Raw to fat32 without data loss. How to return NTFS from RAW file system without data loss? Reasons for the appearance of the RAW file system

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All kinds of USB drives, be they regular flash drives or removable memory cards, are prone to errors due to many reasons. Let's say a user needs to use a USB device to install or restore an operating system, and the file system of the flash drive is RAW. How to install Windows 7 or another modification, because this format is not recognized? First, the file system needs to be fixed. The following are several basic techniques that will be useful in any other cases when, for some reason, such a failure occurs.

Why does RAW format appear on a USB device?

Myself RAW format is a kind of “raw” structure, which, due to a failure or error, replaced FAT32 or NTFS.

The most common situations are related to exposure to viruses, power surges, incorrect removal of the device, software glitches microcontroller and physical damage to the media. As a result, the file system on the drive changes spontaneously, however, issues related to how to remove the RAW file system from a flash drive and restore the information stored on it can be resolved quite simply. First, let's look at our own Windows tools-systems

How to fix the RAW file system on a flash drive: preliminary steps

If errors occur, it is impossible to write or read information from the drive, although the flash drive itself can be visible in Explorer, in the section and in Device Manager.

Before you begin to decide how to fix the RAW file system on a flash drive, it is recommended that you first check it with a standard system tool in the form of the CHKDSK disk checker.

To start diagnostics, launch the command console (cmd in the “Run” menu), after which the line chkdsk F: /f is written in it, in which the first letter (“F”) is the letter of the USB drive (it can be seen in “Explorer”) . This command is good because at the end of the check, if the failures on the device were not critical, you will be able to see your flash drive in the standard NTFS format.

You can also run the check when booting from a recovery disk, using the same command console, in which, before entering the above command, you need to enter the lines volume (to find out the device type) and exit, and then use the standard tool.

However, if the damage is severe, the system may display a message indicating that this tool is not suitable for use on RAW discs. How to fix the RAW file system on a flash drive in this case? The easiest way out is formatting.

on a flash drive: how to fix the situation using Windows?

To begin with, you can try formatting by calling up the right-click menu in Explorer and selecting the line to perform this operation.

When specified additional parameters should be used full formatting, rather than a quick one with only clearing the table of contents, and at the same time specify the required type parameters related to the file system. Next, all you have to do is click the button to start the process and wait for it to finish.

In the case where formatting in this way turns out to be impossible, the problem of how to fix the RAW file system on a flash drive can be solved using the disk management section, which is most easily accessed with the command diskmgmt.msc in the Run console. Right-clicking on the disk brings up a context menu, where you select the formatting line. If the disk is in at the moment inactive, the initialization command is used first and then formatted.

Fixing the problem using low-level formatting programs

If this does not give any effect, RAW flash drives can be produced using special utilities.

One of the most powerful is considered small HDD program Low Level Format, which is shareware, but in test mode will be able to perform the formatting operation without problems. When you start the application, click the Continue for free button. In this mode, the only limitation will be the speed of the operation, so you will have to be patient.

Next, you need to select your drive, click the continue button and confirm formatting, agreeing with the program warning. At the end of the process, a message indicating 100 percent completion of the operation will be displayed, and after that all that remains is to perform a quick format using Windows.

Data recovery programs

As for data recovery, it is best to use software products like R.Saver, RS FAT Recovery and others.

Depending on the storage capacity, it may take quite a lot of time. But recovery is one hundred percent guaranteed. Sometimes you can even see data that was deleted from the device a very long time ago.

What else do you need to know?

If for some reason the methods described above do not help, it is very likely that the problem is a malfunction of the microcontroller. You can try to reflash it by using the VEN and DEV identifiers from the “Hardware ID” section in the “Device Manager” properties menu and downloading the appropriate firmware from the equipment manufacturer’s resource. If errors occur due to physical damage, the problematic device can in most cases be thrown away.

Finally, it remains to add that the issues of virus exposure, which can also lead to such failures, were not considered here, since each user must take care of protecting their system independently and without reminders. And before restoring a USB drive, it is advisable to check for viruses without fail.

