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MHDR / Common faults / Corrupted and RAW volumes

Cause of loss · RAW & corruption

RAW drive recovery in Maidenhead. Windows offers a format because it has nothing else.

The cost of losing people's data rarely lies with the corruption itself; it lies within the 'fix' they attempt during the ten-minute window immediately following discovery of the problem. Windows will identify the drive, but be unable to interpret the contents of said drive, and provide its sole solution: a format. This offer is the entire risk discussed on this page, and declining it would be the single best action a resident of Maidenhead could take prior to contacting us.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs Diagnosis free, then a fixed quote Get a quote, then post it in from Windsor, Slough or anywhere else

Describe the fault to an engineer
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RAW drive symptoms, and what each one means.

None of these? Run the triage →
The signsThe likely causeStart here
You need to format the disk in drive X: before you can use itWindows cannot understand the file system (this is referred to as RAW)Don't click on Format
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives; the file system type is RAW.CHKDSK fails; there was nothing for it to correctDisconnect & stop using it
File or directory corrupted and unreadable (0x80070570)MFT entries that are no longer able to be parsedStop accessing the drive
0x80070571 — the disk structure is corrupted and unreadableHarm to the Master File Table (MFT) or partition tableImaging the drive before attempting repairs
Location is not available — X:\ cannot be accessed. The parameter is incorrect.Damage to file systems and bad sectors underneath themAssume the drive is dying
The drive does not contain a recognized file system.The metadata is lostFiles are still intact below the damaged area
On a Mac computer: it will say that the disk you inserted was not readableRAW equivalent for a Mac; avoid pressing the Initialize buttonSelect Eject, not Initialize
If you wish to post it: first obtain a quote for your item via either of two methods: by telephone or by completing the online form. Then you can post the item to us using a tracked and fully insured postal service that will take it directly to our secure intake laboratory in Guildford. Alternatively, if you would rather drop it off at the Guildford laboratory personally, this is possible Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, and no appointment is needed; either way, we will cover the return postage costs. From a laptop, PC or Mac, send the drive on its own (storage soldered onto the circuit board, as in T2 and Apple silicon Macs or soldered laptop flash memory, is not taken on; if you're unsure which kind you have, please call us first). RAID drives require removal from their casing and labelling by bay number, and server disks will similarly need removing from the server and labelling by bay number. NAS disks need the same procedure if they can be removed; if not, send the entire NAS unit. An external drive must be posted whole, complete with its cable and power supply. If you wish to check the packaging before posting, an engineer will talk you through every item on the telephone. Every stage of this process is detailed on the posting page.

What actually breaks on a RAW drive.

Boot sector failureA small section at the beginning of the volume containing information that Windows requires in order to be able to read anything. It is a small structure with dramatic symptoms, and it can usually be rebuilt.
The Master File TableThe complete list of files on your NTFS formatted volume (down to the exact starting point for each). Damage an entry in this list and you will get error code 0x80070570 when trying to access that file, but the data within the file still exists.
A lost partition tableThe information stored by the disk about where each volume begins and ends. If this becomes lost, then even though the disk is full with valid files, the operating system may report that there is no allocated space. Restoring the correct beginning/end points for each volume will restore the ability to view and use the volumes.
CHKDSK: cost without gainAttempting to run CHKDSK on a RAW volume does nothing because CHKDSK cannot read from a RAW volume. Therefore, running CHKDSK on a RAW volume has no positive effect, and there is no benefit to weigh. Against that, on older hardware, some repairs performed by CHKDSK involve reading and writing the same failing sectors over and over again. Any structural changes should be done on a good working clone/duplicate of the original volume.

What happens between arrival and return.

The most recent cases →
01

Booked in, then assessed at no cost Free

Nothing is chargeable until you say yes. Every item gets a case number of its own immediately upon receipt, an engineer determines what has failed, and you get a clear picture of which files have a real possibility of being recovered. The single quote that follows is fixed, written down and does not cost anything.

Diagnosis at no costOne fixed quote, in writingNothing signed
02

The image comes first

Before attempting to do any repairs, a complete, sector-for-sector copy is made of the original volume, and areas of poor readability are noted and deferred until last. Most often, damaged structures and failing hardware go hand-in-hand, thus making the image a safeguard against failures due to either factor.

