Converting ext. drive to internal. Tried Initialising, now shows RAW.

[JMShepherd]

I am trying to install my external drive as an internal drive (SATA connection, 3.5mm) without losing any data that I already have stored. It will not be used as a boot disc, only storage.

I've taken 3.5" SATA drive from the enclosure and connected to my system, but can't get it to access the existing NTFS file system. At first, the drive wouldn't show up in "Computer", so I looked around found it listed as "unallocated" in the "Disk Management" area.

Now here's where I may have messed something up. I tried to initialize after reading advice from other forums, and believe (can't remember) that I chose to create a new volume. I was hoping this would allow the drive to read, but I was then prompted to format before I could use the drive. I did not format, and was hoping I could reverse what I had done, but now my drive shows up as having a RAW file system. Is there any way to get this to read, or even reverse the new volume so I can at least load it back in to the external enclosure to make a backup?

 

[scout_03]

check this free one use the recovery wizard http://www.easeus.com/partition-recovery/

 

[fzabkar]

Initialisation is data destructive. You have probably trashed the contents of sector 0.

Be aware that some external drives (eg My Book Essential) will be encrypted even if you have not set a password. What is the make and model of your external product?