All users encounter bad situations when working at a computer, no matter what anyone says, sooner or later this happens. One of the problems is a malfunction of the hard drive. IN Windows system you can find the disk file system – RAW. In fact, this designation is not a file system, as it indicates a disk error. The system tries to recognize the specified disk structure, and if this fails, the disk is marked as RAW.

The error designation may vary, but if you encounter RAW, then when you try to open hard drive you will see the following messages:

Before using the drive, you need to format it;

The disk properties indicate the RAW file system;
A window appears about the absence of a sector;
Other error messages.

Reasons for the appearance of RAW

Incorrect shutdown of the computer;
Unstable voltage;
Weak SATA connection to the hard drive;
The presence of so-called “bad” blocks (bad blocks);
Cable damage;
Damage system files;
The presence of virus software in the system;
Hard drive failure.

The danger of this problem is that if you format or do another incorrect action, you will completely clear the partition. This will, of course, restore the disk's functionality, but this method almost always not useful. Now let's try to figure out how to convert a RAW system to NTFS without losing data.

At first, you need to use the simplest methods to solve the problem. As practice shows, many problems are solved by restarting the computer. If the failure turns out to be serious and this procedure did not help, read the following points.

#2 – Checking cable connections

If you have desktop computer, then turn off the power completely, open the system unit and check the connection of the wires to the hard drive and system board. Try disconnecting them and reconnecting them.

Carefully examine each wire, make sure that they are all intact and not damaged.

If you do not have a computer, but a laptop, you can also open it and check the internal components. If you lack repair skills and proper prevention, you should turn to professionals.

If you have a hard drive connected via USB, the most simple method is connecting to another USB connector.

Try the above methods and then move on to software solutions.

#3 – Using the CHKDSK utility

In Windows, as a utility for checking the drive, there is one that corrects file system problems. This will come in handy for us.

We launch the command line as administrator (you can right-click on the Start menu and select the appropriate item);

Enter the command "chkdsk D: /f"(the /f attribute allows the utility to correct errors on drive D);

As a result, you will receive a fixed partition with NTFS and saved data, or this method will not give a positive result.

#4 – Checking the integrity of system files

As I said above, the problem may be hidden on the system side, that is, the system files are damaged. Sometimes their integrity can be restored. We read:

Launch the command line;
Enter simple command — sfc /scannow
We are waiting.

As a result, one of two answers is displayed: the scan did not reveal any integrity violations, or some files cannot be recovered.

#5 If the system does not boot

If the system disk has come under attack, or due to RAW partitioning Windows for some reason refuses to work normally, all of the above actions with the command line are performed using a boot disk or flash drive, or safe mode.

The first option is this: you create a bootable USB flash drive with that Windows version, which you have, for example, “ten”. After booting, you get to the point where you need to select a partition to install the system. In this window you press keys Shift+F10. A command line window appears. Execute all the above commands.

What to do if you don't know the drive letter?

In this case, we will use the diskpart utility:

IN command line enter the command diskpart ;
Next we enter list disk to display disks;
Now we register list volume– display of disk partitions;
In the window you will see all your partitions, then look at the file system type volume. We are interested in RAW and the drive letter (Name).

Now you can run commands to check the disk and restore integrity. For now, these are the only options for restoring the drive without deleting data.

#6 Use antivirus utilities

The RAW procedure in NTFS without data loss can be implemented thanks to antivirus programs. Of course you can check your computer installed antiviruses, like Avast, Windows Defender and others. It won't be effective. You need to download the following utilities and check your PC with everyone:

#7 Regular hard drive formatting

So we come to the method where we have to completely clear the partition. This is done only if there is nothing important on the disk, or all the options described at the beginning of the article did not help. Let's try to convert RAW to NTFS.

Press the keyboard shortcut Win+R and write the following:

diskmgmt.msc

The disk management utility will immediately launch, where the volume in the RAW system will be indicated. Click on it with the right mouse button and select context menu "Format".

#8 Using the Recuva utility

Download the program from the Internet, install and run. At the top, in the drop-down section, select the problematic section that needs to be fixed.

Press the button "Analysis" and wait.

