Testdisk recovery raw. RAW file system and how to return NTFS, FAT32

What's happened file system RAW 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 in the “properties” line logical drive» “RAW” will appear. 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 these steps:

• 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 it is damaged system disk. 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 " Extra options", followed by "command line". 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 free program Testdisk. This is a utility that interacts with partitions hard drive. 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:

Converter MiniTool gives good results Power Data Recovery. The principle of its operation is that the program does not convert RAW to required format, but makes all files on your flash drive visible, which makes working with them possible. The disadvantage of the program is that it is only free trial version, 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 sections of hard disk
• How to change the page file in Windows 10

If operating system cannot detect the disk, it assigns it the RAW format. In this case, the HDD is visible to the system, but it will not be possible to save anything on it or use the information stored on it. The solution in this case is either to format the disk, which will entail the loss of all data on it, or to restore the old file system (in which case you will need more time).

Information about RAW format

All modern hard disks work in two file systems - FAT and NFTS (the latter is the most common). However, it happens that the file system changes to RAW, which means that there is no file system on the disk, therefore, no operations with it will be available.

One or more of the following reasons may cause the source format to change to RAW:

• The file system has been damaged;
• If you purchased a new hard drive and it is displayed in RAW format, this means that the partitions were not formatted;
• Another factor is blocking access to the contents of the volume.

These problems can be encountered if the computer is turned off incorrectly (for example, through the power button, or by disconnecting from the power supply), Windows system failures, physical damage to the disk, or viruses entering the computer.
If there was an operating system on the “affected” disk, it will not be able to start, and the BIOS will display “Operation System not found" In rare cases, the operating system may show signs of life, but they are limited only by the endless recovery procedure.

The process of converting a RAW format to any other is not particularly difficult, but there is a risk of losing data stored on the hard drive. If you need the data to be saved, then use methods that involve saving it. If the stored data can be neglected, then the conversion process to another format will take several minutes.

Option 1: Scan for errors

Using this method, you can count on recovering data stored on the disk. The method is universal and will suit everyone, regardless of the performance of the operating system. However, this option does not always help solve the problem, and it can take a lot of time.

If saving information on disk is not important to you, then you can consider other options in the article.

Provided that the operating system boots without problems, use these instructions:

There are also situations when the system disk has acquired the RAW extension. In this case, the operating system will not boot, however, restore its functionality using "Command line" everything will still be possible. To do this you will need a bootable USB flash drive with current version OS:

1. Insert the USB flash drive and restart your computer.
2. To enter the BIOS, use the keys from F2 before F12, or Delete. Sometimes you need to use keyboard shortcuts to log in, for example, Ctrl+F2-12. You can read more about how to enter the BIOS on your computer in its documentation.
3. After entering the BIOS you need to select the item "Boot", or "Advanced BIOS Features". The location and name of the elements depend on the BIOS version. Usually the necessary items are located in top menu, or in the central one. Moving between elements is done using the arrow keys, and selection is made using Enter.
4. Depending on the version, select "1st Boot Priority» , or "First Boot Device".
5. A menu will open where you need to select your flash drive from which the computer will boot.




6. Click F10, or use the menu item "Save & Exit". After this, the computer will restart.
7. A window will open Windows installations. Select a language and a convenient layout. Click "Further".
8. Now click on "System Restore", which you can see in the lower left part of the window.




9. You will be redirected to a menu where you need to select an item "Troubleshooting". If recovery occurs with bootable flash drive Windows 7, then immediately click on « Command line» .
10. Provided you are restoring Windows 8 or 10 "Command line" you can only choose at this stage.




11. Work with "Command line" through system recovery tools may differ from the standard one, so initially write the command: diskpart
12. Then write: list volume
13. A column will load with basic information on all disks installed in the computer. The drive letter you need to use in further commands is in the column "Name". The desired disc can be found by its characteristic size and/or RAW format.




14. To enable you to perform other operations through "Command line", enter this command: exit
15. To start scanning and correct errors, write the command: chkdsk X: /f
16. If everything is normal, the scanning process will begin, and then error correction.

It is worth understanding that scanning can take a long time, but it does not always bring a positive result.

Option 2: Format the disk

This method is not very difficult to execute, but in this case you are 100% likely to lose your personal data. It is also worth considering that the method is only valid if your operating system boots normally.

The instructions look like this:

Option 3: Initialize the disk

This method will also require formatting the disk, but more deeply. It is recommended for use if you have just purchased and installed a HDD. If the hard drive previously worked normally, then this method It won't suit you at all.

