Solved A hard drive that is and isn't there.


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larrydonline

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Windows 11
My Dell XPS 8950 computer has a problem with a drive that I don't know how to fix. The drive's properties say it's working fine but when I run a scan anyway it says it can't be scanned. So I tried chkdsk on the drive and it says it's in RAW format and can't be scanned. That explains why I've had so much trouble copying files to that drive lately. They fail and the message is "copying to a drive that doesn't exist". Since it's used for nothing but backups I decided I could bite the bullet and just reformat it to NTFS; however I can't find a way to do that. There is nothing in the device manager that formats drives and nothing in properties/tools either. I think it can be formatted with DOS but I don't know that either. Help requested.
 
Windows Build/Version
11 Home 24H2 26100.6584

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8950
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900K 3.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    0DYKKV A00
    Memory
    65262 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Multimedia Intel(R) Display Audio NVIDIA High Definition Audio NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) Realtek(R) Audio WsAudio_Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    D/L 120 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard. Open the Wizard and find the RAW disc. Proceed accordingly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN 11, WIN 10, WIN 8.1, WIN 7 U, WIN 7 PRO, WIN 7 HOME (32 Bit), LINUX MINT
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY, ASUS, and DELL
    CPU
    Intel i7 6900K and i9-7960X / AMD 3800X (8 core)
    Motherboard
    ASUS X99E-WS USB 3.1 and ASUS X299 SAGE
    Memory
    128 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM (B DIE)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 1070 and RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Crystal Sound (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    single Samsung 30" 4K and 8" aux monitor
    Screen Resolution
    4K and something equally attrocious. I'll be working on this.
    Hard Drives
    A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W

    Ports X, Y, and Z are reserved for USB access and removable drives.

    Drive types consist of the following: Various mechanical hard drives bearing the brand names, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. Various NVMe drives bearing the brand names Kingston, Intel, Silicon Power, Crucial, Western Digital, and Team Group. Various SATA SSDs bearing various different brand names.

    RAID arrays included:

    LSI RAID 10 (WD Velociraptors) 1115.72 GB
    LSI RAID 10 (WD SSDS) 463.80 GB

    INTEL RAID 0 (KINGSTON HYPER X) System 447.14 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 TOSHIBA ENTERPRIZE class Data 2794.52 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 SEAGATE HYBRID 931.51 GB
    PSU
    SEVERAL. I prefer my Corsair Platinum HX1000i but I also like EVGA power supplies
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (among others)
    Cooling
    Noctua is my favorite and I use it in my main. I also own various other coolers.
    Keyboard
    all kinds.
    Mouse
    all kinds
    Internet Speed
    360 mbps - 1 gbps (depending)
    Browser
    FIREFOX
    Antivirus
    KASPERSKY (no apologies)
    Other Info
    Gave Dell touch screen with Windows 11 to daughter and got me an OTVOC. Being a PC builder I own many desktop PCs as well. I am a father of five providing PCs, laptops, and tablets for all my family, most of which I have modified, rebuilt, or simply built from scratch. I do not own a cell phone, never have, never will.

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro / Win 11 Pro & Home, Linux Mint
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom builds
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700X / A10-7860K
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO B550-VC / ASRock A88M-G/3.1
    Memory
    32GB / 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD RX 6650 XT / RX 580
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" / LG 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 2 TB
    Toshiba 1 TB
    Toshiba 1 TB
    WD Black SN770 1TB

    PNY 1 TB
    PNY 500 GB
    WD Black SN770 200 GB
    Inland 500 GB
    Inland 256 GB
    Case
    NZXT / Lian LI
    Keyboard
    ROCCAT PYRO / Logitech 148
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Browser
    Firefox, Opera, Waterfox, Tor
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 17
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Memory
    16GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    512 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
Use diskpart to find out the status of the disk.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7,8.1,10,11, Mint, Kde Plasma, Debian
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6500U CPU @ 2.50GHz
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520/Nvidia GeForce 930M
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio/RealtekAudio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic Pnp Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1366 X 768
    Hard Drives
    ST2000LM024-1EJ164
    Keyboard
    Eng (US)
    Mouse
    Sanwa Supply
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast One
    Other Info
    Too many laptops with different system specifications.
Different functions see the drive differently. Disk Management and Device Manager say it's NTFS. Only chkdsk and Windows' property file checker see it as RAW. And as I said I can't copy files to it because the Windows copying program sees it as RAW (doesn't exist). I'd think programs that convert RAW to NTFS would only work when the device manager sees it as RAW. This drive has an identity crisis. So I may have to reformat it after all.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8950
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900K 3.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    0DYKKV A00
    Memory
    65262 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Multimedia Intel(R) Display Audio NVIDIA High Definition Audio NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) Realtek(R) Audio WsAudio_Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    D/L 120 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
larrydonline said:
Different functions see the drive differently. Disk Management and Device Manager say it's NTFS. Only chkdsk and Windows' property file checker see it as RAW. And as I said I can't copy files to it because the Windows copying program sees it as RAW (doesn't exist). I'd think programs that convert RAW to NTFS would only work when the device manager sees it as RAW. This drive has an identity crisis. So I may have to reformat it after all.
Click to expand...

Minitools (To Rebuild/Format drive)
  • Right click Delete (1) (2)
  • Right click Create (3) (4)
    • Select/Assign a Drive Letter (5)
    • Select Format > NTFS (6)
    • Click OK (7)
  • Click Apply (8)
    • Nothing will take effect during any of the above, until you click Apply.
    • Clicking Undo, undoes all your previous selections - The Apply button will be greyed out.
    • Be 110% certain you're working with the correct drive.

