Seagate Exos internal hard drives are designed for enterprise-level storage, offering high performance, durability, and reliability. However, when a partition table becomes corrupted or missing, the drive may prompt users with the error “You need to format this drive before you can use it,” making stored data inaccessible.
This case study details how we successfully recovered critical business data from a Seagate Exos internal hard drive, after Seagate support was unable to recover the data and referred the client to us.
As Cambridge Data Recovery, with 25 years of experience, we used partition table reconstruction, file system repair, and sector-level data extraction techniques to restore lost business files.
The Challenge: Seagate Exos Hard Drive Displaying Format Error
A business client contacted us after their Seagate Exos hard drive stopped functioning properly, with the following issues:
- The drive was detected by Windows but showed as “RAW” in Disk Management.
- File Explorer prompted “You need to format this drive before you can use it.”
- Attempts to recover data using Seagate’s built-in tools failed.
- Seagate support attempted recovery but was unsuccessful, recommending our services.
Since formatting the drive would erase all remaining data, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the Seagate Exos hard drive arrived at our cleanroom facility, we conducted a full partition and file system diagnostic. Our findings:
- Partition table corruption (MBR/GPT) – Preventing the operating system from recognizing file structures.
- File system damage (NTFS/EXT4) – Making stored data unreadable.
- No mechanical failure detected – Meaning a logical recovery approach was possible.
Since partition corruption does not immediately erase all data, we prioritized manual partition reconstruction and deep data extraction.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging the Hard Drive to Preserve Data Integrity
To prevent further corruption, we:
- Created a sector-by-sector forensic clone of the Seagate Exos hard drive.
- Used advanced recovery tools to bypass unreadable sectors and extract all readable data.
2. Rebuilding the Partition Table & File System
Since the partition table was missing or corrupted, we:
- Rebuilt the MBR/GPT structure to restore lost partitions.
- Repaired the NTFS/EXT4 file system to regain directory structures.
3. Extracting & Verifying Business Data
Once data extraction was complete, we:
- Recovered all business documents, spreadsheets, and databases.
- Checked all recovered files for accuracy and usability.
- 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 client’s lost files, including:
✅ Business documents, contracts, and reports
✅ Financial records and customer databases
✅ Project files, invoices, and business-critical spreadsheets
The client was able to regain access to all essential business files, preventing operational and financial disruptions.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful recoveries, we are the leading enterprise hard drive data recovery specialists in Cambridge and the UK. Our expertise includes:
✔ Seagate Exos partition table repair & file system recovery
✔ MBR/GPT reconstruction & RAW drive data extraction
✔ Business document, financial record, and database retrieval
✔ Secure & confidential data recovery services
If your Seagate Exos hard drive is displaying a format error, showing as RAW, or preventing access to critical files, stop using it immediately and contact us for expert data recovery.