Do you want to fix a raw external hard drive without formatting? Well, I must say that you have come to the right place. This is because here you will get complete information about how to fix raw external hard drive without formatting and its major factors. And of course, repair RAW external hard drive without data loss.
So, let’s get started…
What Are The Reasons Behind The Hard Drive Showing As RAW?
This issue generally takes place when you try to unplug your external hard drive from computer without using the safe ejects option. So, below I’ve listed a few common reasons due to which your external hard showing as RAW:
- Structural damage in the file system.
- Denied access to a hard drive/system.
- The current operating system doesn’t support a file system.
- Viruses/malware attacking a drive.
- Existence of bad blocks.
- Incorrect formatting of volume.
After knowing its common causes, now it’s time to know the possible ways to repair RAW external hard drive without data loss.
How To Fix Raw External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
Here are the best ways that will definitely help you know to troubleshoot RAW external hard drive. All these are very easy to apply and you don’t even need any technical help to do the steps mentioned in each of the methods.
Method #1: Check Hard Drive Connection
If your external hard drive showing as RAW then first of all you should try the below common fixes to solve your issue.
- Check the connection of your hard disk with another PC.
- Use the new cable to attach your hard drive.
- Change the hard drive connection port to other USB ports.
- Try to use an original cable to join the hard drive to your PC.
Method #2: Fix RAW External Hard Drive Using CMD Option
Another option that you could try to fix a raw external hard drive without formatting is to convert your RAW hard drive to NTFS with CMD command. Here’s how you can do so:
Step 1: Just connect the RAW external hard drive with your PC.
Step 2: In the second step, make a tap on Start button >> search for “command”
Step 3: Then, right-click on it and tap on Run as Administrator.
Step 4: Next, type the Diskpart >> hit Enter.
Step 5: At this time, you need to type G: /FS: NTFS and press Enter (H is going to be a drive letter of your RAW device).
Method #3: Update Hard Drive Drivers
Sometimes, incompatible, corrupted, damaged, and even out-dated drivers can cause RAW external hard drives. In order to troubleshoot RAW external hard drive, simply update your hard disk driver via Device Manager. Here are the easy steps, how you can do so:
- First of all, connect your RAW external hard drive with a PC
- Then, right-click on the My Computer/This PC >> select “Properties“.
- Click on “Device Manager” >> “Disk drives”.
- Find & right-click on RAW hard drive >> choose “Update driver“
- Next, make a tap on the “automatically search for driver software online” option.
- Now, wait until the driver gets updated & restart your computer.
Solution #4: Format Hard Drive
If none of the above three solutions work for you then try to format your RAW hard disk into the NTFS. Simply follow the below instructions to solve raw external hard drive without formatting:
- Open Window Explorer >> select My Computer/This PC in the sidebar
- Find your RAW hard drive & right-click on hard drive >> choose Format.
- Under the File System, select the one which you want to use for OS.
- In this step, you need to go to Volume Label and provide the hard drive name
- Check a Quick Format
- Choose the Start button to begin the formatting process.
After completing these steps the system will inform you that the formatting process is complete.
Conclusion
After knowing all ways to fix a raw external hard drive without formatting, it might become very easy for you to achieve the target. However, among the above solutions, the best ways to repair RAW external hard drive without data loss using the cmd command.
Do remember one thing, if none of the solutions works for you then try to format your external hard drive. But before doing so, don’t forget to take a backup of your data stored within the hard drive.
So, it’s up to you now, which method do you want to use to fix and recover data from a RAW USB drive. All the very best to you…..
