Partition file system changed to "RAW" after Windows 10 update

Question

Windows on my workstation has been updated recently to a new build... In result of what I lost access to my 2nd partition. In Windows Disk Manager it shows RAW in file system column of broken volume. When I try to browse to the drive on file explorer it suggest that I should format this partition.

Ubuntu 16.04 also doesn't recognize the drive.

I heard about similar problems happening with early "Anniversary" updates. However, I'm using Windows 10 Pro with deferred updates on, so I'm not sure if it is possible that it is still the same issue or just new bug?

I tried to go back to previous build but it didn't help then I installed updated again and tried to install all new patches via Windows update... with no luck.

I also tried to use software to recover the data but it just gives me a file "soup" as a result.

Is there any better way to fix that? Where information about partition file system are stored? Is it possible to change that information manually to NTFS and if yes can it help?

Edit:

More info about bug.

And here

Edit 2:

This is what I recently found, do you think that fixing boot record might help?

Edit 3: Rebuilding partition boot record didn't helped.

Answer 1

The upgrade to Windows 10 may sometimes (rarely) cause a destruction of the disk. The causes are not known at the moment, and my suggestions in the comments for saving the poster's data (about 10000 photos) have not yet been all tested. Nevertheless, the poster has asked me to sum up all my suggestions in one answer that might be useful for future readers as a compendium of recovery tools and methods.

Before starting, please note the difference between recovery and repair operations. The later ones manipulate the destroyed disk and can either save or destroy it (or fail to do anything). If you do not have backups and if in addition the data-recovery tools could not save your data, then be aware that there is a risk of losing everything.

Please also note that data should be recovered to another partition/disk, not to the problematic one. Avoid writing to a partition whose data needs to be recovered.

Free tools

1. Start the Command Prompt (cmd), launch diskpart and verify that the list disk command shows the destroyed partition and its displayed type. If something is wrong, the partition table needs to be reconstructed.

2. MiniTool Partition Recovery Free is an excellent tool that can recover data but also repair problems. For the case of a partition becoming RAW, see the tutorial How to Convert RAW to NTFS.

3. AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition Freeware can repair partitions. Only the paid version ($44.95) can repair the partition type-ID.

4. Paragon Rescue Kit 14 Free Edition can do various repair operations.

5. Active Partition Recovery is a freeware toolkit can do various recovert and repair.

6. Recuva can recover files.

7. In the Windows Disk Management, try to assign the partition a drive letter (Z) and if successful use chkdsk Z: /f.

8. Ubuntu has the ntfsfix recovery tool for NTFS disks. See this article for details : How to Fix a Corrupted Windows NTFS Filesystem With Ubuntu.

Shareware Tools

The tools in this section offer a limited version for free that demonstrates their capabilities. The paid version is required for a full recovery operation.

1. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Professional ($56) can recover data.

2. Recover My Files ($70) can recover files.

3. DiskInternals NTFS Recovery recovers data.

Commercial tool

Ontrack ($103) is said to be the best data recovery tool, probably the one used by professional recovery services.

Answer 2

This is a known bug - here is a msg from Microsoft on the issue:

Hello Everyone, I want to give a huge Thank You to all who responded with my diagnostic information requests about their “tanked secondary drives”. I’m pleased to say that this information enabled us to identify the root cause of the issue. We are actively building and testing an update to fix this issue into Windows. We’ll deploy the update via Windows Update as soon as that process is finished, restoring access to your files on the affected drives. In all of the cases that we have diagnosed, files were safely intact on the drives – so please, don’t reformat. You can also access your files by connecting the affected drive to a different machine (not running Anniversary Update), if that is an option for you. If waiting for an update is not an option, then rolling back will also restore access to your files. For up to 10 days after installing the Anniversary Update, you have the ability to “go back” or return to the previous build. To uninstall the Anniversary Update: 1. Open the Settings app. 2. Select Update & security and then the Recovery tab. 3.
Under “Go back to an earlier build”, click the Get started button and follow the instructions. (Note: If more than 10 days have elapsed since installing the Anniversary Update or the “Go back” option is otherwise not available; we ask for your patience until a patch can be released)

And later in the thread -

I can confirm that the Cumulative Update KB3189866 has fixed the External HDD RAW issue for me.

Full details found here

Answer 3

You may try Testdisk tool, which can be extremely effective in such situations, it saved me several times already. It's free and open-source, however you may later decide to donate to the author if you find it useful. :-)

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Download and run the program, then perform analysis of your disk and see if it finds your partition.

Detailed step-by-step instructions are provided here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step