Unfortunately, sometimes you can meet a situation where the user turns on the computer or laptop, and instead of some logical partition, a disk that has an incomprehensible RAW format is displayed. What is it, try to find out. At the same time, we will consider some of the simplest ways to convert this format to its normal form.
RAW format: what is it?
If we talk about a format of this type, you need to clearly imagine that, in fact, this is not even a format in the usual sense. This is a modified file system type.
When accessing such a section, two types of problems can be noted. Firstly, in the file manager the volume may not be displayed at all. And secondly, even if it is visible, it either does not have files on it, or the system offers immediate formatting, since the file system is incompatible with the operating system (RAW format of HDDs). How to fix this situation? You need to choose the right approach, because formatting the partition with the destruction of even not displayed data is not the best option.
Why are HDD formats changing?
Before proceeding to solve the problem directly, it is necessary to clarify the reasons for changing the structure of the section. In general, it is generally accepted among experts that the RAW format of HDDs (how to fix it for a readable one, will be discussed later), as a result, may appear, for example, when exposed to certain viruses that change the file system intentionally, with a sharp power outage ( electricity) at the time of performing any operations involving direct access to the partition, etc.
Actually, after that, sometimes the disk may be visible even with folders and files present on it, but to perform operations, say, to change the volume label, format it using standard means, resize and much more becomes simply impossible. This is because, roughly speaking, a file system change occurs or fatal errors appear in the partition table. Nevertheless, there are several decisions about what to do if the RAW format of HDDs appears in the system. How to fix this situation, consider in more detail.
Correction Methodology
Now let's look at the main aspects of the process of correcting the situation. As already, probably, it is clear that restoring the HDD as the main task uses a solution that allows you to bring the file system of the partition in a form that would be perceived by the operating system itself (FAT32, NTFS, etc.). Note, in most cases, even rolling back the system to the previous state does not give the desired result, so do not do this. It is just a waste of time.
First, you can try to make the section display files and folders, which in some cases makes it possible to copy them to another location, for example, on the same removable media.
How to make files visible and copy them to another location?
Processing of the RAW format in this case is carried out using a very interesting utility called MiniTool Power Data Recovery (the program belongs to the class of shareware).
After installation in the application, you need to start the Lost Partition Recovery module, select the required partition and start a full scan. Upon completion of the process, a list of all available files will be displayed in the program window. It remains to mark the necessary data and click the save button (Save). The application will prompt you to select the location where the selected files will be copied. Specify it and activate the process. After that, you can do the formatting of the section. If the procedure is not available, proceed to the next step.
The easiest way to restore format using system tools
Now let’s dwell on how to convert RAW to NTFS using Windows native tools (all the more so since such a solution is best suited for the NTFS file system ).
First, run the command line (cmd) from the Run menu (Win + R). Note, HDD recovery can only be done in this way, a standard partition check in the Windows environment will not work.
Now it all comes down to writing the chkdsk command “drive letter”: / f (for example, in the case of drive D it will look like chkdsk d: / f) - and press the enter key. It remains to wait for the completion of the process during which the file system will be restored, and reboot the system.
By the way, this method is precisely in file systems that previously had the NTFS structure, and is perfect for system disks. Only when using this technique, the loading of a computer terminal or laptop will need to be done from a boot or recovery disk.
Correcting the format using the TestDisk utility
At this stage, we will consider another aspect of the topic “RAW format of HDDs: how to fix it”. TestDisk (a utility for quickly restoring the original format) is best suited. The main advantage of this application is that it does not require installation. Since it is available as a portable version. Minus - does not have a Russified interface and works in a mode like DOS.
So, let's start HDD recovery. At the first stage, after starting the program, you need to choose to create a new log file (Create item) and press the enter key. Then, the arrows select the desired drive or partition, after which the application will automatically determine the type of partition table (it can be changed manually, but it seems that this is not worth it).
Next, you must first use the analysis line (Analyse), and then the quick search (Quick Search). After each action, Enter is pressed. When the lost section is found, you should use the save structure item (Write). Otherwise, if the desired section is not displayed in the list of search results, you should use deep scanning (Deeper Search), and then do the steps just described to save the structure. Now, as in the previous version, you just need to restart your computer or laptop. The problem should disappear.
Using Ontrack EasyRecovery
Before us is another program that allows you to convert the RAW format of HDDs. How to fix it with this utility? Easy peasy.
In principle, the application works almost similarly to the TestDisk program, however, it can attract many users by the fact that it has a beautiful and convenient interface. By the way, many experts call this software product an indispensable tool when you need to restore large partitions. The only negative is that the program is paid, but, I think, for our person this is not a problem. On the Internet, for her, you can easily find activation keys, and patches, and key-generators.
Conclusion
What is the result? At the moment, the RAW format of HDDs has been reviewed. How to fix it on a readable system, it seems, is already clear. As for what exactly to apply, it depends on the specific situation. Suppose if formatting with your own means is possible, you can display the files and copy to another location. This, so to speak, is absolutely certain. You can use the command to check and restore the partition to its original state, which is provided in the system itself, but this process with a sufficiently large volume volume can take a very long time.
On the other hand, to simplify user actions, third-party utilities described just above are also perfect. Another thing is that some users do not accept the DOS interface of the TestDisk application. However, it is easy to get used to it. Moreover, as already mentioned, this is a portable version, which means that you can always have it at hand and run from the same flash drive. If you don’t like it, please use the similar Ontrack EasyRecovery GUI application. True, some may argue about the issue of cost, but then it’s worthwhile to decide for yourself which is more important: money or a hard drive with the information stored on it? In addition, among all such utilities, these two are the most powerful, and sometimes you will not get a good result from free software. However, the choice is up to the users themselves.