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I am trying to recover data from an NVMe SSD that was removed from a laptop. The computer was running Windows 10 and crashed - upon restart the system hung at the vendor splash screen and would not go any further (could not even enter the BIOS). I purchased an M.2 NVMe to USB 3.1 enclosure to try and recover any unsaved data from the Desktop folder. When I attach the drive to a Windows machine it does not appear as a drive letter, it appears as an unknown disk in Disk Management. I have attempted a few 3rd party data recovery tools as well, but they do not see the drive. Any suggestions on what to try next or any success stories out there?

3 Spice ups
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If this is encrypted with Bitlocker or other MDE system, you have no chance unless you have the unlock key/ID

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This particular drive was not encrypted

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What tools have you tried, and does device manager register this correctly (forget disk manager for now, if device manager doesn’t see it correctly, disk manager wont either)

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Device manager shows the disk and USB SCSI device. I have tried EaseUS, Recuva and minitool

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None of them see it, even the size being correct?

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Correct, none of them see it.

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Give a Live Linux Distro on a USB stick a try. The SSD can be left inside the laptop. First action is to check the SMART values so you know what condition it is in. If it where me and I really wanted that data back then I would clone the SSD to either another larger capacity SSD or an old spinning HD. I would then work on the cloned storage. You might be able to see the data that you want. And if not use the command “ntfsfix” which is a Linux command to correct some NTFS issues and force a chkdsk when Windows next boots up. That can work wonders.

You could use a Ubuntu for the task and the SMART values will be found in Disks. https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-windows#0

EDIT. Added reference for description of ntfsfix Ubuntu Manpage: ntfsfix - fix common errors and force Windows to check NTFS

2 Spice ups
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Try testdisk, years ago has been surprisingly helpful to me

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I tried Ubuntu and no luck, the drive never shows up.

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Pity. Whilst in Ubuntu you did not see the SMART values? If you can’t see the hard drive and its SMART values then it looks like you have a dead SSD. If you can’t see the SSD but can see the SMART values (and that is independent of the OS) it shows that the SSD is basically OK then data is most probably recoverable. If the file system is corrupted then Windows can give you the message “unknown disk in Disk Management”. So you need to check the SMART values.

Also with the symptom there are various other remedies you can try. See Fix Disk Not Initialized in Windows 11/10 [4 Useful Ways]

@maynesworld

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SSD-RecoveryAttempt.png
SSD-RecoveryAttempt.png800×244 319 KB
I think I am dealing with a piece of toast
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You can first assign a drive letter for the SSD in Disk Management to make Windows os recognize it. Then, choose a reliable recovery tool to scan it to see whether the needed files can be found or not. Many such apps you can choose, such as MiniTool power data recovery, Recuve and stellar.

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That “not initialized” message is no Bueno. It in past experiences has been the sign of bad SSD crashes. I have had the odd m.2 overwrite itself when doing heavy read\write and blast the area where the OS resides. As far as assigning a drive letter goes, can you do that before a disk is initialized? The real problem is the system will require you to initialize the disk to use it and initializing a disk erases everything on it. Unfortunately m.2 drives are far less forgiving than old fashioned drives when things go South. I have taken to installing two drives on new machines. The second one backing up critical items on the main drive. I would try the above posters tools first, “Do Not Initialize” it in the meantime until you are ready to give up and reformat the drive. In the meantime prepare for the worst amigo.

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if device manager correctly shows the ssd disk and still disk manager can’t identify it, then you have a new coaster.

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Hi Doug, were you able to solve this? I’m going through the same thing. Unknown, not initialized disk that shows in Device Manager but isn’t identified by Disk Manager. Drive not showing for data recovery tools to work. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers!

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Unfortunately this attempt went unresolved and we moved on