How to Recover a RAW Partition from an HDD Using TestDisk: A Complete Guide

 📚 This guide explains the common causes of RAW partitions and shows you how to use the free tool TestDisk to recover a RAW partition from an HDD.

 

A mechanical hard drive (HDD) suddenly disappears from File Explorer, and when you open Disk Management, the partition is no longer displayed with its original NTFS file system. Instead, it appears as RAW. What happened, and how can you recover the RAW drive and save the data stored on it?

💡Important! This TestDisk RAW recovery solution only applies to the following situation:

The HDD originally contained an NTFS partition, but it now appears as RAW (unformatted) in Windows File Explorer or Disk Management, with a message saying: "You need to format the disk before you can use it."

If your hard drive makes unusual noises, the motor does not spin, or the BIOS cannot detect the correct drive capacity, this may indicate severe physical damage. In this situation, immediately stop powering on or testing the drive.

Repeatedly powering on or scanning a physically damaged HDD may cause further damage and reduce the chances of successful recovery. Consider contacting a professional data recovery service instead.

 

Part 1. Common Causes of RAW Partitions

A partition becoming RAW means that Windows can no longer recognize the file system structure stored on that partition.

There are usually two main causes of RAW partitions, and each requires a different recovery approach.

⚠️ 1. NTFS Boot Sector Damage

The partition itself still exists, and the partition table information is correct. However, the first sector of the NTFS file system (which stores important information such as cluster size and MFT location) has been damaged.

Common causes include:

❗Virus attacks

❗Unexpected power loss

❗Bad sectors

❗File system corruption

❗Other disk-related issues

 

⚠️ 2. Lost or Corrupted Partition Table Entry

The partition record itself has been deleted, overwritten, or corrupted in the partition table (MBR/GPT).

As a result, Windows may think that no valid partition exists on the drive or may identify it as an unknown partition type. In some cases, the space may appear as Unallocated Space instead of RAW, but the underlying recovery principle is similar.

The official TestDisk documentation points out that Windows CHKDSK cannot repair a file system without a valid boot sector and may directly return the following error message: "Chkdsk is not available for RAW drives".

This is why TestDisk is needed instead of Windows built-in repair tools in this situation.

 

Part 2. Safety Rules Before Recovery

When recoveringdata from a mechanical hard drive, an incorrect operation sequence can cause permanent data loss.

Please follow these safety rules carefully:

❗ Never format, initialize, or convert the partition style (MBR ↔ GPT)

When Windows displays a message asking you to format the drive, always click Cancel.

Formatting the drive may overwrite important file system information and reduce the chances of successful recovery.

❗ Never run CHKDSK on a RAW partition

CHKDSK attempts to repair a file system that Windows considers damaged or inconsistent. However, when a partition is RAW, the file system structure may already be missing or corrupted. Running CHKDSK before proper recovery may make the original data structure harder to recover.

❗ Create a disk image first whenever possible, and work on the image instead

Creating an image ensures that even if something goes wrong during the recovery process, the original HDD remains untouched and you can restart the recovery attempt.

❗ Mechanical hard drives have additional physical risks

If the HDD makes clicking sounds, frequently disconnects, or shows an incorrect capacity in BIOS or Disk Management, it may have physical problems. In this situation, long-running Quick Search or Deeper Search scans may increase the damage.

It is recommended contact a professional recovery service directly.

❗ Avoid selecting drives by drive letter

Do not select devices using drive letters such as D:. Instead, select the physical device directly. For example, \\.\PhysicalDrive1.

 

Part 3.  Recover a RAW HDD Partition Using TestDisk

Step 1. Prepare another empty disk or partition with enough available space to store the recovered files later.

Step 2. If this is an internal HDD, it is recommended to connect the damaged hard drive to the computer as a non-system drive using a SATA-to-USB adapter.

This helps prevent accidental operations on the system drive and makes the recovery process safer.

Step 3. Download the latest version of TestDisk from the official TestDisk website.

The Windows version is usually named testdisk_win.exe.

Extract TestDisk to another drive.

Do not extract TestDisk to the drive you are trying to recover.