Win-1892.webp

Win-1893.webp

Win-1894.webp


Win-1897.webp
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8524
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built 2013
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard thingy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Touch Screen Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / Mx Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    2000/500Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
    TP-Link BE9300 WiFi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 (Archer TBE550E)
    TP-Link TX201 V1 2.5GB Lan

    Grandstream HT812 - VoIP
    ASUS DSL-AX82U - Mesh
    ASUS RT-AC68U - Mesh
    ASUS RT-BE88U Router

    Brother MFC-L2880DW Printer

    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8524
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7 14IRL8 - 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
antspants said:
Minitools (To Rebuild/Format drive)
  • Right click Delete (1) (2)
  • Right click Create (3) (4)
    • Select/Assign a Drive Letter (5)
    • Select Format > NTFS (6)
    • Click OK (7)
  • Click Apply (8)
    • Nothing will take effect during any of the above, until you click Apply.
    • Clicking Undo, undoes all your previous selections - The Apply button will be greyed out.
    • Be 110% certain you're working with the correct drive.

View attachment 146062

View attachment 146063

View attachment 146064


View attachment 146065
Click to expand...
You can lead a horse to water . . .
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN 11, WIN 10, WIN 8.1, WIN 7 U, WIN 7 PRO, WIN 7 HOME (32 Bit), LINUX MINT
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY, ASUS, and DELL
    CPU
    Intel i7 6900K and i9-7960X / AMD 3800X (8 core)
    Motherboard
    ASUS X99E-WS USB 3.1 and ASUS X299 SAGE
    Memory
    128 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM (B DIE)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 1070 and RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Crystal Sound (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    single Samsung 30" 4K and 8" aux monitor
    Screen Resolution
    4K and something equally attrocious. I'll be working on this.
    Hard Drives
    A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W

    Ports X, Y, and Z are reserved for USB access and removable drives.

    Drive types consist of the following: Various mechanical hard drives bearing the brand names, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. Various NVMe drives bearing the brand names Kingston, Intel, Silicon Power, Crucial, Western Digital, and Team Group. Various SATA SSDs bearing various different brand names.

    RAID arrays included:

    LSI RAID 10 (WD Velociraptors) 1115.72 GB
    LSI RAID 10 (WD SSDS) 463.80 GB

    INTEL RAID 0 (KINGSTON HYPER X) System 447.14 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 TOSHIBA ENTERPRIZE class Data 2794.52 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 SEAGATE HYBRID 931.51 GB
    PSU
    SEVERAL. I prefer my Corsair Platinum HX1000i but I also like EVGA power supplies
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (among others)
    Cooling
    Noctua is my favorite and I use it in my main. I also own various other coolers.
    Keyboard
    all kinds.
    Mouse
    all kinds
    Internet Speed
    360 mbps - 1 gbps (depending)
    Browser
    FIREFOX
    Antivirus
    KASPERSKY (no apologies)
    Other Info
    Gave Dell touch screen with Windows 11 to daughter and got me an OTVOC. Being a PC builder I own many desktop PCs as well. I am a father of five providing PCs, laptops, and tablets for all my family, most of which I have modified, rebuilt, or simply built from scratch. I do not own a cell phone, never have, never will.
Learn how to repair a RAW disk using TestDisk in this easy-to-follow tutorial. TestDisk is a powerful tool for recovering lost partitions and fixing disk errors.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
I used the Mini Too Partition Wizard to scan the drive. When that was over I scanned it again from properties and this time it completed the scan. Then I ran chkdsk again and this time it sees it as NTFS, like it's somehow repaired but I don't know how it was repaied. Thanks for all the neat suggestions. I learned a bit about hard drives.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8950
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900K 3.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    0DYKKV A00
    Memory
    65262 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Multimedia Intel(R) Display Audio NVIDIA High Definition Audio NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM) Realtek(R) Audio WsAudio_Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    D/L 120 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
Please mark as solved.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN 11, WIN 10, WIN 8.1, WIN 7 U, WIN 7 PRO, WIN 7 HOME (32 Bit), LINUX MINT
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY, ASUS, and DELL
    CPU
    Intel i7 6900K and i9-7960X / AMD 3800X (8 core)
    Motherboard
    ASUS X99E-WS USB 3.1 and ASUS X299 SAGE
    Memory
    128 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM (B DIE)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 1070 and RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Crystal Sound (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    single Samsung 30" 4K and 8" aux monitor
    Screen Resolution
    4K and something equally attrocious. I'll be working on this.
    Hard Drives
    A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W

    Ports X, Y, and Z are reserved for USB access and removable drives.

    Drive types consist of the following: Various mechanical hard drives bearing the brand names, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. Various NVMe drives bearing the brand names Kingston, Intel, Silicon Power, Crucial, Western Digital, and Team Group. Various SATA SSDs bearing various different brand names.

    RAID arrays included:

    LSI RAID 10 (WD Velociraptors) 1115.72 GB
    LSI RAID 10 (WD SSDS) 463.80 GB

    INTEL RAID 0 (KINGSTON HYPER X) System 447.14 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 TOSHIBA ENTERPRIZE class Data 2794.52 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 SEAGATE HYBRID 931.51 GB
    PSU
    SEVERAL. I prefer my Corsair Platinum HX1000i but I also like EVGA power supplies
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (among others)
    Cooling
    Noctua is my favorite and I use it in my main. I also own various other coolers.
    Keyboard
    all kinds.
    Mouse
    all kinds
    Internet Speed
    360 mbps - 1 gbps (depending)
    Browser
    FIREFOX
    Antivirus
    KASPERSKY (no apologies)
    Other Info
    Gave Dell touch screen with Windows 11 to daughter and got me an OTVOC. Being a PC builder I own many desktop PCs as well. I am a father of five providing PCs, laptops, and tablets for all my family, most of which I have modified, rebuilt, or simply built from scratch. I do not own a cell phone, never have, never will.
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