Hello admin, question! RAW flash drive file system, how to fix?

Yesterday I took a flash drive to work, connected it to various computers, copied information back and forth, in short, I worked with the flash drive, and today I connected it to my laptop and this warning popped up: “To use a disk in the F: drive, first format it. Do you want to format it?

As I understand it, if you click on the Format disk button, you can finally say goodbye to your data on the flash drive, which is very important to me. What can you do to recover files on a RAW flash drive?

RAW flash drive file system

Hello friends! If you don’t need the data on the flash drive, you can simply . If you need the data, then read on.

When the file system on your USB flash drive suddenly turned into RAW, then this Means that the file system on the flash drive is seriously damaged. This problem occurs for various reasons: system failures, malware, and so on. In this case, when you connect the flash drive to the computer, a warning will appear stating that the flash drive needs to be formatted into a normal file system: NTFS or FAT32.

In Explorer flash drive RAW will be displayed like this:

and in Disk Management it's like this

If you format a RAW flash drive, you will lose all your files on it, so to save your data you need to resort to a special recovery program, such as DMDE. After the files have been restored, the flash drive can be formatted and returned to use.

Note: first of all, try to fix file system errors using the chkdsk utility built into Windows (sometimes this helps). Run a command prompt as an administrator and enter the command: chkdsk f: /f, where the first F: is the drive letter of the flash drive (in your case it may be a different letter), and the second /F is a special parameter that corrects file system errors when scanning. If chkdsk fails and will display an error WITHhkdsk is not valid for RAW disks, in this case you can use the DMDE program and similar ones.

Program DMDE is relatively free, that is, it has advanced functions that you need to pay to unlock. I want to say that to restore files on one flash drive, the free capabilities of the program are enough for your eyes and you don’t have to buy anything, but on the other hand, ifIf you like DMDE, it costs only 300 rubles.

So, let's download DMDE on the official website

http://dmde.ru/download.html

Launch the executable file dmde.exe.

The program works without installation, which is very convenient.

We accept the license agreement.

On the left side of the window, check the box Physical devices, and on the right is our flash drive.

Double-click the left mouse on the flash drive.

The contents of the flash drive are instantly scanned.

Go to the Found folder.

"All found + reconstruction".

"Rescan the entire volume".

A detailed scan of the flash drive begins using the program’s own algorithms for deleted files.

In the next window, DMDE opens the found folders with files.

Do not expect that during recovery the found folders and files will have the names you are familiar with. The names of the found folders and the files contained in them will be generated.

You can enter any folder and restore the files you need.

For example, I found all the photos I needed in these folders.

Double-click the left mouse on the selected folder and go into it.

We mark all found files with checkmarks and right-click.

Select "Recover files".

What is RAW actually? In fact, there is no such RAW FS (file system) at all.

In practice, the file system of a partition such as RAW means that none of the FS (file system) drivers installed in the OS determined the name of the disk system or any partition.

If the disk FS is recognized as " RAW", then assigning a volume label, reading data and other actions with a partition or disk become impossible. At the same time, the OS displays the capacity of the partition, and when accessing it, it advises you to format the partition.

1. RAW hard drive

If the OS is unable to recognize any file system of the disk, it will automatically display it as RAW. This way the user will not have access to data and disk partitions. But its capacity, free memory and other space will be displayed as the number “0”. This means only one thing - all data on the disk is lost. They are also not available for copying or viewing.

2. RAW partition on your hard drive

It often happens that as a result of some attack or damage, one disk partition is displayed as RAW. When you try to interact with such a partition, the OS will display an error and prompt you to format it.
By formatting the proposed partition, it will again become available for future use, but will lead to the loss of all data that was in it before formatting.

3. Why does the hard drive or partition become RAW?

The reasons for such problems are very different, I will try to generalize them.

For hard drive:
- The drive or connection cable is damaged. It happens that the hard drive is detected as RAW if the connection cord does not fit well into the connector or it is damaged.
- The so-called “Broken Sectors”. A large number of such “white” sectors on the hard drive leads to damage to files and the file system as a whole.
- The file system structure is damaged. The file system can be damaged not only due to bad sectors, but also for other reasons.
- Partition tables are corrupted. If for some reason the partition tables are damaged, the entire disk will be detected as RAW.
- Restoring or completely reinstalling the OS (operating system).
- Action of viruses. Viruses, malware, etc. can delete some important parameters or change them, thereby damaging the hard drive information.

