
The term \u201cRAW hard drive\u201d refers to any hard drive whose file system has become corrupted or unreadable by the operating system. Since the OS can\u2019t identify whether the drive is formatted as NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, or any other file system type, it instead marks it as “RAW” in the Disk Management<\/a> tool in Windows or its counterparts on other operating systems.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Common causes of a drive becoming RAW include:<\/p>\r\n The problem is that the file system essentially serves the same function as a map or table of contents for your data. As The Linux Information Project explains<\/a>, filesystems provide “a very intuitive means for organizing and finding files” while also managing metadata (information about your files).<\/p>\r\n More specifically, the filesystem tells your computer exactly where each file starts and ends, what space is available for new files, and how existing files are organized. Without this navigation system, your computer can’t locate or access any of the files stored on the drive, even though the actual data remains physically present on the storage medium when the file system suddenly becomes RAW.<\/p>\r\n Since your data is still there on the hard drive, RAW data recovery is possible.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n However, you need to hurry and approach it correctly because any attempts to use or fix the drive before recovering your files could lead to permanent data loss.<\/p>\r\n There are several methods to recover data from a RAW drive, regardless of whether it was originally formatted as NTFS<\/a>, FAT32<\/a>, or exFAT<\/a>. Since different recovery methods can yield different results, you might need to try multiple approaches to recover all your files. We recommend following these methods in the order presented below, as this approach typically provides the best results while minimizing the risk of data loss.<\/p>\r\n Many users have successfully recovered data from RAW drives using these methods. For instance, one user on X reported:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\t
<\/span>How to Recover Files from a RAW Drive<\/span><\/h2>\r\n