Raw treatment. What is the RAW file system and how to return to NTFS

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 of the system unit from the outlet. 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, the “Reboot and select proper boot device” or “Operating System not found” warnings will appear when the computer boots.

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 repair damaged sectors and the NTFS file system on the problematic 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 a boot disk or flash drive.


  1. Start the computer from a bootable USB flash drive or disk → Select “System Restore”.

  2. 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

This is a multifunctional free utility that works with hard drive partitions 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.



An alternative way to restore NTFS formatting of a partition is presented in the video.

A number of users may be unable to access their hard drive (or flash drive). In the operating system, such devices receive the “Raw” status, and their file structure becomes inaccessible to the user. In this article, I will examine this dysfunction in detail, tell you what to do in a situation where the file system is RAW, as well as how to return NTFS, FAT32, what tools will help us with this, and how to use them.

To understand that this is a RAW file system and how to return the NTFS, FAT32 format, you need to determine the meaning of the term “RAW” itself. Translated from Shakespeare’s language, the lexeme “Raw” means “raw”, “raw material”. Accordingly, in our case, this term refers to disks that are either not yet formatted, or the data structure on them is damaged (errors in the MBR partition table and MFT file table, viruses, PC hardware problems, and so on.).

Simply put, RAW disks are disks that are not recognized by the Windows OS for various reasons. Typically, in this case, Windows recommends formatting such a disk, which should not be done, since the data on the disk will be lost as a result of formatting.

Reasons why a disk from NTFS and FAT32 becomes RAW

The reasons for the appearance of RAW disks instead of the usual NTFS and FAT32 file systems are as follows:

  • Sudden shutdown of such disks (loss of voltage in the network, physical disconnection by the user, problems with the power supply, etc.), as a result of which the integrity and structure of the data on the disk is disrupted;
  • Problems with cables connecting the motherboard and hard drive;
  • The operation of virus programs that violate the integrity of the bootloader, partition table, file structure, and so on;
  • Bad sectors on the hard drive, as a result of which the system structure on the hard drive is damaged;
  • Error in installing or updating the operating system;
  • Errors when working with various hard disk partition managers;
  • Not a tight connection between the flash drive and the USB connector of the PC (in the case of a flash drive);
  • Problems with the computer motherboard and so on.

How to return NTFS, FAT32 from RAW

  • Just try restarting your computer, the problem may be random;
  • Check the tightness of the cable connections to the hard drive, try using a different connector for connecting the hard drive on the motherboard, as well as a different USB connector on the computer when connecting an external flash drive;
  • Use the built-in CHKDSK() utility. Launch a command prompt as administrator and type

chkdsk X: /f (where X is the RAW drive letter)

The “f” parameter means correcting errors on the disk, that is, the CHKDSK utility not only looks for problems, but also fixes them.

I also note that this command is relevant, first of all, for those disks that were formatted in the NTFS file system. Moreover, if you cannot boot the operating system, then boot using a bootable system disk or flash drive (you can use various “Live CD” builds), select “System Restore” there, go to “Advanced options” and then to “Command Prompt” , and there type the above command.

If you cannot access the command line from your PC, then it is recommended to connect your hard drive to another computer and check your disk for errors from it.

  • Use the capabilities of another system utility, sfc, created to check the integrity of system files. Also run the command line as an administrator and write in it:

sfc /scannow

and press enter.

  • If you have access to the operating system, then it is worth checking your computer for viruses using special anti-virus programs (for example, Web CureIt! or Malware-AntiMalware);
  • If there is no important information on the problem disk (or it is not significant), then the problem disk (or flash drive) can be formatted. Click on the “Start” key and type diskmgmt.msc in the search bar, the Disk Control Panel will appear. Right-click on the raw disk and select “Format” from the menu that appears.

If you have a RAW file system, return NTFS, FAT32 - using third-party programs

If you want to restore the NFTS and FAT32 file system, then you should use the functionality of special programs that will help us with this. I suggest programs such as Recuva and TestDisk.

Recuva

One of the popular programs for recovering lost files is Recuva. Download, install and run this product, select the option to restore all files, indicate the problem disk, enable the in-depth analysis option and click on “Start”.

After the scan is completed, the program will display a list of found files, mark them with checkboxes and click on “Recover”.

TestDisk

The second program that can help with the issue of the RAW file system is TestDisk.

  1. Download and install this program, run it as administrator.
  2. Select the “Create” command and press enter, select the raw disk with the cursor and press “Enter”.
  3. After selecting the desired type of partition table, press enter, then select “Analyze” and “Quick Search” (a quick search for problematic partitions will be carried out).
  4. After TestDisk finds the problematic volumes, click on “Write” to record the structure of the found partition.