For hard drive partitions:
- Malware and Viruses. Programs that contain viruses, ways to damage parts of the table or hard drive partitions, which leads to damage to information.
- System reinstallation (Windows).
- Many hard drives and partitions. A large number of partitions and disks on a PC can also lead to RAW partitions.

4. How to recover a RAW disk

In the event that the data on the RAW disk is not of particular value and Windows boots.
The fastest and most reliable way to recover a RAW disk or partition. In this case, we only need to format it in order to use it fully further.

You must understand that data recovery and storage is not available. If an error occurs from Windows, click on the button " Format disk».

If the OS did not inform the user about the error, but the disk properties show that the file system or disk is not in the “My Computer” folder, then formatting can be done using the special “Disk Management” menu.

Go to the "Disk Management" section through "Start". In the window, find the desired disk with a RAW file system, it will be signed just like that. Next, right-click on it and select “Format”.

If the data on the RAW disk is valuable, Windows boots

If the data of a partition or disk is important, but it is defined as RAW, do not rush to format the partition or disk as a whole. Try checking the disk for errors and fixing them later. This can completely or temporarily restore the functionality of a partition or disk.
- Go to Disk Management as described above.
- Remember the name (letter) of the disk with the RAW file system.

- Go to the command line. In the Start menu, look for the “Command Prompt” section and run it “as administrator.”
- In the window that opens, enter chkdsk D: /f, where D is the letter of the desired drive and confirm with the Enter button.

Once the command is launched, the verification and repair process will begin. At the end, Windows will notify you that the errors have been corrected. After completion, try going to the section again and interacting with the files.
Windows does not boot, and the disk on which the OS is installed is detected as RAW

If the installation disk is missing:
- disconnect the hard drive from the computer itself and connect the hard drive to another. Using a new computer, check the disk for errors and use the programs listed above to recover data.
If you have an installation disk:
- boot your PC using this installation disk and, instead of installing a new OS, select the “computer recovery” option.

- in the recovery menu you need to find the command line item. Run it and check the disk for errors.
What is needed for this:
- in the command line that opens, enter Notepad, which should open a notepad.
- select “file” and “open”, thus check the letters of your drives.

- in the command line, check the disk with the OS.

Data recovery using programs from a RAW disk

If none of the methods help, then you can try using data recovery programs.

To do this, you can try using the programs: “RAW Recovery” or “Partition Recovery”.

Consider the process of recovering data from a RAW disk using the second program, Partition Recovery.

After launching the program, you will be provided with a list of existing partitions and disks of this PC. You need to click on the RAW section twice. In the picture there is a RAV section under the letter E.

The peculiarity of the program is that it can work with any file system. It displays file systems automatically without the user making additional settings.
The user only needs to select the “analysis type” and wait for the end of the check.

The analysis process usually takes 15 minutes. The scanning speed depends directly on the disk size. As a result, the program will show all the files and arrange them into folders.
All necessary files for recovery must be added to the list and click on the “Recover” button.

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Today, sometimes there are situations when a user turns on a laptop or computer, and instead of some logical partition, a disk with an incomprehensible RAW format is displayed. Let's try to find out what it is.

Also in this review we will look at the simplest ways to convert this format into a normal form.

What is RAW format?

If we are talking about a format of this type, then you need to clearly understand that in the usual sense it is not even a format. RAW is a modified file system type. When trying to access such a partition, two types of problems may occur. Firstly, the volume may not appear at all in the file manager. Secondly, even if the volume is visible, there are no files in it, so the system will offer immediate formatting, since the file system is not compatible with the OS. How to correct the situation in this case? You need to choose the right approach. Formatting a partition and destroying all displayed information will not lead to anything good. Why can HDD formats change?

Reasons for changing the disk format

Before starting to solve the problem itself, it is necessary to clarify the possible reasons for the change in the partition structure. Experts believe that the RAW format of hard drives may appear as a result of the influence of certain viruses that purposefully change the file system. This can happen if there is a sudden power outage while performing any operations that require direct access to the partition. After this, in some cases the disk may be visible even with the files and folders on it. But it becomes impossible to perform operations to change the volume label, format it using standard tools, or resize it. This happens because the file system changes. Fatal errors appear in the partition table. However, there are several universal solutions that can fix the problem associated with the RAW format of hard drives. Next, we will look in detail at how to correct the situation.

