RAW (in the operating systems of the Microsoft Windows NT line ) is a designation for an indefinite file system of a volume .
The RAWFS component exists and is built into the kernel itself, but the only purpose of this component is to respond to requests from applications about volume size and file system name.
In fact, the RAW file system does not exist, and the definition of the partition file system as RAW in practice means that none of the file system drivers installed in the operating system recognized the name of the disk file system in the partition (neither known as FAT , FAT32 nor NTFS ) due to the fact that:
- disk (volume) is not formatted ,
- there is no correct access to the contents of the disk (volume) ;
- damaged file system structure.
If the disk file system is recognized as RAW, reading data, assigning a volume label and other operations with this partition (for example, defragmenting or checking for errors) become impossible. At the same time, the operating system displays the size of the partition and, when accessing it, offers to format it.
Content
- 1 Possible reasons
- 2 Recovery Option
- 3 See also
- 4 notes
- 5 Links
Possible Reasons
Damage to the file system structure occurs as a result of malfunctions in the computer or programs, as well as due to the activities of various kinds of malicious programs . The following damage can be distinguished:
- Incorrect values ββfor the partition in the partition table (for example, in the MBR );
- partial damage to the boot sector of the file system;
- destruction in the area of ββthe main MFT file table (for the NTFS file system);
- Problems with drivers for peripherals (USB-sticks, docking stations):
- Unplanned shutdown of the computer, for example, at the time of a power outage or blue screen ;
- Problems on physical equipment
- while formatting a partition, the file system may appear as RAW
One possible reason is writing to the boot sector or the MFT of erroneous data. If most of the file system structures are left untouched, the likelihood of file system recovery is high.
In case of damage to partition information, programs that can restore partitions can be applied, for example GetDataBack , TestDisk , PhotoRec , AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, DMDE , or others (see Data recovery programs )
In addition to all the above, the RAW file system can denote a really existing volume, formatted by another operating or hardware system and at the same time containing any data. For example, it could be a disk from the DVR. Another example: as a result of volume encryption (for example, using True Crypt software), the operating system defines the volume file system as RAW.
Recovery Option
Run the command line as administrator, execute the command chkdsk X: / f where X is the letter of the damaged disk partition. chkdsk does not work with the RAW format that was originally, for example, created on a disk from an array of storage systems, chkdsk will be able to repair media that previously had an NTFS or FAT file system.
It is important to understand that system utilities, such as chkdsk, are intended primarily to bring the file system into working condition, and not to restore user data. Therefore, in some cases, the launch of such utilities can lead to a significant loss of initial information. So, for example, in the case of an erroneous underestimation of the volume of an NTFS volume in the boot sector parameters, the chkdsk utility will delete all links outside the specified volume, all affected files will become empty.
See also
- Disk partition