IBM IDE hard drives were widely used in business environments, including courier companies, for storing logistics, delivery schedules, and operational data. However, when a hard drive appears as RAW in Windows Disk Management, it often indicates file system corruption, partition table damage, or logical errors, making stored data inaccessible.
This case study details how we successfully recovered critical courier business data from an IBM IDE hard drive, after RAW file system corruption rendered the drive unreadable.
As Glasgow Data Recovery, Scotland’s oldest and best data recovery company, we have 25 years of experience using partition table repair, file system reconstruction, and deep forensic data extraction techniques to restore lost business data.
The Challenge: IBM IDE Drive Appearing as RAW
A Glasgow-based courier business contacted us after their IBM IDE hard drive stopped functioning properly, with the following issues:
- The drive appeared as RAW in Windows Disk Management.
- File Explorer could not access the drive, prompting a “You need to format this drive” message.
- Attempts to run CHKDSK resulted in failure.
- The drive contained logistics schedules, tracking data, and customer delivery records.
Since formatting the drive would erase all remaining data, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the IBM IDE hard drive arrived at our cleanroom facility, we conducted a full partition and file system diagnostic. Our findings:
- Partition table corruption (MBR/FAT32/NTFS) – Preventing the operating system from recognizing the drive.
- File system corruption – Making stored data unreadable.
- No mechanical failure detected – Meaning logical recovery was possible through partition repair and raw data extraction.
Since RAW file system issues do not immediately erase data, we prioritized rebuilding the partition table and repairing the file system.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging the Hard Drive to Prevent Further Data Loss
To preserve recoverable data, we:
- Created a sector-by-sector forensic clone of the IBM IDE hard drive.
- Used specialised recovery tools to extract readable sectors while avoiding further corruption.
2. Repairing the Partition Table & File System
Since the partition table was missing or corrupted, we:
- Rebuilt the MBR and partition structures to restore lost file directories.
- Repaired the NTFS/FAT32 file system to regain access to stored data.
3. Extracting & Verifying Courier Business Data
Once data extraction was complete, we:
- Recovered all delivery schedules, tracking logs, and customer invoices.
- Restored logistics spreadsheets and operational reports.
- Transferred the fully restored data to a secure external backup device.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our partition table repair and deep sector-level recovery techniques, we successfully recovered 100% of the courier company’s lost business data, including:
✅ Logistics schedules and customer tracking data
✅ Financial invoices and operational spreadsheets
✅ Organised file structures restored for easy access
The courier company was able to resume operations without losing any critical files, preventing financial and logistical disruptions.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful hard drive recoveries, we are Scotland’s leading data recovery specialists. Our expertise includes:
✔ IBM IDE hard drive partition repair & data extraction
✔ RAW drive recovery & NTFS/FAT32 file system repair
✔ Courier business logistics, tracking, and financial file retrieval
✔ Secure & confidential data recovery services
If your hard drive is showing as RAW, asking to be formatted, or preventing access to critical business data, stop using it immediately and contact us for expert data recovery.