 

Step 4. Run testdisk_win.exe as administrator.

TestDisk requires administrator privileges to access physical disks.

 

Step 5. After opening TestDisk, select Create to allow TestDisk to generate a log file.

This log file can help troubleshoot problems or review recovery operations later.

Step 6. In the disk list, carefully check the drive capacity and make sure you select the correct disk.

Use the arrow keys to highlight the damaged HDD and press Enter.

Step 7. Select the partition table type.

In most cases, keep the default option automatically detected by TestDisk (MBR or GPT / Intel or EFI GPT), then press Enter to confirm.

Step 8. After entering the main menu, highlight Analyse and press Enter to check the current partition table status.

📢 Tip: Basic TestDisk keyboard controls
🔸Arrow keys / Page Up / Page Down: Navigate through menus
🔸Enter: Confirm selection
🔸q: Return to the previous menu or exit
🔸y or Enter: Confirm saving changes
🔸To write changes to the partition table, select Write and press Enter to confirm

 

Step 9. The Analyse screen will display the currently detected partition structure. Pay attention to the following situations:

👉 If the partition is still visible in the list but shows messages such as "NTFS Invalid boot sector", "Bad", or Windows reports the partition as RAW:

This usually indicates NTFS boot sector damage.

Choose Repair NTFS Boot Sector (see Steps 15–16).

👉 If the partition completely disappears from the list or appears as "Unallocated Space":

This indicates that the partition table entry has been lost.

Choose partition table recovery (see Steps 10–14).

👉 If both the partition table and boot sector are damaged:

Recover the partition first, then repair the boot sector.

 

(📌Reminder: Steps 10–14: Recover the Partition Table)

Step 10. In the Analyse screen, press Enter to start Quick Search.

Step 11. TestDisk will display partitions found during the scan in real time.

 

After the scan finishes, check whether all partitions have been detected.

Highlight the suspected target partition and press p to list files inside it. (Red entries indicate deleted items.)

 

Confirm whether the directory structure appears normal, then press q to return.

👉 If all partitions are found correctly and the file list looks normal:

Skip directly to "Write the partition table" at the end of this section.

👉 If some partitions are still missing (commonly caused by deeper partition table damage):

Select Deeper Search from the menu and press Enter.

This process scans each cylinder to locate NTFS backup boot sectors.

The larger the HDD capacity, the longer the scan will take. Please be patient.

 

Step 12. After Deeper Search finishes, pay attention to messages such as:

"NTFS found using backup sector!"

This means TestDisk has found a partition using its backup boot sector.

 

📢 Note: Sometimes two overlapping candidate partitions may appear at the same location. Both will be marked as D (Deleted). You must manually determine which one is correct:

➡️ Press p on each candidate partition to view the file list.

➡️ The partition with a complete directory structure and readable filenames is usually the correct one.

➡️ A partition with an abnormal or empty directory structure should remain marked as D and should not be recovered.

 

Step 13. After confirming the correct partition, use the left and right arrow keys to change its status from D (Deleted) to P (Primary) or L (Logical).

A logical partition should be set as L, while a primary partition should be set as P.

However, always refer to the original partition layout and partition type before making this decision.

 

Step 14. Write the partition table. Only after confirming the followings should you select Write:

✅ All partitions are correctly identified

✅ Partition statuses are properly set

✅ There are no overlapping conflicts

Press Enter, type y to confirm, and restart the computer when prompted.

 

📢Important: Only execute Write when the number of partitions, partition sizes, and file contents listed by TestDisk are reasonable and there are no obvious conflicts.  If you are uncertain, do not write changes immediately. Test the recovery process using an image file first.

 

(📌Reminder: Steps 15–16 — Repair the NTFS Boot Sector)

Step 15. If the partition table itself is intact (the partition still exists but the file system appears as RAW), launch TestDisk.

Select the device, confirm the partition table type, then enter the main menu and select Advanced.

Press Enter to continue.

 

Step 16. Select the damaged NTFS partition from the partition list, choose Boot, and press Enter.

TestDisk will display the status of the current boot sector and backup boot sector.

