How to Fix RAW Flash Drive using CMD | Formatting or Not

How to fix RAW flash drive using CMD? You can try using the CHKDSK command or the Format command in it. Also, recovering data before that will greatly reduce the risk of data loss. Get started now.

By @Ivy Last Updated October 22, 2024

You may find your flash drive suddenly becomes RAW, saying “You need to format the disk before using it”, don’t format it right now unless you know there is no important data in it. The “RAW” drive means it does not have a recognized file system and is not accessible. So you cannot access this disk and its data.

Why does this happen? Usually, this may be the result of a missing or corrupted file system. Also, you may get RAW drive due to abrupt eject, sudden power failure or shutdown, bad sectors, virus attack, etc.

To repair the RAW drive, you need to change it to NTFS or FAT32.  Fortunately, there are 2 effective methods to help you fix it completely without losing data.

⚠️In fact,  a lot of users wish to fix RAW flash drive without formatting, which will definitely delete data. No one wants such a result. Be aware the chkdsk command is also at risk of losing data in some case. Many users complain that chkdsk deletes files. So it’s necessary to recover data before repairing it to protect your data well.

✦ Part 1: How to recover data from RAW flash drive 

Here we will introduce you to a professional Windows data recovery software - MyRecover. It's designed for situations like these, offering an intuitive interface and two advanced scanning methods that dig deep to retrieve lost files on RAW flash drives, or other storage devices.

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  • Has a high success rate and fast recovery speed.
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  • Selectively restore files instead of all.
  • Recover files while scanning. You don’t need to wait for the scanning result.
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Then, follow the steps below to recover data from RAW flash drive. Before recovery, please connect the USB flash drive to the PC. Don't click "Format" if it asks you to format the drive.

Step 1. Select RAW USB drive to scan. 

Open data recovery software - MyRecover. Hover over the RAW flash drive and click Scan.

Step 2. Select files to recover. 

The software will automatically run Quick Scan & Deep Scan to find out all the data on the RAW flash drive. Once any of the files are found, they will be displayed in the following window.

You can also type the file name or extension in the search box, or specify a data type (e.g. docx) in the Filter feature. The date modified and size can also be set. You can then preview or select them to recover immediately.

⚠️Notes:

  • Type: It will contain all the file types in the local drive, such as images, videos, documents, emails, webpage, compressed files, etc.

  • Data Modified: It supports today, yesterday, last 7 days, last 30 days, and custom.

  • Size: It allows you to filter file size from less than 128KB to 128KB ~1MB to 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.

Step 3. Recover data from RAW flash drive. 

Select all the data on the selected flash drive and click Recover XX files. You can then save them to a different location instead of the original to avoid data overwritten or file corruption.

✦ Part 2: How to fix RAW flash drive using CMD 

There will be two commands mentioned here for repairing a RAW drive, one is the format command and the other is CHKDSK.

Way 1. Format RAW USB drive using CMD

Diskpart is a Windows built-in command line utility for managing partitions on hard disks, USB drives, and other devices. You can run this command utility to format RAW flash drive to NTFS/FAT32 format and then recover formatted data through data recovery software.

Step 1. Press Win + R and type diskpart in the Run window. Then, click OK to open it.

Step 2. Enter the following commands and press Enter after each line.

  • list disk
  • select 1 (1 is the disk number of the RAW drive.)
  • clean (The clean command will delete all the data on the RAW drive.)
  • create partition primary
  • format fs=ntfs quick (or format fs=fat32 quick)
  • exit

Tip: If your RAW disk is write-protected, you could add the “attributes disk clear readonly” command to remove it before using the “clean” command.

Way 2. Fix RAW flash drive using CHKDSK

The CHKDSK command can be used to repair a USB drive by automatically scanning and checking the disk for errors, including detecting and repairing bad sectors, in order to repair a damaged RAW USB drive.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run window. Then, type cmd and click OK to access the command prompt.

Step 2. Type chkdsk D: /f /r /x and press Enter. (Replace D with the drive letter of the USB drive)

Step 3. Wait for CHKDSK to finish scanning and repairing the USB drive. The time required may vary depending on the size of the USB drive.

Concluding words

How to fix RAW flash drive using CMD? You can choose to use CHKDSK or Format command, depending on whether there is important data. If you have to format RAW flash drive, please get data off it with a reliable data recovery software like MyRecover.

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You are a lucky guy if you already fix this RAW flash drive. To prevent this error from happening again or data loss, it’s suggested to develop a good usage habit, such as use the Safely remove hardware and eject media option, backup files to an external hard drive automatically, etc.

FAQs

✍How to fix RAW drive to NTFS using CMD?

You can try format fs=ntfs command in DiskPart utility. To access it, type cmd in the search box and select Run Administrator. Then, type diskpart in the command prompt window.

✍Can you convert RAW to NTFS without losing data?

The format method will delete all the data on a RAW drive. But you can choose to recover data from RAW drive with reliable data recovery software like MyRecover. It has two advanced scanning methods and high success recovery rate & fast speed.

✍How do I fix a RAW drive without formatting?

You can fix a RAW drive without formatting and there are many ways to make it, such as updating or reinstalling drivers, chkdsk, assigning a new drive letter, etc. But which method do you need to use? You need to figure out the reason first.

✍How to prevent data loss on a flash drive?

If your flash drive becomes RAW, you won’t be able to access the data loss on it, and may even lose them. To prevent this, you need to take some precautions. Here are some useful suggestions you can follow:

  • Don’t often use the same flash drive on multiple systems. Because different systems have different compatible file systems.
  • Take out a flash drive using the Safely remove hardware and eject media option.
  • Run antivirus software regularly to prevent virus or malware attacks.
  • Use a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply).
  • Always purchase high-quality flash drives from well-known manufacturers. The low-quality flash drive is likely to be damaged or corrupted.
  • Backup flash drive or files on it automatically with free backup software like AOMEI Backupper Standard. It gives you a chance to recover files from flash drive, even if they are deleted forever.