Depending on the number of files on the disk and its size, over time a large list of files that you can recover will appear in the window. Simply tick the required volumes (everything is possible) and, by clicking right click mouse on any object, select the option "Restore selected".

This way you can recover files deleted after formatting.

#9 Using MiniTool Power Data Recovery

Exists good utility for working with disks. It’s easy to find on the Internet, download and install, so I won’t dwell on such things.

Having launched the program, go to the section "Lost Partition Recovery".

Select a partition with the RAW file system and press the button "Full Scan". We are waiting for the file search process to complete.

Select the files you want to save and click "Save".

Specify the location to save the data.

When the files from the disk are restored, you can safely format it.

#10 Advanced option: TestDisk utility

Let's consider the last option as one of the more difficult ones. You need to download the TestDisk utility.

Find the file in the archive with the tool testdisk_win.exe, which you run with elevated privileges. Something like a command line opens.

Use the arrows to select an option "Create" and confirm with the Enter key.
Use the arrows to select a disk with the RAW file system, and confirm the action with the ENTER key.
At the next stage, immediately press Enter.
Choose an option "Analyse" .
Click on the option "Quick Search" .
After displaying damaged volumes (in our case RAW). Then press the key "r" to display data for this section or sections.
Use the arrows to select an option "Write"- press Enter.
If the volume is unsuccessfully found, select the option "Deeper Search" and repeat all the commands again.

Most often, the disk file system changes to RAW after the computer was turned off incorrectly, when the lights were turned off, or the user saved time and pulled out the power cord system unit from the socket. Another reason is viruses that change the NTFS to RAW format of HDD drives. How to fix this problem, read this article.

What is the RAW file system?

If the disk is in RAW format, Windows will display it among other hard drive partitions. But when you try to open it, the computer will give you an error and ask you to format it. In addition, any actions with this volume will be unavailable: checking for errors, defragmenting, etc. (it is useful to read “How to check the integrity of Windows 10 system files and restore them?”).

There is no RAW file system as such. If the disk receives this formatting, it means that the computer drivers are not able to determine the type of its file system - NTFS, FAT or FAT32. In practice, this happens in several cases:

the file system structure is damaged;
The partition has not been formatted;
There is no correct access to the contents of the volume.

If the OS volume is damaged, warnings “ Reboot and select proper boot device" or " Operating System not found".

Recovery

If the problem occurs on a non-system drive, but it contains important information that will be lost when formatted, use standard Windows tools or third-party programs to fix the error.

Windows tools

Basically, the standard chkdsk utility helps fix problems with formatting in RAW.

After checking, the computer will be restored bad sectors and the NTFS file system on the problem volume.

Important! This method is effective if the flash drive or hard drive has been formatted in NTFS.

The chkdsk utility will also help when the system disk is damaged. But for this you will need boot disk or flash drive.

Start your computer with bootable flash drive or disk → Select “System Restore”.
Advanced options -> command line -> enter chkdsk drive_letter: /f.

In the recovery environment, the partition letters are different from the names of the logical drives. To avoid mistakes, open the list of computer partitions in the command line.

Enter diskpart → list volume → the list will indicate which disk is the system one.

Third party programs

There are third-party programs that help restore the NTFS file system if for some reason it was reformatted to RAW. They do not damage the user’s information stored on the volume, unlike the chkdsk utility, which can “affect” them during the recovery process.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery

Important! This method is most effective if the RAW file system appears on a flash drive.

TestDisk

It's multifunctional free utility, working with sections of hard disk using a large number of options. The program is presented in a portable version, so it does not require installation. The main disadvantage of TestDisk is that it does not have a Russified interface.

Download the archive with the program → run the file testdisk_win.exe as administrator → select “create” → enter.
Use the up/down arrows to select required disk→ enter.
Specify the desired type of partition table (the utility will do this automatically) → enter.
To search for “lost” partitions, select “Analyze” → enter → Quick Search → enter.
The utility will find “lost” volumes → press “p” to view the list of files.

If at one point you connect your removable drive with a bunch of important information to the computer, you will see the message “To use the disk in drive n:, first format it. Do you want to format it?”, then this article is just for you.

