Guide to Convert Raw to NTFS Without Losing Data

How to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data? Get efficient ways to fix this issue and recover data from RAW drives in this article. And you can get practical data loss prevention tips.

By @Penny
Last Updated April 29, 2026

Why is my drive suddenly showing as RAW?

The RAW file system indicates your drive’s state, which has no or unknown file system. A disk or drive with a RAW file system is also known as a RAW disk or drive.

If an external hard drive or hard drive is displayed as RAW, it could be that your drive’s file system is corrupted or missing. Or this RAW drive has not been formatted with any file system. Besides, an unrecognized file system is also responsible for RAW drives.

Can you convert a drive to NTFS without losing data?

Without a doubt, users are not allowed to read or write data to a RAW partition because it is invisible to your Windows operating system.

At the moment, several users are seeking ways to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data. To improve the possibilities of formatted partition recovery, please put these tricks into practice.

  • Please stop using your RAW disks as soon as possible to prevent your existing data from being overwritten by new data. After data erasure, the data saved in your RAW drive could lose.
  • Remember to save recoverable data in another drive instead of the RAW disk.

Beforehand: Recover data from RAW drives via data recovery software

Since the format process can erase all the existing data on your RAW drive, some users are wondering how to convert RAW to NTFS without formatting.

If it happens to be your case, please consider using this professional data recovery tool, FastRecovery to recover deleted & missing files from your RAW drive if you desire. After that, you’re ready to convert RAW drive to NTFS without losing data via the following ways.

Powerful features & friendly design of FastRecovery: 
Powerful features: Recover deleted & lost Word, Excel, PPT, folders, compressed files, photos, songs, videos, audio, websites, and over 1000+ file types.
Intelligent scanning methods: Start Quick Scan or Deep Scan in different scenarios and find as many files as possible. 
Easy-to-find: Organize and display data by Type or Path, allowing you to sort, search, filter, and preview files.
Excellent compatibility: Support HDDs/SSDs, external drives, USB disks, etc., and NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.

Don’t hesitate to install FastRecovery on your Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Windows Server PC now!

Download Software Windows 11/10/8/7/Server
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⚠️Notes:
  • Don't download and install AOMEI FastRecovery on the old hard drive where you store deleted files, as this may cause data overwriting.

  • Any newly added data or disk formatting can overwrite data. Please avoid these operations after deletion.

Step 1. After launching FastRecovery on your Windows, click Deleted Files Recovery. You can also choose a more suitable alternative, such as Disk Data Recovery, Recycle Bin Recovery, etc. All of them can help you retrieve data without causing any damage.

Step 2. You'll see all available drives. Hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.

Step 3. By default, it will start Quick Scan automatically for any deleted or lost files. You can select files by Type (default) or Path, and combine them with options to sort, filter, search, and preview files

  • ⬆⬇ Sort: Sort files by name, date modified, type, etc., on the right panel.
  • 🔽 Filter: Specify the Type/Size (from Less than 512KB to 1GB above) to target your search.
  • 🔎 Search: Type the file name or extension in the search box to locate deleted files precisely.
  • 👁‍🗨 Preview: Double-click files to preview formats such as wav, ico, jpg, png, bmp, jpeg, tif, svg, gif, mp4, mp3, txt, xlsx, pdf, ini, docx, etc.

⚠️Notes:
  • The Type categories include all supported data types, including images, videos, documents, mails, web pages, compressed files, etc.
  • If you can’t find the deleted or lost files, click Deep Scan to search the disk thoroughly. It will scan every sector of the disk to find files buried deeper in the file system.

Step 4. Select the files you want and click “Recover” to begin Windows data recovery.

⚠️Notes:
  • Don't save the recovered files to the original location, as it may cause data overwriting.

  • The free edition only supports 500MB of data recovery. To recover a large number of deleted or missing files, consider upgrading FastRecovery to the advanced editions.

3 ways to convert RAW drive to NTFS without losing data

Let’s perform how to change RAW to NTFS without losing data via three feasible fixes.

1. Convert RAW to NTFS without losing data via File Explorer

One of the easiest methods to format drives is by using File Explorer. And it is the most underutilized way by most users. Let’s show how it works.

Step 1. Press “Win + E” to open Windows File Explorer. Then right-click on your RAW drive and select the “Format” option.

Step 2. Change the RAW file system to the NTFS file system and click the “Start” button.

2. Convert RAW to NTFS without losing data via Disk Management

Disk Management is a Windows system utility for advanced storage operations. And it can display the details of each drive on your Windows and all partitions for each drive.

Statistics regarding the partitions, such as the amount of space assigned or consumed, are included in the information. So you can take advantage of this tool to convert RAW drives to NTFS drives.

Step 1. Type “Disk Management” in the search bar on your PC and open it.

Step 2. Right-click on your RAW drive and select the “Format” option.

Step 3. Select the NTFS file system that works with your current Windows OS. Then click “OK” to save these changes.

3. Convert RAW to NTFS without losing data via AOMEI Partition Assistant

Is there another way to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data? It turns out there is. This free partition manager software, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard can help you format partitions and alter file systems with ease.   

Other highlights of AOMEI Partition Assistant:✎...   
Recover deleted & missing NTFS, FAT, EX2, EX3, or Ex4 partitions.
Deal with improper partition size, partition creation, partition resize, etc.
Perform disk conversion between MBR and GPT, OS migration, etc.   
Support Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP (32/64-bit) computers.
Download Demo Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
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Step 1. After running this free demo on your Windows PC, right-click on your selected RAW disk and select the “Format Partition” option.

Step 2. Select the NTFS file system and click the “OK” button.

Please click “Apply” to save these changes and wait patiently.

Wrapping up

Are you wondering how to change RAW to NTS without losing data? Perhaps the above two phases can help you convert RAW to NTFS without losing data.

If there’s deletion, please seek help from FastRecovery to recover deleted & missing files from RAW drives.

Undeniably, no one wants to suffer data loss. If you want to protect your data from loss forever, why not give this free AOMEI Backupper a shot? This highly-praised Windows backup tool is designed to easily back up files, folders, partitions, disks, or systems.