RAW format: correction technique

Next, we will look at the main aspects that relate to correcting the situation associated with the RAW format. As it has probably already become clear to you, HDD recovery as the main task uses a solution that allows you to bring the partition’s file system into a form that would be perceived by the operating system, namely NTFS or FAT32. It is worth noting that in most cases, even rolling back the system to a previous state will not bring the desired result, so you should not do this. It will be a waste of time. First, you can try to make folders and files appear. In some cases, they can be copied to another location, for example, to removable media. How can you make files visible? In this case, RAW format processing is carried out using a rather interesting utility called Mini Tool Power Data Recovery. This program belongs to the class of shareware software. After installation, the application must run a module called Lost Partition Recovery. In it you need to select the desired partition and click Full Scan. This will run a full scan. When the process is complete, the program window will display a list of all available files. All you have to do is mark the required data, and then click on the Save button. The application will automatically prompt you to select the location where you would like to save the files. Specify it and start the process. After completing this operation, you can safely begin formatting the partition. If this procedure is not available, you can immediately proceed to the next step.

System recovery

Now let's look at how you can convert RAW to NTFS using only the native tools of the Windows operating system. First of all, you need to launch the command line using the Win+R key combination. It is worth noting that hard drive recovery can only be performed in this way. A standard partition check in a Windows environment will not bring any results. Now it all comes down to writing the following command on the command line: chkdsk “drive letter”. Then you just need to press enter. All that remains is to wait for the process to complete, during which the file system will be restored. Then you need to reboot. It is worth noting that this method is perfect for system drives in those file systems that previously had an NTFS structure. However, when using this technique, you will need to boot your laptop or computer terminal from a recovery or boot disk.

How to fix a disk format using the TestDisk utility

Let's look at another way to fix the problem associated with the RAW format of hard drives. The TestDisk utility for restoring the original format is best suited for this purpose. The main advantage of this application is that it does not require installation. The program is released as a portable version. The main disadvantage of the utility is that it does not have a Russified interface and works in DOS mode. So, let's start restoring the hard drive. First of all, at the first stage of working with the program, you need to select the Create item, which is responsible for creating a new log file. Then you should press the enter key. After this, use the arrows to select the desired partition or disk. As a result, the application will automatically detect the partition table type. You can change it manually, but this is not recommended. Next, you need to use the analysis line “Analyse”, and after that a quick search – “Quick Search”. After completing each action, you must press the Enter key. When the lost section is found, you will need to use the Save Structure or Write option. If the desired section is not displayed in the list of search results, you need to use deep scanning. After this, it is necessary to perform all the operations just described to preserve the structure. After this, you will need to restart your laptop or computer. As a result, the problem should disappear.

Application of Ontrack Easy Recovery

Let's look at another program with which you can convert the RAW format of hard drives. This is very easy to do with Ontrack Easy Recovery. The application works similarly to the TestDisk program. However, most users are attracted to this program because it has a convenient and beautiful interface. It is worth noting that many experts consider this software product to be an indispensable tool for recovering large disk partitions. The only drawback of this program is that it is paid. However, for our person this is not a problem. After all, on the Internet you can always find key generators, activation keys and patches.

Conclusion

What's the result? In this review, we looked at ways to change the RAW format of hard drives. It should already be clear to you how you can fix the RAW format to readable format. As for the choice of method, it must be based on each specific situation. Let's assume that if formatting is possible on your own, then you can display the files and simply copy them to another location. You can also try to restore the partition to its original state using the scan command, which is a built-in operating system tool. However, if the volume is large, this process can take quite a long time. On the other hand, to simplify these steps, you can use third-party utilities. Some of these utilities were discussed above. Some users may not like the DOS interface of the TestDisk program. If you do not like this method, you can use a similar application, Ontrack Easy Recovery, which has a full graphical shell. Many may argue that this method requires certain costs, but here everyone decides for himself what is more important to him: information or money...

