RAW FS Problem

[Vacuumfan7072]

I got this SanDisk pre-formatted 2GB USB flash drive, and now it will NOT work. i ran ChkDsk to check the disk for corruptions or unsupported FSs. Of course, ChkDsk said the FS was RAW. This is what CMD said:

CHKDSK M:
The type of file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

There is also an attached image. Is there a RAW driver? I have NO idea how it got formatted, it was just sitting there in my USB hub.

[Indigo]

RAW just means that something in the partition went wonky and Windows doesn't know what to do with it.

What I do in these situations, especially if I have data on the drive that I need is grab Download Hiren and burn it to a CD or install to a different flash drive, and boot the system up using the Mini Linux image. Plug the drive in and see if you can mount it (right click the desktop, choose Mount/Unmount and look for the flash drive) Once you mount it, the OS will prompt you and ask if you want to open the file manager, pick one of the file managers (the first one usually works fine) and see if you can browse the contents of the drive.

If it doesn't work, chances are the drive is toast.

For what it's worth, my aunt has owned several of these - they're trash. She can never keep one for more than a couple of months.

[Vacuumfan7072]

Originally Posted by Indigo

RAW just means that something in the partition went wonky and Windows doesn't know what to do with it.

What I do in these situations, especially if I have data on the drive that I need is grab Download Hiren and burn it to a CD or install to a different flash drive, and boot the system up using the Mini Linux image. Plug the drive in and see if you can mount it (right click the desktop, choose Mount/Unmount and look for the flash drive) Once you mount it, the OS will prompt you and ask if you want to open the file manager, pick one of the file managers (the first one usually works fine) and see if you can browse the contents of the drive.

If it doesn't work, chances are the drive is toast.

For what it's worth, my aunt has owned several of these - they're trash. She can never keep one for more than a couple of months.

Yes that flash drive had some VERY important school files on there and I DO NOT want that disk to corrupt. I will try to boot from Linux image. That's why you should always keep a backup. I've had this flash drive for two years already and it never corrupted until my USB hub decided to power my flash drive differently, I guess it messed up the chips.

[mesady]

thank you Indigo for you're very nice info..
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fivesquids

[Vacuumfan7072]

How do I boot from it because it tells me to browse for it.

[Indigo]

Boot from what?

You have to create the bootable Hirens UFD with another USB drive - not the same one of course, but the process is relatively simple - Hirens site has the info on how to set that up.

[Vacuumfan7072]

Where do you get the mini Linux image.