👉 Situation 1: Backup boot sector is intact

If you see:

• Boot sector: Bad
• Backup boot sector: OK

Follow these steps:

• Select BackupBS (use the backup boot sector to overwrite the damaged main boot sector).
• Press Enter and confirm with y.
• Select Quit.
• Restart your computer and check whether the partition has returned to normal.

 

👉 Situation 2: Both boot sectors are damaged or no usable backup exists

If neither boot sector can be used:

• Select RebuildBS.
• TestDisk will analyze the actual file system structure and automatically calculate the parameters that should be written to the boot sector, such as cluster size and MFT location.
• Select List to check whether TestDisk can correctly display folders and files inside the partition.

✅ If files are displayed correctly:
This means the rebuilt parameters are likely correct.
Press q to exit the file list, select Write, press Enter, confirm with y, then select Quit and restart your computer.

✅ If files cannot be displayed or the contents appear abnormal: 
This means the rebuilt parameters may be incorrect. Do not write the changes.
You can try other candidate parameters provided by TestDisk (if available), repeat the test using an image file, or consider using third-party data recovery software to restore critical data.
Regardless of which recovery method you choose, whether TestDisk can display the correct files and folder structure is the most reliable standard for deciding whether to execute Write.

Only write changes after you see a normal file list. Otherwise, it is safer to stop and verify the results using another recovery method.

 

Step 17. After the recovery process is complete, restart your computer.

Open File Explorer and check whether the partition is displayed correctly as NTFS and whether you can access the files normally.

If the partition is accessible, immediately copy important files to another drive as a backup before performing any additional operations.

Only after your files are safely backed up should you consider running chkdsk /f  for further file system consistency checking.

 

Part 4. What If TestDisk Cannot Recover the Partition?

If you encounter any of the following situations while repairing a RAW disk with TestDisk:

❌ Quick Search and Deeper Search cannot find the correct partition.

❌ The partition is found, but pressing p cannot display the file directory correctly.

❌ Both the NTFS Boot Sector and Backup Boot Sector are damaged, and RebuildBS cannot rebuild the correct structure.

❌ Files are still inaccessible after partition recovery.

❌ You are unsure whether you should execute Write because you are concerned about modifying the original disk further.

TestDisk may not always achieve the expected results. This tool is mainly designed to repair partition structures and file system metadata rather than directly recover all lost files.

Therefore, if your priority is recovering important files from a RAW HDD instead of repairing the original partition structure, you can consider a simpler and safer recovery solution — RecoveryFox AI.

RecoveryFox AI does not require the RAW disk to berestored to NTFS first, and it does not require modifying the original partition information.

For some corrupted RAW disks, traditional file system information may no longer be usable, and file directories and indexes may have been lost.

However, RecoveryFox AI's AI Scan feature can further analyze underlying disk data. By identifying file signatures and data structures, it can help detectand reconstruct partially fragmented files across all partitions, improving recovery possibilities in complex data loss situations.

It can directly scan RAW disks that Windows cannot recognize normally and attempt to recover files, including:

✅ RAW-format mechanical hard drives (HDDs);

✅ Drives that cannot be opened or display a format prompt;

✅ Storage devices with lost partitions;

✅ SD cards, USB flash drives, TF cards, and other removable storage devices;

✅ Other data loss scenarios caused by file system corruption, accidental deletion, or formatting.

Compared with TestDisk's command-line interface and complex recovery decisions, RecoveryFox AI is more suitable for users who want a faster and safer data recovery experience.

It also supports free scanning and preview, allowing you to check whether your files are recoverable:

1️⃣ Connect the RAW HDD or other storage device.

2️⃣ Open RecoveryFox AI, select the corresponding drive, and start scanning.

3️⃣ Preview the detected files.

4️⃣ Select the files you want to recover and save them to another safe storage device.

 💬Conclusion

That’s all about how to fix and repair RAW HDD using TestDisk. If TestDisk cannot restore the partition or you prefer a safer approach focused on file recovery, consider using a professional data recovery tool that can scan RAW drives directly without modifying the original partition structure.

With the right recovery method and careful operation, you can maximize your chances of recovering files from a RAW HDD and restore access to your valuable data.