Windows now identifies hot swapped hard drives as raw data sources.
Windows now identifies hot swapped hard drives as raw data sources.
1863.01 GB RAW Healthy (Primary Partition). This unit performed flawlessly just two hours prior, before I briefly swapped it for a 500 GB model to move files. The latter held only a handful of files totaling about 200 MB—far less than half a gigabyte. Given its condition, assuming minor writing, it shouldn’t have altered much. Since this drive is in excellent condition, and the unexpected switch from NTFS to RAW likely stemmed from accessing it while Windows still thought the prior drive was active, what are my odds of resolving this? Have others faced similar problems when hot-swapping a drive and inadvertently triggering a refresh? I hold roughly 1.2 TB of information on this storage device, which I’d rather preserve. I generated a snapshot of the 2 TB drive, and it completed this morning (14 hours later). R-Studio lists the partition as Partition1 Data NTFS 1MB 1.82 TB. However, when I open Partition1, it reveals the folder structure from the earlier 500 GB drive—just a few small files (~200 MB) in total. Clearly, Windows has transferred that directory to the larger drive. If the partition was updated, shouldn’t its size match the smaller drive?
ostenvelez
10-21-2016, 01:21 AM #1I possess a quick-access slot for hard drives in my W10 system, allowing smooth replacement of storage units. During swaps, Windows often fails to detect the new HDD. I must launch Computer Management, refresh the list, and File Explorer will display the updated drive. If I skip refreshing, it still lists the old drive with its original letter. It seems Windows retains a memory of the previous partition or folder because opening the drive unexpectedly leaves remnants. To test, I opened a file to see the effect. As anticipated, since the data resides on the disconnected device, an error appeared stating the file was missing or damaged. Interestingly, text files loaded without trouble. After correcting the issue, I refreshed the drives in Computer Management. To my dismay, the 2 TB drive appeared as RAW! (F 1863.01 GB RAW Healthy (Primary Partition). This unit performed flawlessly just two hours prior, before I briefly swapped it for a 500 GB model to move files. The latter held only a handful of files totaling about 200 MB—far less than half a gigabyte. Given its condition, assuming minor writing, it shouldn’t have altered much. Since this drive is in excellent condition, and the unexpected switch from NTFS to RAW likely stemmed from accessing it while Windows still thought the prior drive was active, what are my odds of resolving this? Have others faced similar problems when hot-swapping a drive and inadvertently triggering a refresh? I hold roughly 1.2 TB of information on this storage device, which I’d rather preserve. I generated a snapshot of the 2 TB drive, and it completed this morning (14 hours later). R-Studio lists the partition as Partition1 Data NTFS 1MB 1.82 TB. However, when I open Partition1, it reveals the folder structure from the earlier 500 GB drive—just a few small files (~200 MB) in total. Clearly, Windows has transferred that directory to the larger drive. If the partition was updated, shouldn’t its size match the smaller drive?
joseraulbello
10-21-2016, 06:26 AM #2You need a controller that supports hot-swapping (most SATA controllers do). These drives will appear as removable devices, similar to USB storage. Just because you have hot-swap bays doesn’t mean your disks are compatible. I’m not sure how to fix this without more details, especially since I’m unfamiliar with file systems. It might be that your partition table is incorrect.
X_FastGamer
10-25-2016, 03:26 AM #3It seems the software likely needs extensive file recovery, searching for remnants on the RAW storage after filesystem corruption. I don’t know the chances of success since this hasn’t been tested recently. A key takeaway was to avoid hot swapping drives unless they’re already removed properly. If the system doesn’t allow it, it probably wasn’t enabled in the BIOS settings.
chelsbunnie
10-30-2016, 02:00 AM #4The manual states the hot swap feature works out of the box if you enable AHCI mode in BIOS and have a SATA3 drive. Online searches indicate this issue is frequent for this board, and some users found success with a third-party tool called Hot Swap.