How to convert RAW to NTFS using Command Prompt?
I upgraded my computer from Win7 to Win 10 and I have 2 hard drives: one is "C" that has OS and one is "G" that has many pictures and videos, etc. Both drives had an NTFS file system. But after the upgrade, my "G" drive becomes RAW while "C" drive appears okay. I've heard that I can format this HDD from cmd to fix this RAW issue, but I just don't know how. Please help me is there any Command Prompt to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data?
When googling things about the RAW file system, you may notice that some results said that Command Prompt can convert RAW back to NTFS. But a few mentioned that you will lose your important data if you fix RAW drives by directly converting RAW to NTFS. Therefore, to be supplementary, this article will go in detail about how to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data when you use the Command Prompt.
Solution 1: Repair the RAW drive with CHKDSK command
Before you look for any RAW to NTFS converter software, why not first have a check what's wrong with your drive? CHKDSK is a Windows utility that is used to check and repair common drive file system errors. And if your NTFS drive suddenly becomes RAW, you can repair it with CHKDSK command to convert RAW back to NTFS. But usually, it will fail and you will get the message "The type of the file system is RAW. CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives."
Solution 2: Change the drive letter with CMD
If your drive was NTFS formatted, you can recover RAW partitions back to NTFS by assigning a new drive letter. This process will try to load and repair the file system of your drive, and you are able to change RAW to NTFS without formatting.
Just try the following steps out.
Step 1: Search "cmd" in Windows search box and run it as Administrator.
Step 2: Type in "diskpart" in Command Prompt window and press Enter.
Step 3: Type in "list volume" and press Enter to list all volumes on your computer.
Step 4: Type in "select volume * "and press Enter. (Replace "*" with the volume number of the RAW.)
Step 5: Type in "assign letter=X" and press Enter. (Replace "X" with the drive letter you like.)
Step 6: After successfully change the drive letter, key in "exit" and press Enter.
Solution 3: Convert RAW to NTFS with DiskPart command
Sometimes changing drive letter will fail if the key sectors were irreparable. So that you can convert RAW to NTFS by using DiskPart command. Nevertheless, just as the article said above, a direct Command Prompt conversion will wipe your hard drive and erase all your data on this drive. Thus, to fix RAW drive to NTFS without losing the existing data, you can recover lost data from this RAW drive with data recovery software first and iBoysoft Data Recovery is highly recommended.
iBoysoft Data Recovery can recover lost data from RAW USB drive, RAW SD card, RAW memory card, etc. In addition to RAW hdd data recovery, it can recover documents, emails, videos and other files from formatted, inaccessible or corrupted drive. This software is compatible with Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and Windows Server.
Step 1: Recover lost data from the RAW drive
1. Install and launch iBoysoft Data Recovery on your computer.
2. Choose Data Recovery module, select the RAW drive and click "Next" to scan for data on this drive.
3. Preview the scanning results and choose files you want to get back.
4. Click "Recover" and save them to another drive.
Step 2: Reformat the RAW drive from CMD
After recovering data from this drive, you can format your hard drives with CMD. By using DiskPart command, you can easily fix this RAW drive on your Windows 10/8/7, as well as convert RAW to NTFS/FAT32 without losing data.
1. Click on Start, type "cmd" in the Search box and press Enter.
2. Right click "cmd.exe" and choose "Run as Administrator".
3. Type "diskpart" in the Command Prompt window and press Enter.
4. Type "list volume" and press Enter. According to the list information, check which volume is the RAW. (For example, volume 1)
5. Type "select volume 1" and press Enter. You need to change "1" with the RAW volume number.
6. Type "format fs=ntfs" and press Enter.
7. Type "exit" and press enter.
PS: By selecting the target FAT32 or exFAT partition in Step 4 and 5, you can also use this command line to convert FAT32 to NTFS or convert exFAT to NTFS. But one thing to notice, back up your data first!
Solution 4: Convert RAW to NTFS by reformatting
If you are not confident in using Command Prompt or think it is too complex, you can convert RAW to NTFS by reformatting. It's an easier RAW to NTFS converter utility on your PC. But to make it clear, reformatting will wipe your data like DiskPart command and you'd better recover lost data from this RAW drive with iBoysoft Data Recovery first.
1. Find Disk Management in My Computer/Computer/PC.
2. Select the RAW USB drive, right-click and choose "Format".
3. Choose NTFS file system and assign a volume label to this drive. Then click "Start" to convert RAW to NTFS.
Solution 5: Ask for help from data recovery service
If your NTFS drive is corrupted into RAW after an recent Windows update, you need some other solutions to repair corrupted NTFS external hard drives. Or it is possible that the listed solutions didn't make any differenceand your drive is physical damage. Under this circumstance, you need to send it to a data recovery lab if you want to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data.