The instructions for this method are as follows:

1. Open the utility "Disk Management". You can do this by using the search bar in Windows 10 (called by clicking on the magnifying glass icon). You can also call the utility via the line "Run"(called by keyboard shortcut Win+R). Just enter the command in this line: compmgmt.msc and click "OK".
2. If you used the command on the line "Run", then a window will open where you need to select the item on the left side "Disk Management".
3. "Problem" the disk will be marked with a red arrow icon. Click this icon right click mouse and select "Initialize disk".




4. A window will open where you need to re-confirm the disk selection ( required disk is usually already checked by default) and select the disk partition style. If you have a drive with a capacity of more than 2 TB, then use GBT. In other cases, MBR will be enough. Click to continue "OK".




5. You will be redirected to the main window again "Disk Management". The device will already be initialized, but the space on it will remain unallocated. To solve this problem, right-click on the block with unallocated space and select "Create Simple Volume".




6. The New Simple Volume Wizard welcome window opens. Click "Further".




7. You will now be asked to specify the size of the volume that will be created. The system defaults to the maximum available size, but if you want to create multiple volumes on this disk, you can reduce this size. All data is indicated in megabytes. 1 gigabyte is 1024 megabytes.




8. Select the letter that will be used to name the new volume and click "Further".




9. In the next window you will be prompted to format the volume into one of the common file systems. Place a marker opposite "Format this volume as follows". Against "File system" install NTFS or FAT.




10. Click "Ready" and restart your computer. The disk should now display normally.

Option 4: Recovery using third-party programs

In this case, you will be able to restore the file system on the disk without damaging the data stored on it. However, you will need to use third-party software to do this.

This software does not require installation on a computer, and is also distributed free of charge, plus, the interface elements are mostly in Russian. You can download the program from this link.

Instructions for changing the RAW format using DMDE are as follows:

Using DMDE, you can also restore a disk with an installed operating system. To do this, you will need to connect it to another computer and do everything described in the instructions above. However, there may be a problem booting the operating system from this disk. In this case, you will have to do an additional recovery using the installation flash drive.

TestDisk

This program is much more difficult to master than the previous one, but it is more effective. The entire interface is more reminiscent "Command line", besides, it is completely in English. If you don’t understand what to do in this program, then it is better to consider its analogue above, since one error can lead to the loss of all information on the disk without the ability to recover it.

Those who are confident in their abilities can try to restore the disk's functionality by following instructions:

1. Run the program as administrator. To do this, right-click on the program icon and select "Run as administrator".
2. In the program interface, find and select the item "Create". Navigation and selection occur using the arrow keys and the Enter.




3. Now you need to select the problem disk. Be careful because you need to select the disk, not the partition (volume). You will also have to navigate only by the letters of the disk/volume and its size, since the file system is not indicated in the program interface.
4. After selecting the drive, click on "Proceed".




5. Select the disk partition style. Usually it is defined by the program by default, but if it has not been defined, then select "EFI GPT" or "MBR", if you have an Intel drive. To select, click on Enter.
6. At this step, start the analysis using the button "Analyze".




7. Select analysis type "Quick Search".
8. Upon completion of the analysis, the program will display several detected partitions, among which you need to find a partition with the RAW file system. It is usually at the very bottom of the list.
9. To view the contents of a section, highlight it and click on P on the Latin keyboard, and to exit viewing mode use the letter Q.
10. Partitions that can be recovered are marked green and are marked P. Sections labeled D and those highlighted in white will be more difficult to restore. You can also change the section label from D on P. To do this, select the desired section and use the left-right arrow keys. If the partition labeling has not changed, then the data on it cannot be recovered.




11. When all the partitions you want to recover are marked P, Press Enter.
12. Now you need to select the item "Write".




13. The program will ask you to confirm your choice. Press the key Y.
14. Once the recovery is complete, restart your computer and check if the disk file system has been restored.

This program can also be used to restore the file system of an operating system disk, but be careful as any incorrect action will mean deleting all data on the disk. If everything goes well, the operating system may still not boot from the disk. In this case, you will need to use the OS bootloader to restore functionality.

This article discussed the main methods that will help change the RAW format to NTFS or FAT32. Use the option that is most convenient for you, as they are all equally effective, although some restore both the file system and data on the disk.

general information

Has your hard drive or partition suddenly become a RAW file system and can't access the stored data? No worries! Take advantage of the best data recovery software for RAW devices and convert RAW to NTFS without losing data.