How to change the file system of a flash drive [video]

Above I analyzed the problem when the file system is RAW. The most optimal tool for returning NTFS, FAT32 is to use the CHKDSK system command, as well as special programs that can restore the file structure of the problem disk. If none of the tips I suggested turned out to be effective for you, then I recommend contacting a service center - perhaps your hard drive has problems not of a software, but of a hardware nature, and it needs a thorough repair.

In contact with

What is the RAW file system and how to return the NTFS format without data loss - in this article we will look at these issues in detail, as well as recovery methods.

It often happens that after an incorrect shutdown of your computer, for example, if you unplug the cord from the socket or the power in your house is suddenly turned off, or your computer has experienced a virus attack, an unpleasant situation may occur. The file system of the disk on your computer or laptop changes its format to RAW and for the device to function properly (as a rule, you want to do this as quickly as possible), you need to return it to the NTFS format.

What is a RAW disc?

So, RAW file system type, let's figure out what it is. The RAW system is a non-existent system. If the computer indicates that the storage medium has this format, then the drivers cannot determine the type of its file system (FAT, FAT32 OR NTFS).

If the media has received the RAW format, Windows 10 OS will display it among the hard drive partitions, but any actions with it will be impossible, such as defragmentation, checking for errors, and, of course, viewing the data on the disk. The computer will constantly give an error and prompt you to format the disk, and “RAW” will appear in the “logical disk properties” line. So how do you restore a file system from RAW to NTFS format on a hard drive?

Restoring a file system from RAW to NTFS

The system will offer you the easiest way - to format the disk. But don’t rush to do this, because your data is not lost, now there is simply no access to it. If you format a RAW disk to convert the file system back to NTFS, you will have to spend a long time recovering data from the media using special programs. We offer several ways to restore a disk from RAW to NTFS without losing data.

Restoring a file system to NTFS from RAW without formatting

Method 1: Windows Tools

Mainly, to change the file system from RAW to NTFS, the standard utility from the operating system chkdsk helps. Follow this procedure:

  • Right-click "Start" and select "command prompt"
  • Type the command chkdsk drive_letter: /f
  • The computer will begin a scan, after which it will repair the damage and the NTFS system in the problem area


Chkdsk will also help if the system disk is damaged. For this you will need a flash drive or boot disk.

Here are your steps:

  • Start your computer from a flash drive or disk, and then select “Recovery”
  • Then open “advanced options”, and then “command prompt”. There, enter chkdsk drive_letter: /f

Important!

When restoring, the partition letters may differ from the disk names. In order to prevent errors in operation, open the list of computer partitions in the command line, then enter diskpart, Then listvolume and you will see which drive is the system one. This will be indicated in the list.

You can also try from previously saved backups.

Method 2: Using special programs

Here's how to make NTFS from a RAW file system using third-party programs.

First of all, we recommend using the free Testdisk program. This is a utility that interacts with hard disk partitions. She will help correct the situation. The disadvantage of working with the Testdisk program is that it does not work with Russian names and they may not be displayed correctly.

Here's how to convert RAW to NTFS using Testdisk:


RAW format on your flash drive

Reasons for conversion:

  1. When the flash drive is connected, the computer is turned off incorrectly or there is a voltage drop
  2. Windows crashes
  3. Banal viruses
  4. External damage to the flash drive from impact or fall

How to change the wrong system format to the correct one:

The MiniTool Power Data Recovery converter gives good results. The principle of its operation is that the program does not convert RAW to the desired format, but makes all the files on your flash drive visible, which makes working with them possible. The disadvantage of the program is that only the trial version is free, which works with files no larger than 1 GB.

How to use the program:


Also on our website you can familiarize yourself with the following topics:

  • Merging hard drive partitions on Windows 10
  • How to change hard drive partitions
  • How to change the page file in Windows 10

Situations when an unreadable RAW format appears on a computer or laptop instead of a regular partition are very unpleasant for the user. And many simply do not know what to do to bring the disk to normal condition, since the system initially does not recognize the RAW format of HDD disks. How to fix this problem? To do this, you can use several recommended tools, including Windows tools and specialized programs.

RAW format - what is it?

Some users mistakenly believe that the appearance of this format is solely due to the fact that the RAW file system appears instead of the usual one. We restore the disk by rolling back the system state to the previous state, and... the result is zero! Why?

Yes, only because the RAW format is not a file system, but rather the absence of one. This is why the operating system does not see the hard drive or logical partition (damage may also affect partition tables).

