@verity Yeah… If the drive is new it’s very unlucky. Still, next time, at least copy the most important files to Google Drive, for example. And don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to lecture you. I know a lot of us keep telling ourselves we'll set up backups "this weekend" and somehow it never happens. 

Hi, @verity. Does Disk Management still show the full 2 TB capacity, and does the drive stay connected without disappearing? A drive that shows the correct size and stays stable is more likely dealing with file system corruption. If it drops out, freezes Windows, or shows the wrong capacity, that can point to a hardware problem 

@verity Welcome to the forum! My recommendation - don't format the drive yet, recover data first. Even if partition is RAW and you cannot access the files, they are most likely still on the drive. Press Win + X and open Disk Management to double-check the partition. If your drive shows up there with the right capacity and isn't making unusual noises, I'd treat this as a logical file system issue first. That generally gives you a much better chance of recovering your files than a drive with obvious physical damage. As for why a drive suddenly becomes RAW, there isn't always a single clear answer. Common causes include:

• unplugging the drive without using Safely Remove Hardware while Windows is still writing data;
• an interrupted file transfer because of a power loss or system crash;
• file system corruption caused by software errors;
• bad sectors starting to develop on the drive;
• or, less commonly, a failing drive where the file system is simply the first thing to become damaged.

In your case, because the drive is still detected correctly and stays connected, I'd start by assuming the file system itself has become corrupted rather than the hardware failing.

Here's the order I'd follow:

1. Stop using the drive. Don't format it and don't copy new files to it. Those actions can make recovery more difficult.
2. Try another USB cable and, if possible, another computer. It only takes a few minutes, and it's worth ruling out a connection issue.
3. Recover your files first. Since the drive is showing as RAW, use a recovery tool that can scan the drive without relying on the damaged file system. If the drive disconnects during the scan or becomes very slow, create a disk image first and scan the image instead of the original drive.
4. Format the drive only after you've recovered everything you need. If it works normally after formatting, keep an eye on it. If it becomes RAW again, I'd stop trusting it with important data and contact Seagate while it's still under warranty.

If you'd like more background, these guides may help:

• https://help.7datarecovery.com/raw-data-recovery/
• https://ratings.7datarecovery.com/best-recovery-apps/ 

Let us know what Disk Management shows for the drive's capacity (around 2 TB or something else) and whether it stays connected consistently. That will help narrow down the next step.

@nikaredko @chris_89 Disk Management shows the drive at about 1.8 TB, so I think that's the correct capacity. The partition is there, it's just labeled RAW. The drive also stays connected the whole time. It doesn't disappear or reconnect by itself, and I don't hear any clicking or other strange noises. I also tried a different USB cable, but the behavior is exactly the same, so it doesn't seem to be a cable issue. Unfortunately, I don't have another laptop/pc to check that too. SOO, do I have a green light for trying recovery???

@Hi, @verity! It’s actually really good, the drive is stable, meaning that is most likely some logical issue. I agree with @nikaredko steps, but I'd still check the drive's S.M.A.R.T. health using a tool like CrystalDiskInfo or Disk Drill's built-in S.M.A.R.T. monitor (it’s a recovery tool too, so you can use it to recover files). Just to be sure the drive is OK. Even though the drive is almost new, a RAW file system can occasionally be the first sign that something isn't right with the hardware. If the health report shows problems or the drive becomes RAW again after formatting, I'd stop using it for important files and make a warranty claim with Seagate.

One more thing, @verity. Since your original question was how to reformat an external hard drive without losing anything, here's what I'd do after you've recovered your files.

The simplest fix is to delete the RAW partition in Disk Management, create a new partition, and format it as NTFS (or exFAT if you also use the drive with a Mac). That gives Windows a fresh file system to work with. If Disk Management won't let you format the drive, or the Format option is grayed out, you can also use DiskPart.

Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter. Then run these commands one by one (replace X with your drive's number):

1. diskpart
2. list disk
3. select disk X
4. clean
5. create partition primary
6. format fs=ntfs quick
7. assign
8. exit

The clean command removes the existing partition table, create partition primary creates a new partition, format fs=ntfs quick performs a quick NTFS format, and assign gives the drive a letter so it appears in File Explorer. Before running clean, make sure you've selected the correct disk, as this command removes the partition information and can make data recovery much more difficult. Only use it after recovering any important files.

