The volume does not contain a recognized file system

The error appears after connecting an external hard drive, a USB flash drive or an SD card. Before the error appears, Windows may ask you to format the disk before use just to inform you that “The volume does not contain a recognized file system”.

The volume does not contain a recognized file system

The error is sometimes caused by faulty encryption files or a RAW extension. In any case, we have prepared several working methods for you to try in order to get rid of this error. Good luck and follow the solutions below!

What causes the volume to not contain a recognized file system error?

• Faulty or broken bootloader utility that needs to be fixed using certain command prompt commands.

• Malware infection usually manifests itself by damaging external drives connected to your computer, so be sure to scan your computer.

• Drive encryption programs sometimes corrupt the files on the drive during the decryption process and leave the drive corrupted, showing this error.

Solution 1: fix boot manager

Going over essential bootloader-related commands is always a nice and easy way to start troubleshooting.. There are several methods that you must run in a particular order to restart the bootloader service, which is directly responsible for managing external drives connected to your computer.

1. If your computer system does not work, you will need to use the installation media used to install Windows for this process. Insert the installation disc you have or just created and start your computer. The following steps are different from one operating system to another, so you must follow them correctly:

• WINDOWS XP, VISTA, 7: Windows setup should open asking you to enter your preferred language and date and time settings. Enter them correctly and choose the option Repair your computer at the bottom of the window. Keep the initial radio button selected when prompted with the selection of Use recovery tools O Restore your computer and click Next option Choose Start Repair (The first option) when prompted with the Choose a recovery tool selection.

• WINDOWS 8, 8.1, 10: you will see a Choose your keyboard layout window, choose the one you want to use. The Choose an option screen will appear to navigate to Troubleshooting >> Advanced Options >> Symbol of the system

Open command prompt using advanced options

1. If you have no problems with the system, you can use the windows interface to access this screen. If you are using Windows 10 on your pc, there is another way to access advanced computer startup. Use the Windows key combination + I to open Settings or click the Start menu and click the gear key at the bottom left.

2. Click Update & Security >> Recovery and click Restart now option in advanced startup section. Your PC will proceed to restart and you will be prompted for the advanced options screen.

Access advanced startup using settings

1. Click to open command prompt from advanced options screen.

2. The command prompt should now open with administrator privileges. Type the command shown below and make sure to hit Enter after.

bootrec / RebuildBcd
bootrec / fixMbr
bootrec / fixboot
bootsect / ntfs60 C:

Note: Replace the placeholder $ 0027C: $ 0027 with the drive letter that is fixing the problem

1. Later, close command prompt and choose Restart option. Check if the problem has disappeared.

Solution 2: scan your computer for malware

Although it may seem exaggerated, Malware infections are one of the main causes of this problem and it is vital that you check your computer for malware. Malicious programs would want to prevent you from running things from external drives and could even infect them. Follow the steps below for tips:

PROFESSIONAL SUGGESTION: If the problem is with your computer or laptop, you should try using Reimage Plus, which can scan repositories and replace damaged and lost files. This works in most cases, when the problem originates due to system corruption. You can download Reimage by clicking here

Here, We will show you how to scan your PC with Malwarebytes, as it often shows the best results considering the fact that it actually has a large database. Good luck!

1. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is an amazing anti-malware tool with a free version that you can download from its official website. Hopefully, you will not need the complete package after solving this problem (unless you want to buy it and have it ready for other problems), so be sure to download the trial version by clicking here.

Downloading Malwarebytes from its official website

1. Find the executable file you just downloaded from your website in your PC download folder and double-click it to open it on your computer.

2. Select where you want to install Malwarebytes and follow the installation instructions that will appear on the screen to complete the installation process.

Malwarebytes installation

1. Open Malwarebytes by locating it in the Start menu or on your Desktop and select the Scan option available on the application's home screen.

2. The tool will likely start its update process to update its virus database and then proceed to scan. Please be patient until the process is finished, that could definitely take a while. If malware is detected on your computer, confirm that it has been removed or quarantined.

Choose what to do with the remaining threats

1. Restart your computer after the scanning process has finished and check if you are still experiencing unrecognized file system problems.

Note: You should also use other security scanners if you can tell the type of malware you have on your computer (ransomware, junk software, etc.). Other than that, a single scanner will never be able to recognize and remove all types of malware, so we suggest you try others too.

Solution 3: start an SFC scan

An SFC scan is quite useful as it is a utility that will scan your computer for missing system files (especially system files) and will try to redownload and replace them from Microsoft servers. This method is ideal for users who have encrypted a disk on their computer and have had trouble decrypting it..

The tool can be started via command prompt and users have reported running an SFC scan, that could take longer in this scenario, has triggered a following boot CHKDSK scan that has been performed to resolve the issue. Make sure to try this method if the previous ones didn't help!!

1. Search for »Command Prompt» by typing it in the start menu or pressing the search button next to it. Right-click on the first entry that will appear as a search result and select the entry from the context menu “Execute as an administrator”.

2. What's more, you can also use windows logo key combination + R to open the Run dialog. Type »cmd» in the dialog box that appears and use the key combination Ctrl + Shift + To enter for admin command prompt.

Running CMD as administrator

1. Type the following commands in the window and make sure to hit Enter after typing each one. Wait for the message “Operation completed successfully” or something similar to know that the method worked.

sfc /scannow

1. Try restarting your computer and see if the CHKDSK utility starts up asking you to check for hard drive errors. Wait for your process to finish and check if the problem has disappeared.

SUGGESTION: If none of the methods have solved your problem, we recommend that you use the Reimage repair tool, which can scan repositories to replace damaged and lost files. This works in most cases, when the problem originates due to a system corruption. Reimage will also optimize your system for maximum performance. You can download Reimage by clicking here