Picture this: you\u2019re facing some issue with your hard drive, and like any self-respecting Windows user, you run CHKDSK in hopes of repairing it. However, it doesn\u2019t run. Instead, you\u2019re greeted with the \u201cCHKDSK is Not Available for RAW Drives\u201d message. What does it mean? In simple words: Windows thinks there\u2019s no supported file system on the drive, and CHKDSK can\u2019t run on a drive without a recognized file system. Great, now what do I do about this?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n
If it\u2019s a new or empty drive, initialize and\/or format it, that\u2019s about it. But, if the drive contains data, first recover\/save that data using a data recovery program. You can then try and bring the drive to a readable state\u2014we\u2019ll take you through the process in the sections below. Rest assured, these methods have been tested to work on corrupted hard drives, SD cards, and USB drives by our in-house experts.<\/p>\r\n
The CHKDSK not available for RAW drives error appears when Windows doesn\u2019t recognize your drive\u2019s file system, either because it\u2019s corrupt, or missing entirely. Among other things, the file system tells the OS how and where data is stored on the drive. Since CHKDSK checks the file system and file system metadata<\/a>, it won\u2019t work on a drive that doesn\u2019t have a recognizable file system in the first place. To use an oversimplified analogy\u2014how do you repair a table when you can\u2019t see<\/em> the table?<\/p>\r\n Now, for the important question:<\/b> should you be worried if you see the CHKDSK is not available for RAW drive message on your hard drive, USB drive, or SD card?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n If you are one of those who fell for the “run CHKDSK to fix all issues with your drive” myth and ran CHKDSK even on a brand-new drive, then no. In this case, the error is quite normal because the drive probably hasn\u2019t been initialized and formatted. In other words, it doesn\u2019t have a file system yet. To fix it and assign a file system to the drive, you must initialize, partition, and format the drive using Diskpart<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n Things get a little more serious if you face the CHKDSK not available for RAW drives error on a disk that contains data. It usually indicates a corrupt or deleted file system. This, too, can be resolved by directly formatting the drive, but don\u2019t do that just yet because you have other, potentially better options<\/b>:<\/p>\r\n With the right hard drive data recovery software<\/a>, it\u2019ll take a few simple steps to get back your files from the RAW drive. The best way to approach this is to create a disk image of the affected drive and scan this disk image for recoverable files. This creates a backup of your drive while also protecting the physical drive from the additional stress of a data recovery scan. Also, since your data is saved in the disk image, you can experiment with different repair methods<\/a> without the fear of losing your files. You can scan the disk directly too, but the disk image approach is safer for both the disk, and the data on it.<\/p>\r\n Our recommended data recovery and disk image creation tool is Disk Drill<\/a>, thanks to its exceptional data recovery rate and ease-of-use.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\t
<\/span>Recover Data From the Drive with \u201cCHKDSK is Not Available for RAW Drives\u201d Error<\/span><\/h2>\r\n