3+ Solutions: Cannot Format Raw Drive Error in 2021

"My Seagate external HDD suddenly shows up as Raw and it asks me to format the disk in the drive before you can use it. However I try to open it, it prompts the message saying hard drive needs formatting. So I did it regardless of the important data there, what annoys me currently is that Raw drive cannot be fixed due to format failure! What should I do now to repair Raw drive without losing data?"

Normally, formatting is the most suggested way to fix a hard drive, USB drive or memory card with the Raw file system, and most of the time it works. But sometimes you may be out of luck, there are situations in which you can not repair a Raw drive by formatting as expected. For example, Windows was unable to complete the format.

Raw drive data recovery

No matter how you encounter the Raw file system, do not try to format it before applying professional data recovery software to recover important data. When you see the Raw drive, it means that the drive has an unknown Windows file system. Since no file system exists on the drive, it can no longer be used to store data, and you can not access the existing data, either.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the recommended hard drive recovery software for Raw hard drive data recovery. Simply download it on your PC, and follow the easy data recovery steps. After then, you can feel risk-free to fix the raw hard drive that cannot be formatted.

Note: To restore all your lost files, install EaseUS data recovery software on another disk instead of the RAW disk where you lost files.

Step 1. Locate and Scan the RAW Hard Drive

Locate the RAW drive with its original drive letter and then click "Scan". If the RAW drive has lost its label, it will be detected as "Lost Partition", select it and click "Scan". 

The program will automatically scan all lost files and data on the RAW drive.

Step 2. Find and Preview the Found Data on the RAW Drive

When the scan process finishes, find lost RAW drive data in "Other Lost Files" or "Files Lost Original Name". The "Filter" and "Search" features can also help locate specific types of files with ease.

You can double-click a file to preview it. 

Step 3. Restore and Save Data Out of the RAW Drive

Choose the files found from RAW Drive and click "Recover" to save the items to a new location. Click "OK" to start the recovery.

How to fix the Raw hard drive that cannot be formatted

The process of repairing a Raw hard drive is to convert Raw to NTFS, FAT32, or other recognized file systems. When Windows Explorer quick format or Windows Disk Management is not able to complete the format, try raw hard drive format by using the Diskpart command line.

Fix 1. Convert Raw to NTFS/FAT32 using Diskpart

Step 1. Click on Start and then type cmd and hit Enter.

Step 2. Right-click on cmd and then click on Run As Administrator.

Step 3. Type Diskpart and then hit Enter.

Step 4. Type convert X: /fs:ntfs and hit Enter.

It's worth noting that X ought to be the drive letter of your RAW disk storage device. Also, you can replace ntfs with other desired file systems such as exfat, fat32, etc.

Fix 2. Format Raw to NTFS/FAT32 using a free partition manager

Did the command line help format the RAW drive to a certain usable file system? Considering that the command line method is kind of sophisticated, so it doesn't fit average users who have a little technical background. For that matter, we think it's necessary to get the other simpler alternative way to replace the Diskpart command line. EaseUS Partition Master, the recommended free partition manager software comes handy.

You can take advantage of its "Format" feature and "Partition Recovery" feature to deal with a RAW hard drive that cannot be fixed by the regular disk formatting methods via Windows Explorer and Windows Disk Management, and even the Diskpart command prompt doesn't help in the end.

Option 1. Format the RAW drive

Applies to the RAW drive which currently has a drive letter of it

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, and cluster size to the selected partition, then click "OK".

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

Step 4. Execute the operations.

Click the "Execute Operation" button in the top-left corner to view all the changes, then click "Apply" to start formatting your RAW partition/USB/SD/external hard drive.

Option 2. Recover RAW hard drive

Applies to the Raw drive which lost the drive letter of it

Sometimes, you'll find that the hard drive partition displays as Raw without showing a drive letter on it. In this case, EaseUS Partition Master comes handy to solve this kind of Raw drive issue without formatting it, instead, perform a partition recovery from the beginning to the end. Once the scan finished and you chose the Raw drive partition to recover, you'll get a functional drive with the original drive letter and file system on it. 

Guide: how to perform partition recovery

Conclusion

What if the three attempts still cannot fix the raw drive and eventually failed to bring it back to normal use? There should be severe hard drive damage issue and the last resort you have to try is the low-level format, which will completely erase all data on the drive and make data unrecoverable. So, remember that raw drive data recovery always comes before the format.