How to Convert RAW to NTFS Without Formatting (3 Ways)

When your disk/partition or USB storage device becomes RAW due to improper operation, virus attack, or internal error, don't be panic. You can convert RAW to NTFS using CMD without formatting. If the CMD fails, you still can use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to restore files from the RAW drive, then format RAW to NTFS without losing data.

Why Do You Need to Convert RAW to NTFS

When a hard drive/partition, external hard drive, USB/SD, or memory card becomes RAW, you can't access and read the data on the RAW drive. You got this error because of the following reasons:

🔨File system corrupted	If the file system suffers structural damage, the partition may become RAW.
🔏Bad sectors	The disk or partition becomes RAW if there are bad sectors on a hard drive.
🚫Permission denied	The access permission to the partition is configured improperly.
😞Partition table corrupted	The drive's partition table may be corrupted due to an abrupt power outage or virus.

Mostly, in this case, you have to format the RAW file system to NTFS and make the disk/drive reusable again. We all know that disk formatting erases everything on the storage device, so many users are searching for how to convert RAW to NTFS without formatting. 

But the fact is that if you want to fix RAW drive and change file system, you have to format it. Don't fret. We offer you solutions that enable you to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data. You can use specialized file recovery software to recover data from the RAW drive, then convert RAW to NTFS in a data-secure way.  

To avoid data loss, you can first try converting RAW to NTFS system with CMD. If this fails, continue using EaseUS data recovery program to recover RAW drive and then format it to NTFS without losing data.

How to Convert RAW to NTFS Without Losing Data (Save Data First)

In order to protect your important files and avoid data loss caused by converting RAW to NTFS before the formatting, we highly recommend you try data recovery from the RAW drive first by using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard within 3 simple steps.

This versatile data recovery program enables you to restore lost files from internal and external storage devices after formatting, deletion, partition loss or damage, software crash, virus infection, unexpected shutdown, or other unknown reasons.

Take the steps below to recover data from a RAW drive:

Step 1. Select and scan the RAW partition

If the RAW partition contains a partition label, you can directly select it from drives list and click "Search for Lost Data" to look for the lost files. If the RAW partition lost its label, it will be recognized as "Lost Partition", just select the "Lost Partition" and initiate an overall scan on the RAW drive.

Step 2. Preview found data from the scan result

After the scan is completed, all available files in the RAW hard drive will be displayed. View these files and find the files you want to recover. You can sort the scanned data by file format or search directly in the "Search files or folders" box. 

Step 3. Recover data from RAW partition

Select all files and click "Recover" to get all the data back. Select another internal/external hard drive or Cloud drive to save the recovered data and click "OK" to start RAW drive recovery.

If the data recovery software fails to restore RAW files, you still have a good chance of retrieving the data by using EaseUS data recovery services for RAW recovery.

Here's a video tutorial about converting the RAW file system to NTFS and how to recover data from a RAW system. Watch the guide and follow the detailed steps. 

After data recovery, now you can use start converting RAW to NTFS without data loss. If you found this data recovery software is great, remember to share it on your social media.

Method 1. Use Diskpart to Convert RAW to NTFS 

If you don't want to format your RAW drive, you can convert RAW to NTFS with CMD. To save files from RAW before formatting, restore data from the RAW drive first. And then, use the steps below to convert the RAW partition to NTFS with Diskpart. 

Now, your RAW will fix the RAW partition without formatting via CMD. But usually, the CMD will fail, and you will get the message "CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives". If so, don't get discouraged. Keep reading to change RAW to NTFS without losing data. 

Method 2. How to Change RAW to NTFS with Disk Management

After getting lost data back, you can change RAW to NTFS by formatting now. To carry out the conversion of a RAW partition into NTFS, follow the steps mentioned below.

Step 1. Go to This PC or Disk Management, and right-click on the RAW partition or drive, select "Format".

Step 2. Set Volume Label, File System (NTFS), and Allocation unit size. The default format option is Quick Format. Then, click "OK" to start the operation. 

Step 3. After reformatting, you can access and use the RAW file system partition or drive as normal.

Method 3. Convert RAW to NTFS with a Partition Manager

Another way to change RAW to NTFS is by using EaseUS Partition Master. This partition manager software can help you easily format RAW to NTFS. What's more, you can cancel the process before you click Execute. This software also has many highlights that can help you greatly.

• Migrate OS to SSD or HDD
• Partition a hard drive in Windows 10/8/7
• Increase C drive space with simple clicks
• Wipe a disk or delete a partition 

How to Convert RAW to NTFS with EaseUS Partition Master:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master.

Right-click on the RAW partition or RAW external hard drive/USB/SD card that you need to format and choose "Format".

Step 2. Format RAW Partition and reset the file system.

Assign a new partition label, set the file system to NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT, and cluster size to the selected partition, then click "OK".

Step 3. In the Warning window, click "Yes" to continue.

By clicking Yes to allow this program to format the target RAW partition to the selected file system format on your drive.

Step 4. Execute the operations.

Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the lower right corner to view all the changes, then click "Apply" to start formatting your RAW partition/USB/SD/external hard drive.

Have you tried the above solutions to change RAW to NTFS? If this post is helpful, share it on your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Additional Tips - What Does RAW Mean

RAW data typically refers to tables of data where each row contains observation and each column represents a variable that describes some property of each observation. Data in this format is sometimes referred to as tidy data, flat data, primary data, atomic data, and unit record data. Sometimes RAW data refers to data that has not yet been processed.

In other words, RAW refers to a file system that is not formatted by the NT file system, such as NTFS and FAT. Many storage devices can run into the RAW issue, such as hard disk, external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, and more. You may receive this error with these messages:

• "You need to format the disk in drive F before you can use it."
• "The disk in drive F is not formatted. Do you want to format it?"
• "The type of the file system is RAW. CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives."
• "There was an error accessing drive F: The disk is not formatted."

Conclusion

This article has provided you with multiple solutions to get RAW data back and convert RAW partitions to NTFS. Try them according to your needs. If you still have problems, never hesitate to contact us.

How to Convert RAW to NTFS Without Formatting FAQs

Here are some hot topics and questions that most people ask. You can get extra tips through these questions and answers. Read on to get additional help.

How do I change RAW to NTFS?

You can convert RAW to NTFS by these methods:

1. Convert RAW to NTFS via CMD
2. Convert RAW to NTFS by Disk Management
3. Convert RAW to NTFS with Software

How to convert RAW to NTFS without formatting?

• Click on Start, then type: cmd and hit Enter.
• Right-click on cmd and then click on "Run As Administrator".
• Type "Diskpart" and then hit Enter.
• Type H: /FS :NTFS and hit Enter. (H shall be the drive letter of your RAW storage device.)

How do I recover files from a raw partition?

It is of vital importance to retrieve data from a RAW drive before you take actions. All you need is a reliable data recovery software. Then, follow the steps below to recover RAW data.

Step 1. On EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, locate the RAW drive and then click "Scan". The program will automatically scan all lost files and data on the RAW drive.

Step 2. When the scanning process finishes, find lost RAW drive data in "Deleted Files", "Lost Files" or "Existing Files". Filter and Search features also can locate the found files with ease. Check and double-click each file to preview them. 

Step 3. Choose the found files from RAW Drive and click "Recover" to save the items to a new location.