Weak regions recordedThe original is never touched
03

Rebuilding happens on the copy

Instead of using the original volume as reference for rebuilding boot sectors, partition tables, MFTs etc., these elements are rebuilt using the image. This gives us a chance to "undo" any mistakes made during the rebuild process.

Each step reversibleYour disk goes home unchanged
04

When no rebuild is possible

All file content remains where it has always remained, regardless of how corrupt the Master File Table (MFT) may be. In addition, each file can be extracted from the image using its "signature", and folder structures rebuilt based on the available evidence.

Files carved by signatureFolder layout reconstructed
05

Opened, verified, and sent home

You don't get charged anything until you've confirmed and authorised that everything is fine after seeing the entire list of what was recovered. Any recovered items are returned via brand-new storage media and the postage costs for these are covered by us. We do not consider a project complete here until we receive confirmation that you have been able to successfully access and review every item you received back.

You approve the list firstReturned on fresh mediaThe return post is ours

What tends to show up first

  • Empty and unreadable are two different conditions: take an image and repair the copy. If you do this, the drive should once again come back online, mounted, and complete with all files intact.
  • Cases get lost at the format prompt: if you answer yes to the format prompt, a completely new blank file system is created and placed right over the top of the records needed to perform a full rebuild.
  • Corruption often results because of other problems rather than being caused by itself: bad sectors cause corruption as they spread throughout the disk and destroy metadata along their way. Therefore, a fault can't be called solely logical until after an imaging pass has proved it.
  • NTFS systems maintain duplicates for just such occurrences: copies of critical areas, including the MFT and the boot sector area of the disk. These duplicate copies are typically what a rebuild is created from.

All repair tools have this in common: each of these tools (CHKDSK, First Aid from Disk Utility, the "free RAW fixer" you see recommended somewhere online) will write to the same physical drive it is attempting to recover. When the hard drive is functioning properly there should be no problems, but when the drive fails to function as expected, a full recovery may no longer be possible. And all you spend on caution is one whole day making an image.

From the casebook, lately.

MH · MHD-2026-6633ON RECORD ✓

A 4TB archive drive, unplugged mid-write, came back RAW

One night, the drive decided to come loose from its connection in the middle of writing data. By the next morning, Windows would only give the option of formatting it. So we made an image of the entire drive prior to doing anything else. Then we took that image and fixed the boot sector and the damaged MFT mirror on it alone, so fifteen years of client files went home with all of the folders still intact and usable.

100% recovered3 days from arrival

Before it comes to the lab.

Do these now

  • Say no to Format, and say no to Initialize
  • Turn it off immediately and don't touch it
  • Think back: did a power outage occur? Were you pulling it out of the USB port improperly?
  • Mention it if you've run CHKDSK already

Things best not done

  • Using the Format box in Windows, or the "Initialize" option on a Mac
  • Pointing CHKDSK /f or /r at hardware that you already suspect is failing
  • Searching for free fix tools and pointing them at the original drive
  • Looking through all of your folders to find out what is left

Questions we are asked about RAW drives.

Windows keeps offering to format the drive. What happens if I agree?

No, decline it. A format will overwrite the existing file system with a new, blank one, and the records a rebuild would use to restore the name of each folder are exactly what gets overwritten.

So what does RAW actually mean?

The file system is simply unreadable by Windows, which usually occurs when there is damage to the MFT, partition table or boot sector. Everything else is usually intact.

Is CHKDSK worth trying?

No. CHKDSK will not allow you to run it on a RAW volume, so there is nothing to gain. In addition, with each successive use of CHKDSK your failing hardware deteriorates further. Any structural fixes should be performed on a backup copy of the disk.

It turned RAW after I unplugged it. Did I cause this?

Yes, this is probably true, and it is a very common occurrence: a file system gets partially written before being disconnected (for example, by an unplugged hard drive), causing inconsistencies in the directory structures while all of the files they point to are still present and uncorrupted.

More of the jobs we've closed.

Fitted drives → External storage → No drive detected → Media we work with →

Switched off, it keeps every chance it has.

Every additional power-up asks for even more of a drive that is already starting to fail. First open a case with us, and let the free diagnosis tell you how much remains.

0800 6890668

Ask for a free diagnosis Posting it to us