If you need to restore a RAW partition to NTFS or convert RAW to NTFS on your storage devices, then we suggest you read our article. There is no longer any reason to worry when your storage devices such as Windows partition, HDD, USB flash drive, SD card or others are detected as RAW, you can easily recover files and convert them from RAW to NTFS right now.

Why do you need to convert RAW to NTFS?

When a volume is damaged and detected as RAW, or you receive failure messages such as "Unhandled Error", you have the option to convert the media back to the NTFS file system. Below are some signs that the drive has converted to the RAW file system:

1. Volume X: “Not formatted. Do you want to format it now?

2. Disk on media X: “Not formatted.”

3. An error occurred while accessing drive X: “The drive is not formatted.”

4. The CHKDSK tool will notify you that it cannot repair the RAW file system.

5. File system type - RAW.

6. CHKDSK is not available for raw (RAW) discs.

If one of the above symptoms appears, you need to convert RAW to NTFS by formatting. This is the only way to fix a RAW disk to NTFS. But how can you do this without losing your data? Most users believe that it will be possible to return lost and inaccessible files after RAW conversion disk in NTFS, which is not true at all. You should use data recovery software to first recover files from the raw drive. Therefore, when you are going to convert a RAW disk to NTFS, format it only after the data has been completely restored.

How to Convert RAW to NTFS without Data Loss

First: Recover data from raw partition

To recover files from a RAW disk, try software for hard recovery EaseUS disk. Our program allows you to completely recover data from a RAW disk or volume in Windows 10/8/7/Vista, etc.

If you need to convert RAW volumes to NTFS, it is highly recommended to use this tool first to recover all your files first. If you format directly, you will lose all data. Now, let's see exactly how the data recovery process goes before converting RAW to NTFS.

Step 1. Specify a RAW disk

Download and install EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to your Windows PC or laptop.
Launch the software. Make sure Windows has detected your raw drive and has the correct drive letter.
Left-click on the RAW disk and then click the "Scan" button.

Step 2. Scan data on RAW disk

The program will begin scanning the entire drive for data, gradually displaying files in the results as the scan progresses.

Tip: Users can pause the scan process for instant recovery as soon as they appear necessary files. But it's better to wait until the scan is completed.

Step 3: Check the Additional Files Tab

In addition to the general results of scanning all lost data on the selected disk, the “Additional files” tab will display RAW media files: disks/USB devices/microSD cards, which will also be possible to recover.
If necessary, it is worth checking all scan results. Select the files you need and click the "Recover" button, saving them in another location.

Second: converting RAW to NTFS format

After completing these steps, all files from the RAW disk will be successfully restored.
And then you can convert RAW disk to NTFS without worrying about the data loss problem.

1. Open My Computer > find RAW media;
2. Right click on it by selecting Format > select file system - NTFS, and also rename the disk;
3. Click Start > OK.

After this, your personal files on the RAW disk or storage device will be easily restored, and you can easily convert the RAW partition to NTFS and resume using it.

Microsoft Solution: Convert RAW to NTFS using Command Prompt (cmd)
Recover RAW file system to NTFS

This method is mainly offered by Microsoft to convert a hard drive or partition from RAW to NTFS using Command Prompt(cmd). If you have any important data on the media, be sure to restore it first.

1. Open Command Prompt > click Run as Administrator;
You may be required to enter a password or provide confirmation for this method.
2. Type: convert X(drive letter): /fs:ntfs and press Enter;
3. Enter: M(name of the partition or disk you want to convert to NTFS) and press Enter;
After which you should wait a little, the partition will be automatically converted from RAW to NTFS.

In case you don't know how to fix RAW error on your hard drive, USB or SD card, if CHKDSK utility is unable to cope with the task of fixing the PC file system problem, then this article will help you resolve this issue.

How to fix the problem

Let's look at a classic example in which, most likely, you can see the situation with your drive.

Regarding USB flash drives, a situation may occur in which the computer stops recognizing the logical partitions of the disk and even CHKDSK is powerless to help restore the RAW file system on external storage. Perhaps formatting would solve the issue, but not in a situation where the information on the disk is extremely important for the user and should under no circumstances be lost. This applies to all storage devices, be it a USB flash drive or a hard drive.

Typically, when USB or other storage devices become RAW, the main solution to the issue, as mentioned above, is to completely format the disk, since CHKDSK does not work with drives that have this status.

Use the following instructions to troubleshoot the problem.

Step 1. Recover data from RAW, USB or SD card.