Recently I encountered a situation where my old external USB drive was no longer readable in Windows, being detected as RAW. This indicates that Windows cannot determine the file system structure present on the disk. The reason why a partition is defined as RAW can be different: the disk may not be partitioned, the partition table header may be erased/damaged/missing, the disk may have bad sectors, or there may be physical problems with the disk itself or its controller.

From the user's point of view, such a RAW disk is displayed in Explorer, but its size is defined as 0 (zero). When trying to open or read data from a RAW partition, various errors appear like:

To use a disk in the E: drive, first format it. Do you want to format it?

You need to format the disk in Drive E: before you can use it. Do you want to format it?

No access to E:\. The volume file system is not recognized.

Cannot Access Disk. The volume does not contain a recognized file system.

Note. We deliberately do not consider the option of physical disk damage, since this cannot be treated using software. General recommendation: it is advisable to first check the disk using any S.M.A.R.T status viewing utility.

As a rule, the easiest way to restore disk functionality is to delete the current RAW partition and recreate it with formatting. But the data will naturally be lost, which may be categorically unacceptable. Let's try to run a disk check using the standard CHKDSK check utility:

The utility returned that CHKDSK cannot be performed on RAW disks.

The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

To restore the original file system on a RAW disk without formatting, use a free console utility TestDisk.

1. Download, unpack the archive with the utility and run exe in mode NoLog
   
2. Find a disk whose file system is defined as RAW and select Proceed
   
3. Next, you need to select the type of disk partition table. As a rule, it is determined automatically as Intel for MBR partitions or EFI GPT for GPT tables. However, in some cases you need to select None
   
4. To start analyzing the disk data structure, select Analyze, and on the next screen Quick Search
   
5. The TestDisk utility will display a list of found partitions. Using the key P you can display a list of files on the found partition (Q - exit viewing mode). If the partition also has a P label (the partition is highlighted in green), such a partition will be restored. Label D – removed. To change the label, use the left/right arrows on your keyboard.

   Advice. A rather useful function of the file viewing mode on the file system is the ability to restore individual folders/files to another drive. To do this, in viewing mode, press the key C.

   

6. Once all partitions are marked for recovery, click Enter And Write(here be careful not to overwrite the partition table with garbage). If you need to perform a more in-depth analysis of the disk, select DeepSearch.

   Advice. Keep in mind that if you restore a system disk in this way, in addition to the partition with Windows itself, depending on the OS version, there may be other partitions: a partition with a bootloader, a partition with a recovery environment, etc. To understand the structure of Windows partitions, I recommend reading the articles. If the boot sector of the disk is damaged, the TestDisk utility will offer to try to restore it using the option RebuildB.S..

   

7. After this (a reboot may be required), the utility will restore the original partition table and file system structure (usually NTFS or FAT32) on the RAW disk and you will be able to access the files stored on it.

How to recover data from a disk or partition whose file system is defined as RAW?

First, you should answer what is the RAW file system?

In fact, the RAW file system does not exist, and defining the partition file system as RAW means that none of the file system drivers installed in the operating system recognized the file system name of the disk or partition.

If the disk file system is recognized as RAW, reading data, assigning a volume label, and other operations with this partition become impossible.

In this case, the operating system displays the size of the partition and, when accessing it, offers to format it.

RAW hard drive

Rice. 1 Hard drive is displayed as RAW

If the operating system cannot recognize the file system of the hard drive, it will display it as RAW. In this case, the user will not have access to data or disk partitions.

However, its capacity, free space and used space will be displayed as “0” (zero). This means that all data from the disk is lost.

They are not available to the user for viewing or copying.

RAW hard drive partition

There are times when, as a result of a virus attack or damage, only one of the disk partitions will be displayed as RAW.

When you try to open such a disk, Windows will report an error and the need to format it.

Formatting such a partition will make it available for further use, but will lead to the loss of all data stored on it.

Reasons why a hard drive or partition may become RAW

The reasons can be very diverse, but if we summarize them, the following can be called the main ones.

For the entire disk:

• Connection or drive cable problems. Sometimes a hard drive can be detected as RAW if its connection cable is damaged or there is poor contact in the connector.
• Broken sectors. Having a large number of bad sectors on a disk can damage its file system.
• Damage to the file system structure. In addition to a large number of bad sectors, the file system can also be damaged for other reasons.
• Partition table damage. Regardless of the reasons for the damage to the partition table, if it is damaged, the entire disk will be detected as RAW.
• Reinstalling or restoring the operating system.
• As a result of exposure to viruses. Malicious software can change or delete important settings or information on your hard drive.

