Fix RAW USB Drive | How to Recover Data from RAW USB
Discover how to fix a RAW USB drive here. Learn these practical instructions for fixing RAW drives. You can also format a RAW USB drive without losing any data.
Similar to many external HDDs and SSDs, your USB drives could unexpectedly turn RAW, making it hard to access the stored files inside. When your USB becomes RAW, it is no longer formatted with a compatible file system, such as NTFS or FAT32.
Reformatting can be used to fix a RAW USB and restore its use, but it will delete all of your data. Thus, this post will teach you how to properly fix a RAW USB drive without losing your precious data.
Method 1. Fix RAW USB drive by CHKDSK
You can use CMD or command line to fix a RAW USB drive which still has a drive letter. Windows has a built-in tool called CHKDSK that may be used to diagnose and repair RAW file system or partition errors. Consequently, it can be applied to resolve the issue of repairing a RAW USB without requiring formatting.
Step 1. Attach your computer to the RAW USB hard disk.
Step 2. Click the "search" icon in the taskbar and enter cmd. Next, choose "Run as administrator" from the menu when right-clicking "Command Prompt".
Step 3. Type chkdsk j: /f /x and hit Enter to fix your RAW external hard disk. (Your RAW USB drive is assigned the letter j.)
After the repair procedure, you can open Disk Management to check to see if your USB drive has been fixed.
Method 2. Format RAW USB drive without losing data
To fix a RAW USB drive, a simple method is to first recover the data from the USB in RAW format and then convert RAW to FAT32 or another preferred file system.
RAW denotes an unformatted external hard disk, as was previously indicated. But formatting of your storage device invariably results in data loss, as we all know. You can recover your files before or after the formatting process with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to prevent data loss.
Step 1. Select and scan the RAW partition
You can search for lost files by selecting the RAW partition from the drives list and clicking "Search for Lost Data" if the partition label is there.
Step 2. Preview found data from the scan result
Once the scan is finished, all the RAW hard drive's available files will be seen. Look through these files to locate the ones you wish to get back. The scanned data can be sorted by file format, or you can use the "Search files or folders" box to do a direct search.
Step 3. Recover data from RAW partition
After selecting every file, click "Recover" to restore all the data. Choose an alternate external or internal hard drive or cloud drive to save the recovered data.
Once you have successfully recovered files from the RAW USB, you can format it to NFTS. After formatting, the drive will return to normal and be usable.
Step 1. Attach your computer to the RAW USB.
Step 2. Select "This PC" > "Manage" > "Disk Management".
Step 3. Locate the RAW hard disk, then select "Format" with a right-click.
Step 4. Choose the NTFS file system and give your hard disk a drive letter.
Step 5. To format your RAW hard disk, click "Start". Click "OK" once the formatting is complete.
Method 3. Repair RAW USB by updating the driver
You can upgrade a USB driver to fix mismatched, corrupted, or outdated drivers, which can also cause RAW USB drives. To access Device Manager on a PC running a previous version of Windows, take the following actions.
Step 1. In Windows 11, choose "Device Manager" by right-clicking on the "Start" menu.
Step 2. Search the items in the right pane to locate the external hard drive.
Step 3. Choose "Update Driver" with a right-click.
Tips on preventing the USB from RAW
Finally, but just as importantly, we've put together a few pointers that you may review to avoid disk RAW USB problems later on.
- Take your USB out of machines in the right manner. Always select the option labeled "safely remove hardware and eject media."
- Create a disk backup, enabling you to format the drive worry-free and recover the data if it goes raw.
- Never overwrite your USB while saving new data and files.
Fix RAW USB drive FAQs
Here are 3 questions users also want to learn about fixing RAW USB devices:
Is it possible to recover data from a RAW USB?
Yes, but with professional data recovery software, you can only recover data from a RAW USB.
Step 1. Insert your USB drive into your PC or laptop and use the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to scan it.
Step 2. The files you wish to recover from your USB flash drive can now be chosen.
Step 3. When prepared to carry out a RAW USB recovery, press the Recover button.
What causes a RAW USB drive?
A USB drive may become RAW for a variety of reasons:
- The operating system does not support the file system.
- There has been harm to the file system's structure.
- A partition is a component of a RAID or spanned volume.
How do I fix my USB from raw to FAT32?
Step 1. Link your PC to the RAW device.
Step 2. Locate and right-click on the RAW SD or USB card in File Explorer, then choose "Format".
Step 3. To convert RAW to FAT32, select FAT32 as the target file system, check "Quick Format," and click "Start."
Conclusion
You won't lose any data even if you need to format your RAW USB drive because we've taught you how to fix it by recovering data from it.
You should restore all of your important files. With the preparation, you can fix a RAW USB drive by CHKDSK, reformat, and update the driver without worrying about data loss. EaseUS data recovery software for PC can be your option.