To recover RAW storage device data, you will need the help of specialized software. Starus Partition Recovery will become excellent choice and will help you move from a question to its immediate solution in two clicks. The program will conduct a deep scan of any physical disk you select and eliminate any logical errors in them.

1. If you have a problem with your USB or SD card, connect it to your computer. Launch Starus Partition Recovery and locate the RAW device you need to scan.

2. Depending on the mode you choose, Quick Scan or Full analysis, a computer scan will be carried out that will help detect lost and hidden files on RAW. The difference between the modes lies in the amount of information that will be detected. A full analysis will reveal much more data.

3. The software offers the user a preview of the information found and its recovery from the RAW device (selectively or completely). To restore important data, select the necessary files, right-click on any of them and press the Recover button.

4. Starus Partition Recovery provides ample opportunities for saving files.

You can:

• Save data to hard drive.
• Burn to CD/DVD.
• Create virtual image ISO.
• Upload via FTP.

Complete the process of exporting data in a convenient format to a location convenient for you.

Step 2. Fix the problem “CHKDSK is not available for RAW disks, USB and SD cards.”

After restoring data from the disk, it’s time to move on to correcting the cause of the error due to which the computer cannot read the device information.

Method one. Run an error check to fix the CHKDSK problem.

• 1. Open Windows Explorer and right-click on the drive you want to recover and select Properties.
• 2. Now go to the tab Service, it is available in the top menu.
• 3. Press the key Check to launch the utility.

Wait until the scanning process is completed and then you will be able to use the functioning disk again.

Method two. Alternative way disk recovery.
One more no less effective method formatting a disk or flash drive - recovery using the command line. Follow the steps below to fix the RAW error:

• 1. Enter at the command line diskpart.
  This is a utility that manages disk space.
• 2. Next, type list disk.
  A list of all disks will appear in front of you. Select the one you need.
• 3. Dial select disk N.
  Here under N we have designated a conditional number that corresponds to the disk number. You can install the one that suits your case.
• 4. Write attributes disk clear readonly.
  This command will clear the attributes.
• 5. Enter clean.
  The command will clean the flash drive or disk that you are scanning.
• 6. Dial create partition primary.
  This command will create a primary partition on the disk.
• 7. Finally, you can enter format fs=ntfs or fs=fat32, if there is a need for a second file system.

You can also try quick formatting using the command:
format fs=ntfs quick.

Step 3. Format and reboot the RAW disk.

After recovering logically bad sectors and restoring the file system of the RAW disk, use the following instructions to reset and format RAW to NTFS.

• 1. Connect the RAW file system drive to your PC.
• 2. Open Explorer, right-click on the desired drive and press the key Format.
• 3. Reset RAW to NTFS or FAT32 system and click OK to confirm the operation.

Once the process is complete, your media will be ready for use.

After connecting a flash drive to your computer, you suddenly find that it doesn’t work? The problem may be related to its corrupted RAW file system. Find out how to deal with this problem in our article.

First, let's understand the nature of the phenomenon. We are accustomed to the fact that the storage media we use operate in various formats, from NTFS to APFS. Many people mistakenly classify RAW as a full-fledged file system, but in most cases this is simply a signal of a malfunction in the file allocation table and, as a result, a malfunction of the disk.

What are the reasons?

A failure in the drive structure can occur due to many factors. For example:

• at the moment of reading the data, your lights were turned off;
• you unplugged the flash drive yourself without using safe eject;
• Finally, the computer could be attacked by a virus.

You need to solve the problem as quickly as possible if you want to recover your files.

Let's start with prevention

As mentioned above, one of the reasons for the malfunction of our carrier could be an ordinary virus. Antiviruses, unfortunately, are not the most advanced programs and can make mistakes even if you have heuristic modules enabled. You need to check if the cause of your troubles is still on your computer.

Repairing an empty drive

If the problem occurs when using an empty drive or if you are sure that there is no important data on it, you can safely restore it in the simplest and most reliable way - formatting.

1. Despite the apparent simplicity of the operation, it is not recommended to use standard Explorer tools to format media in RAW. We will do this through the Computer Management console.
2. Call the context menu of the “Computer” icon in the “Start” menu by right-clicking the mouse. Select the “Management” line from the menu.

   

3. On the left side of the console that opens, find the Disk Management tool. It is located in the "Storage Devices" section.

   

4. A list of all drives will open and virtual disks installed on your computer. Ignoring the “Good” status (the system gives this status if the device is detected at all), find your damaged drive and context menu caused by right-clicking on the disk, click “Format”.