Restoring a flash drive after converting it to RAW format.

First, let's figure out what RAW is. After all, everyone is accustomed to seeing familiar file systems on their drives, such as NTFS, FAT32. They are used for both solid state SSD drives, as well as for hard drives and flash drives.

The file system is needed so that the disks can function and communicate with the computer. Thanks to it, the computer translates information into binary code, which it understands and with which it can work, and the user already sees the result of this work: photographs, text, videos, audio recordings, games and applications. What exactly is RAW? Without going into too much detail, RAW is a glitch, a system error. Let's figure out why this problem occurs.

Why did the flash drive become RAW?

If the file system on your flash drive suddenly becomes RAW, it means that there have been various types of failures while working with it or your computer. Starting from banal system failures, ending with work malware, the so-called virus. If you are sure that the failure occurred due to a virus - when you connected the flash drive, the antivirus informed you that there was a threat on it, but you ignored these warnings - then first you should scan the system and eliminate the original source of the problem, namely the virus that caused you have a lot of problems.

The virus could also get onto your computer via the Internet; to prevent infection in the future, you should be more selective in choosing sites when searching for this or that information, focusing on trusted sites. It is also quite possible for physical damage to the drive, for example, due to a fall, voltage drop in the computer, or improper removal of the flash drive.

So now you know why this problem occurs. The main thing is, do not rush to format the flash drive, you will lose all the files on it. You can try to “revive” it with the built-in Windows utility or other third-party programs that are in public access on the Internet.

How to fix RAW format on a flash drive

If you don’t need the data on the flash drive, then you can safely format it using the built-in tools. But if it contains valuable data, you need to fix this problem. This raises the question: how to fix a flash drive in RAW format?

There is no need to despair, everything can be restored without loss, however, everything is not always so easy and cloudless. If you have little idea what to do if the flash drive is in RAW format, then you should still contact a specialized service center, where all data will be restored for a certain fee. If you are confident in yourself, then you can restore the flash drive yourself. There are special programs to solve this problem.

How to fix the RAW format on a flash drive? You should start with the built-in program, which is launched via the command line. You just need to enter the command in the command line field: chkdsk n: /n, where n is the letter indicating the disk that you want to “cure”, and the second /n is the function of fixing the file system during scanning. If the built-in program does not cope with this problem, it will display the message “Chkdsk is not valid for RAW disks.” But don't worry, there's plenty more third party programs, which will help in the fight against this ill-fated RAW.

If the built-in program is powerless, it will come to the rescue regarding free program DMDE, which can be downloaded from the official website. Launching and installing this utility is not difficult, so we won’t dwell on it in detail. After installing and launching the application, you will see two windows. On the left, select “Phys. Device”, on the right - a problematic flash drive. Double click on it. At this moment, an express scan of the contents of the flash drive will take place.

Go to the “Found” folder, then to the “All found + reconstructions” folder, then click “Rescan entire volume” and confirm your actions. Now be patient, because the larger the capacity of your flash drive, the longer the scanning will take. After completing this procedure, in the window you will see all the files contained on the flash drive before it failed, but keep in mind that they will have completely different names. Then you can start restoring them.

If, after all that has been done, nothing worked for you or the functionality of this program does not meet your requirements, you should consider another option, namely MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Eat free version a program whose functionality is limited only by the maximum weight of the file being restored (up to 1 GB).

After installing and running this utility, you must specify the drive from which you want to recover data.
Select a flash drive. MiniTool Power Data Recovery will show you the files it contains. You can select all or only the necessary ones.
In order to save files, you need to click the Save Files button (located on the left, blue).
Next, the program will ask you to specify the directory (disk) where you want to save the files from the ill-fated flash drive. And she will also warn you so that you do not think of saving data to the flash drive from which you are restoring it.

From this moment the copying process will begin; the duration can be a decent amount of time, which depends on the size of the files and the computing power of the computer. After all your manipulations, wait for the copying to complete. That's all, all that's left to do is check necessary files in the folder where you saved them, are they readable? And actually start “resurrecting” the flash drive. That is, simply format it.