For a disk partition:

• Viruses. Virus programs can, for example, damage the part of the hard disk partition table that indicates the beginning and end of the partition.
• Reinstalling Windows.
• Number of hard drives and partitions. Too many disks and partitions on the computer can lead to RAW partitions.

Methods for restoring a RAW disk

If Windows boots, and the data from the RAW disk has no value for the user.

This is the easiest and fastest way to restore the functionality of a RAW disk or partition.

In this case, it is enough to simply format it in order to be able to use it in the future.

It, of course, does not imply saving or restoring data, but the user must understand that such a possibility exists.

If Windows reports an error and the need to format it, just click the “Format disk” button.

Fig.2 Formatting the disk

If the operating system does not inform the user about the error, but after checking the properties of the disk, the absence of a file system is visible or the disk is not displayed in the “This PC” folder, then you can format it using the Disk Management menu (Fig. 3).

To do this, go to Disk Management by right-clicking on the Start menu.

In the window that opens, find a disk with the RAW file system (it will be signed as such), right-click on it and select Format.

When Windows boots, it is important not to lose data from the RAW disk.

If the data of a disk or partition that is defined as RAW is important to you, then do not rush to format it.

First, try checking such a disk for errors and fixing them. This may restore its functionality.

To do this:

• Go to Disk Management (see above).
• Remember the drive letter of the RAW file system.

Note: if the drive does not have a letter, assign one to it. To do this, right-click on the desired drive and select “Change drive letter or drive path” (Fig. 4).

• Run Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, right-click on the Start menu and select “Command Prompt (Admin).”
• Enter the command chkdsk D: /f (instead of D: - specify your drive letter) and press Enter (Fig. 5).

• After running the command, the process of checking and correcting errors will begin. Often, after checking, Windows reports that all errors have been corrected. After that, try going to your disk again, the RAW file system should change to the one that was originally (FAT or NTFS).

If Windows does NOT boot and the disk on which the operating system is installed is defined as RAW.

If the user does not have the installation disk:

• you need to disconnect the hard drive from the computer and connect it to another. Using another computer, this hard drive can be checked for errors using the method described above or scanned using a data recovery program.

If you have an installation disk available:

• Boot your computer using the installation disc and instead of installing, select the Computer Recovery option.

• In the recovery menu, find and select Command Prompt. Use it to check for errors on the disk on which Windows is installed.

To do this:

• Enter the Notepad command in the Command Prompt. As a result of executing this command, a Notepad window will open in a new window.
• Select File/Open and look for availability and drive letters.

• Run the Command Line to check and fix errors on the disk on which the operating system is located.

Rice. 8 Running check and execution and disk errors from the command line

Recovering data from a RAW disk using data recovery software

If none of the described methods restored the functionality of the hard drive or partition, then another way to recover disk data is data recovery programs.

There are many and varied programs for data and file recovery today.

But in this case, only the one that is capable of recovering information from a RAW disk or partition is suitable for the user.

That is, from a disk or partition from a missing or damaged file system.

Here you should pay attention to the so-called Raw Recovery or Partition Recovery programs.

The principle of their operation is similar, there may be differences in some functions and interface.

For clarity, let's look at the process of restoring data from a RAW partition using Hetman Partition Recovery(the program can be downloaded from the developer’s website).

After the user launches the program, he will be provided with a list of all disks and partitions on the computer. You need to select the RAW section and double-click on it.

In our case, this is Disk (E:).

A special feature of the program is that it recovers data from disks or partitions with any file system, which it detects automatically, without the need for the user to make additional settings.

That is, the user just needs to select the required type of analysis in the next window and wait for it to finish (in this case, it is recommended to carry out “Full analysis”).

Depending on the size of the disk being scanned, the analysis process can take from 15 minutes to several hours.

As a result, the program will display all detected files and arrange them into folders in accordance with the extensions of the found files.

Transfer the necessary files to the recovery list and click "Recover", optionally viewing or listening to them in the preview window.

Also about how to recover data from other storage media.