Sometimes the system can perceive a damaged HDD, but there is no information that should supposedly be present on it. That is, it is there, but it is impossible to read it. However, often when you try to access such a partition, Windows immediately displays a message about the need to format it before further use. Unfortunately, formatting does not always produce the desired effect, and information is destroyed. It will be very difficult to restore it later, although special programs can be used. But this is not the best method that allows you to convert the RAW format of HDDs. How to fix the situation with saving information? For such purposes, you should first turn to the system’s tools, which will be discussed separately.

Why is the format changing?

Among the reasons that cause the replacement of the desired format with an unreadable one, the main place is occupied by purposefully acting viruses, power surges, sudden power outages in the process of performing some system or user operations, etc.

It also happens that the system defines the hard drive as RAW, files and folders seem to be displayed, but it is impossible to do anything with them (copy, open, move, delete). In this case, you cannot even format the partition, change the volume label, or change its conditional or actual size.

RAW format of HDD disks: how to fix it using the simplest method?

The very first thing to do is to use the command console and run as administrator. You can call it from the “Run” menu (Win + R) using the cmd line.

The chkdsk command is used as a universal tool for restoring the format without data loss. Please note that if the system partition is damaged, you can only call the command line if you boot from removable media such as a LiveCD, a Windows installation disk, or from a bootable flash drive. As a rule, the combination Shift + F10 is used to open the console.

To run the command itself, you need to know the drive or partition letter (the so-called volume label). Let's say the damaged partition in the system is designated by the letter “D”. In this case, the command to be written will look like this: chkdsk d: /f. After entering it, you need to press the Enter key and wait for the file system recovery process to complete, after which you must restart the computer.

RAW format of HDD disks: instructions for using partition management tools

Windows has another powerful tool in the form of the Disk and Partition Management utility. It, along with the above command, is capable of restoring the RAW format of HDDs. How to fix the partition format using it? It's also easy. It’s just worth considering that this technique is designed exclusively for those cases when there is no data in the section.

First, through computer administration or using the diskmgmt.msc command in the Run console (Win + R), you need to call the built-in Disk Management system utility. Next, on the selected partition that has a damaged format, you should right-click and select the formatting line from the context menu.

If the system displays an error or formatting error message, in order to restore a RAW disk, initialization will first be required, followed by the creation of a simple volume. After completing these steps, formatting will be performed, and the disk or partition can be used again for your needs.

Using the TestDisk application

Interesting opportunities for recovering the HDD format are provided by the free TestDisk utility, which is designed as a portable version and does not require installation on the hard drive.

After starting the program in simulating DOS mode, you need to select the Create line, and then specify the disk that was converted to RAW format (you need to select the disk, not the partition). Next, the section style is set (this is usually done automatically).

At the next stage, select the analysis line (Analyze), press Enter, then Enter again with the Quick Search item selected.

In the analysis results, partitions for recovery will be marked in green with the letter P, those to be deleted will remain gray with the letter D. If you need to change the attribute from P to D, arrows are used.

To continue, press the Enter key again, select the Write button from below, then use Enter again, and press Y (Yes) to confirm the action. When the conversion is complete, all that remains is to restart your computer.

MiniTool Data Recovery utility

This program is also capable of restoring the RAW format of HDD disks. You can fix it as follows.

After launching the utility, a tool called Lost Partition Recovery is selected, the RAW partition is specified, and Full Scan is activated.

At the end of the scan, all files and folders that are in the partition with the changed format will be shown. They can be copied to another location, and then formatted in the application itself, or use the methods described above for this.

According to most experts, the program is good in everything (it works quickly, reliably and stably), but it has one huge drawback - it belongs to the category of shareware applications. The limitations in the trial version include the fact that using this utility it will not be possible to recover partitions larger than 1 GB (but you can also find distributions with activators on the Internet, although their use is illegal from the point of view of international law).

Recovering partitions in DMDE

DMDE is another program for converting disks and partitions of any type from the RAW system to the normal format.

In the application, you select a physical disk with a RAW format (do not uncheck the partition display line!), which can be visually identified by underlining, color mark, size or file system, after which you need to select it and click the open volume button just below. Next, you should check the contents by clicking the show sections button. If this is exactly what is required, the restore button is then used, then the operation is confirmed, and at the end of the process the “Apply” button is pressed. To avoid errors, although this is not required, it is advisable to reboot the system.

A few final words

These are the main methods for restoring a damaged HDD format. Only the most popular tools and programs were listed here. You can find many other interesting utilities on the Internet, but all of them, as evidenced by reviews from experts and users, work on similar principles.