What to do if the flash drive cannot be formatted in RAW format

It would be useful to touch upon one more aspect of this problem, namely: what to do if the flash drive cannot be formatted in RAW format? If you managed to extract the files using the above program, you now need to think about how to restore a flash drive that has become a RAW format and return it to its previous functionality. Go to “My Computer,” right-click on the drive and select “Format.” If after this the same ill-fated RAW format remains, then not everything is so rosy and you will have to “sweat a little.”

In this case, to restore the flash drive, it is necessary to perform the so-called low-level “deep” formatting of the drive. Unfortunately, Windows itself cannot do this, but the wonderful NDD Low Level Format utility, which is distributed shareware, will come to the rescue.

Working with this utility is simple:

Launch it in “Continue for free” mode to continue using it for free. In this case, the functionality of the free version will be enough for us.
In the window that opens, select the drive.
Next, in the window that opens, go to the “LOW-LEVEL FORMAT” tab, click “Format this device” and confirm this action.

After completing the low-level formatting process, the duration of which depends on the computing power of the computer and the capacity of the flash drive, a message will appear that you need to format the flash drive with built-in Windows utilities in order to restore the “normal” file system. When formatting, specify your preferred NTFS or FAT32 format, but remember that the FAT32 file system does not allow storing large single files, so if you download movies, games and similar “heavy” files, the NTSF file system is perfect for you.

To sum up all of the above, I would like to say that there is nothing terrible in this problem and everything can be solved. Even if your flash drive contains very important files, documents, etc., there is no need to hang your nose. If you do everything correctly, you will recover all your files without loss.

Many users have encountered a problem when, without any prerequisites, the hard drive stopped being displayed as local and displayed a message that it was not formatted and was working as a RAW file system. In a panic, people formatted the media, losing important data. If you encounter the same error, there is no need to agree with Windows offer and format the disk. It can be restored.

Why does the RAW file system appear?

In theory, the RAW file system is initially installed on the hard drive and indicates that it is not partitioned, that is, clean. After installing it into the system unit and formatting, it is suitable for installing an operating system or storing data. However, even formatted disks can be detected as RAW. The reason for this may be the following factors:

Abrupt power shutdown (voltage surges, emergency shutdown from the socket).
If you disabled the USB cable or the SATA connector has come loose.
If this external drive, then such an error can occur when the device is unsafely removed, that is, without using the system tray options.
Connection to TV, which formats the device to its format.
Virus infection.
Physical failure of the hard drive.

In the event that the reason for converting the disk to the RAW file system was a power failure, improper removal of the device, or an emergency shutdown, the data can be successfully recovered. IN otherwise, it is possible to repair the disk only without saving the information.

Method number 1. Recovering a disk without saving data. Windows is loading

Most quick way To restore the system's functionality, it is to agree with Windows' proposal and format the disk.

It is safer to format the disk through the Disk Control Panel. To do this we do the following:

Click “Start”, “Control Panel”, “System and Security”, “Administration” and select “Create and format hard drive partitions”.

A new window will open. Select a disk that displays the RAW file system. Right-click on it and select “Format”.

Select the format and click “OK”. After formatting, the disk will be ready for use.

Method No. 2. If the RAW system did not appear on drive C

If drive D begins to appear as a RAW file system and you need to recover lost data, it is worth checking it for errors. To do this we do the following:

Go to disk management and look at the drive letter, which is displayed as RAW.
Open a command prompt with Administrator rights and enter “chkdsk D: /f”, where “D” is the disk with the RAW file system.

Often, after errors are corrected, the disk returns to its previous NTFS file system.

Method No. 3. Windows won't boot. Local drive C became RAW

If operating system does not boot, you need to remove the hard drive from the system unit or laptop, connect it to a work computer and check for errors via the command line. If this helps, the disk will be restored.

If you have installation disk with the version and bitness of your OS, it’s worth running a system restore.

Enter the command “chkdsk D: /f”, where we indicate the drive letter.

You can view the drive letter using Notepad. At the command line, enter “notepad”. Next “File”, “Open”. Explorer will appear in which you can view the drive letter.

After checking and correcting errors, the old disk format can be restored.