If the drive shows up as”'Not Initialized” afterward, right-click it in Disk Management and choose Initialize Disk before you create a new volume.

If formatting doesn't complete successfully or the drive immediately becomes RAW again, don't keep trying over and over. At that point I'd check a few things:

• Run Seagate's SeaTools to test the drive. Even a new drive can have manufacturing defects.
• Check the SMART attributes again after formatting. If new errors appear or the health status changes, the drive itself is likely the problem.
• If Windows reports file system errors after you've copied your recovered files elsewhere, you can run CHKDSK in Command Prompt or Terminal. I only recommend this after recovery, since it modifies the file system and can make recovering files more difficult if something goes wrong.
• If the problem returns after a successful format, don't keep storing important data on that drive. Since it's only four months old, I'd contact Seagate and request a warranty replacement.

Hopefully, though, this is just a corrupted file system. I've seen plenty of drives work perfectly fine after the files were recovered and the partition was recreated.

Check the video about data recovery software, if you don’t know which one to choose - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMNcwKrizCQ 

Personally, I've had good results with Disk Drill, and plenty of people also swear by PhotoRec, but those certainly aren't the only capable options.

@verity if the drive starts to behave strange, I would also create a disk image for recovery. Some tools have this feature built-in, Disk Drill too? if I’m not wrong… One thing, you will need to prepare an external hard drive (a separate one) with the same capacity to do that. Hopefully you won't need it, though, since your drive sounds pretty stable at the moment.

@justmike Okay… Honestly, I would prefer to use a free tool. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind paying if the tool is good, but they aren’t cheap at all. I think I would try Recuva at first, since it’s the tool I’m most familiar with. I haven’t used it for awhile, honestly. Is it still good? If it doesn’t work I will try something else.

Quote from verity on August 5, 2026, 12:35 pm

@justmike Okay… Honestly, I would prefer to use a free tool. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind paying if the tool is good, but they aren’t cheap at all. I think I would try Recuva at first, since it’s the tool I’m most familiar with. I haven’t used it for awhile, honestly. Is it still good? If it doesn’t work I will try something else.

@verity We actually had a debate here about Recuva recently, you can look it up if you want. But if you want a short answer - it is good for simple recovery (something like oops I deleted a file), but for more complicated recovery (I think your case qualifies), you will need something more up to date.

@verity

Looks like you've got a good plan now, so I'll just add a couple of things for the future.

Always eject the drive before unplugging it. It sounds obvious, but I've seen file systems get corrupted because someone pulled the cable during a write operation.

I'd also check the drive's SMART health every once in a while. It only takes a minute with CrystalDiskInfo or another SMART tool, and if you notice warnings early, you can copy your important files before things get worse.

Don't let your external drive become the only place where your important files live. Even a second drive or a cloud backup for photos and documents is enough to save you from a lot of headaches if something like this happens again. And if you ever plan to sell or donate a drive, remember that a quick format isn't the same as wiping it. If you want to prepare a drive for someone else, look into a full wipe instead

SOOO… I followed the advice here and held off on formatting the drive. I also went through one of the recovery guides that was shared in the thread, which made the whole process a lot less complicated .

I tried Recuva first because it was the one I already knew, but it only found a small number of files. Some of them were the ones I needed, but there were still a lot missing.

After that, I gave Disk Drill a try, and it found much more. It took a while to scan the drive, but I managed to recover almost everything that actually mattered to me, especially my photos and documents. 

Once I had my files back, I formatted the drive and everything seems to be working again for now. I hope everything will be ok, but I’m closely monitoring it for now… As for what actually caused the drive to become RAW... I still don't know for sure. Thinking back, I did unplug it from my laptop one evening without using safely remove because I was in a hurry. I can't say that's definitely what caused it, but after reading everyone's replies, it seems like it's the most likely explanation. Maybe the file system was being updated at the time and I just got unlucky.