Need to format RAW drive using Command Prompt to make the partition usable? Here comes the detailed instruction.
By
Emily
/ Last Updated March 15, 2021
"I have a 4TB drive (3725.9GB) that I recently completed the long format (~48 hours), but during the formatting process a sudden power outage occurred, when it finished, the disk shows up in Disk management (Windows or Command prompt) as "RAW" format. When I attempt a "quick format" to NTFS (Control Panel - Computer Management - Storage - disk - format) I get a message "Virtual Disk Manager" - "The format did not complete successfully". Now the drive is useless except to display that it exists. So I am wondering can I format RAW drive using Command Prompt? Thank you!"
Unlike NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, the RAW file system cannot be supported and recognized by Windows operating systems. So you are not allowed to access or add any data in RAW drive. This problem can be caused by many factors like virus/malware attack, bad sectors, incorrect formatting operation, sudden power failure, file system structural damage, improper partition access permission and other unknown factors.
In order to make the RAW partition usable again, it is necessary to format it to a proper file system. Here we will show you how to format RAW drive using Command Prompt in Windows.
Step 1. Click “Start” button, type “cmd” in the Search box, right click the given Command Prompt icon and select “Run as administrator”.
Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, type “Diskpart” to open Diskpart service, then input commands listed below one by one.
list volume and hit “Enter”: all partitions on your computer will be listed.
select volume # and hit “Enter”: # is the specific number of the RAW partition, here we select volume 6.
format fs=ntfs quick and hit “Enter”: if you want to recover RAW drive to FAT32 or exFAT, you can input format fs=fat32, or format fs=exfat instead.
After DiskPart successfully formatted the volume, you can type “exit” and press “Enter” to close the Command Prompt window.
Command Prompt tool works well for common formatting tasks. But running those complicated commands may be difficult for most computer newbies. And when you need to format a large RAW partition over 32GB to FAT32, it will fail and pop out an error message: the volume size is too big for FAT32.
In such case, you can use AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, a free GUI disk formatting tool for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista users. With a clear interface, it is easy to use for everyone. This powerful software can format large hard drive to FAT32 with ease. Most importantly, it is even able to format write-protected disk, or format corrupted SD card and other hard drives.
Step 1. Download the freeware, install and launch it in Windows computer. Right click the RAW partition and select “Format Partition”.
Step 2. In the mini window, choose a desired file system (here we select NTFS) and click “OK”.
Tip: In this window, you can also set partition label, which can help you quickly distinguish it from other partitions in the future. Besides, you are allowed to change cluster size based on your requirements. Small clusters are great for storing small files in the partition while large clusters are perfect for saving large files to optimize data read-write speed and disk space usage ratio.
Step 3. Back to the main interface, click “Apply”> “Proceed” to begin the formatting process.
Now, you must be clear about how to format RAW drive using Command Prompt. AOMEI Partition Assistant provides an easier way to do this job. Most importantly, it is far more than a disk formatting tool, and it can move/copy/wipe/merge partitions. After upgrading to Professional edition, you can unlock more amazing functions, including securely erasing frozen SSD drives, recovering lost partitions and more. For Windows Server users, AOMEI Partition Assistant Server is a great choice.
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