   

5. It is highly likely that you will see such a warning window. But, since there is no need to restore the data, we confirm readiness for the operation. Click “Yes”.

   

6. In the next dialog box, enter the name of the new media, select its destination file system (NTFS is recommended for a hard drive, FAT for a flash drive). It is better to uncheck the “Quick Format” line. Click OK.

   

7. During the operation, the device status will change to “Format”. After the process is completed, the status will switch back to “Good”, and “Explorer” will report to you that a new clean drive has been detected. Ready.

   

Restoration using standard means

You can try to fix the file system using the console application included with the operating system.

1. From the Start menu, select All Programs and look for the Command Prompt icon. Click on this shortcut with the left mouse button and the console will launch.

   

2. Then go to “Explorer” and see what label and letter the desired drive has. IN in this case this is "F:".

   

3. In the console window, enter the following command: “chkdsk (disk label with colon) /f.” In this case, /f is the attribute of the operation, it stands for “fix” - the program will fix the problems found.

   

4. After pressing the Enter button, the system will begin analyzing the allocation table of the selected media. This procedure, depending on the extent of damage and extent, can take from several minutes to several hours. The signal about the end of the operation will be the available input field for the next command, as in the screenshot below.

   

5. Go to Explorer and check your disk. Access to files should appear, and in the properties that are called up by the corresponding link in the context menu, information about the file system and volume should be displayed. Ready.

   

   

Note! During the recovery process, you may see a message that “CHKDSK is not valid for the RAW system” - this means that the program cannot cope and a deeper analysis is needed.

DMDE

If the power is built-in system utility not enough, you can try using third-party offers. Development team DMDE programs claims that their algorithms are the most advanced and that literally any lost data can be recovered.

1. Download the application from its official website. To do this, set search engine request "Download DMDE".

   

2. On the website, select the “Download for Windows, 32/64 bit” button. The site will automatically detect the system bit size and offer you the correct version. All you have to do is wait for the download to finish.

   

3. The program is portable and does not require installation. So just run it executable file by double-clicking on it with the left mouse button.

   

4. In the dialog box that opens, select Russian and click OK.

   

5. Accept the terms of the license agreement by checking the appropriate box and clicking “Accept.”

   

6. In chapter " Physical devices» Locate your damaged drive and click OK.

   

7. The program will conduct a quick scan of the device and open a list of partitions. Your damaged partition can be shown either in the format it was in before the damage, or in RAW, it all depends on the degree of damage. Either way, check it and click "Full Scan".

   

8. In the list provided, mark those file systems that could be on the device, then click “Scan”.

   

9. At the bottom of the window, in the “Scanning” line, progress will be displayed as a percentage. Wait until the operation is completed.

   

10. Just in case, save the logs by agreeing to the program’s request.

    

11. Use the health indicator of the found partition to determine which volume is right for you. Usually the damaged partition comes first. Right-click on it, and then select “Open Volume...” from the menu.

    

12. In the folder tree that opens, check the boxes for all the directories and files that you want to restore. Press "CTRL+U". This key combination will launch the recovery wizard.

    

13. On the “Source and recording location” tab, select “Everywhere” as the source, in the “All selected from” field leave the value of the root folder “$Root”, and in the “Recover to” line indicate the path where the recovered files will be saved. Click OK.

    

14. After the operation is completed, the program will show you a window with statistics on the number of processed files. Click OK. You will find your files in the directory you specified.

    

15. To complete the recovery of the media, format it using the instructions from the section above. Ready.

Recovery in macOS environment

operating system Apple computers is equipped with a special utility that allows you to fully work with disks. Fixing file system errors is easy here.

1. Open LaunchPad by selecting the appropriate icon in the dock.

   

2. In the Other folder, find the Disk Utility icon and click on it.

   

3. The Media Management console opens. In the side menu, find and select the option you want.

   

   Note! As you can see, the list of disks is multi-level. The first level is the device itself, the second is its sections. You need to select the device itself from the first level of the list.

4. After marking the disk, click the “First Aid” button in the top toolbar.

   

5. The program will perform the necessary recovery operations, after which it will report on the completion of the operation.

   

   Click “Finish”, your disk is good, you can open it through Finder.

• If you recovered files without formatting the media, be sure to copy them to your computer and format them. This is necessary to prevent the same errors from occurring in the future;
• get into the habit of doing backups important data from flash drives to a reliable internal drive about once every couple of months;
• check the disk for presence and defragment it at the same frequency;
• never neglect safe removal devices.

Video - How to fix a RAW disk and recover HDD data with RAW partitions