When changing the format on the system partition, the same methods are used, but in this case, loading is done from removable media, and the main tool is exclusively the command console or portable versions of the above-described applications (for example, TestDisk).

A person is faced with changing the disk file system format to RAW, usually due to the fact that the computer was completed incorrectly. You see, there are quite a few such cases - either the light goes out, or you are in a hurry and automatically pull out the power cord from the socket. But it’s just that everything didn’t happen to me “like other people.” I borrowed a flash drive from a friend and wanted to transfer the video to myself, but there were so many viruses on this drive that I still have to clean it up. Among them, by the way, were those that change the NTFS to RAW format of HDD drives. However, I managed to solve this problem relatively quickly. So if an unwanted format has appeared and you want to eliminate it, then read on.

A little theory about what kind of system this is - RAW?

If the disk has changed its format to RAW, Windows will display it among other partitions of the hard drive. But when you try to open it, the computer will indicate an error and a window will appear asking you to format it. What’s also unpleasant is that all actions with this volume will become impossible, including checking for errors, defragmenting and many others.

The whole problem is that the RAW file system does not exist in nature. Basically. At all. If a message appears stating that the disk has received such formatting, this will indicate that the computer driver cannot determine the type of its file system - NTFS, FAT or FAT32. This may happen under the following circumstances:

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

It is important to note that if the volume with the OS is damaged, then when the computer boots, a window will pop up - a warning “Reboot and select proper boot device” or “Operating System not found”.

The raw format of hdd disks has appeared. How to fix it?

How is this kind of situation resolved?

In my case, I should have used only standard Windows tools since the failure was on a non-system drive that stored a large amount of important information. Formatting was excluded in any case. Yes, to be honest, I would like to reinstall the system in general, but only because of several documents that I forgot to copy to the “cloud”, I had to “play” with all this.

What Windows tools should I use to resolve this issue?

First of all, to fix problems with formatting in RAW, you should use the standard chkdsk utility. Below is a clear, step-by-step algorithm:

  1. Click RMB on the Start menu, and then click Command Prompt (admin).
  2. You should enter: chkdsk drive_letter: /f.

After the scan is completed, the computer will repair damaged sectors and the NTFS file system on the affected volume. Again, this technique only works if the flash drive or hard drive was in NTFS.

In addition, using the chkdsk utility would be advisable if the system disk is damaged. However, in this situation you will need a boot disk or flash drive. Next, you will need to perform a strict sequence of actions:

  1. Start the PC from a bootable flash drive or disk, after which you need to click the “System Restore” item.
  2. Enter - additional parameters - command line - chkdsk drive_letter: /f.

In the recovery environment, partition letters are not the same as logical drive names. In order to avoid the error, just open the list of computer partitions in the command line.

In order to find out which disk is the system one, you need to enter diskpart - list volume - and the information you need will be indicated in the list.

The flash drive has become raw. How to recover?

In this case, the way out of the problem situation is carried out using third-party software

The software used to restore an NTFS file system that was previously reformatted to RAW does not affect the user’s information located on the volume. This is the advantage of this method from using the chkdsk utility.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery

This program is good for everyone, but there is just one small drawback - it costs money. It's very easy to use.

  1. You need to activate the LostPartition recovery software, click on the desired drive. Full Scan displays the files located on the flash drive.
  2. It is necessary to designate the files to be saved. To do this, click on the “Save” button, then point to the desired location for saving and confirm the process.
  3. After copying and checking all the files you have selected is completed, you will need to format the damaged volume.

Alternative to MiniTool Power Data Recovery - TestDisk

This program has a number of significant advantages over the previous one. TestDisk is a multifunctional, and most importantly, free utility that uses a large number of options when working with hard drive partitions. Moreover, there is a portable version of TestDisk, so there is no need to install it. However, there is also a drawback that negates all the advantages. This program does not have a Russified interface, so you will have to use GoogleTranslite. Or hire a translator. You should work with TestDisk like this:

  1. Activating the testdisk_win.exe file and then selecting “create”. Then you need to press enter, select the desired disk and enter again.
  2. Next, you will need to click the “Write” item in order to save the section structure.
  3. If the measures taken are ineffective, you must use the “DeeperSearch” command, and then go through everything again.

Conclusion

The problem at hand is not that complicated - there are many options for solving it. But it’s still better to use only proven flash drives and scan them for viruses before use. Indeed, in addition to these, there may be a huge number of other viruses that have much more adverse effects.

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