When you get “Convert is not available for RAW drives” error during converting RAW drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT in CMD, try this way to fix it with ease.
By Teresa / Last Updated April 12, 2018
“I’d like to change the partition file system of my USB flash drive to FAT32. Google on the Internet and I was told to use convert command in CMD. Then I opened Command Prompt and typed convert F: /fs:fat32 (where F is the partition on my USB drive). Then I got the error message saying: Convert is not available for RAW drives. Uh… what command should I type to change file system based on the RAW drive? Any idea?”
“convert” is a command that only works when changing file system from FAT32 to NTFS in Windows. So, “Convert is not available” error also happens when you try to convert NTFS to FAT32, or convert exFAT to NTFS using CMD.
As a matter of fact, apart from the command convert, there is one another command is likely to trigger the “not available for RAW drives” error. That would be chkdsk.
When the partition becomes RAW, some users would like to run CHKDSK /f on the disk, with the purpose of fixing RAW hard drive to NTFS or FAT32. Nevertheless, the fixing process stops and prompting an error message reading: The type of the file system is RAW. CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives. For more information, please refer to CHKDSK reports RAW.
Why cannot RAW drive be converted or checked by Windows? What should you do to change partition file system from RAW to a Windows-recognized one properly?
When a drive in RAW status, it means the drive is not ready to be explored or accessed by Windows OS. Usually, a drive that does not be formatted will represent as RAW in Disk Management. In a word, RAW is a type of file system that cannot be read and wrote by Windows OS.
In spite of everything, a disk may turn to RAW owing to other factors. For example, file system damage, virus infection, disk failing, bad sectors, or unexpected power outage. In those cases, the data on the RAW drive cannot be opened, so it is on the risk of losing.
To save the precious data on the RAW drive, you can first recover them with the free data recovery software on the market. If there is no important data on that drive, you can skip to the next part to learn how to fix Convert is not available for RAW drives error with another method.
As covered before, you can perform data recovery on the RAW drive before you fix the error. Software like M3 Data Recovery Free and iCare Data Recovery Free are available. However, you may want to try this OpenSource software, TestDisk.
TestDisk is powerful free data recovery software, which was primarily designed to help recover lost partitions or make non-booting disks bootable again. It can be used to recover data caused by certain types of viruses or human error such as accidentally deleting a Partition Table. In the first place, download and unzip the software to your C drive. Double click it to start because it doesn’t have to be installed.
Note: following steps are used to fix RAW drive on internal hard drive instead of removable USB drives.
Select “No Log” and press Enter in the first window.
Select the RAW drive to analyze, click “Proceed” and hit Enter. Select partition type and then “Analyze”. The partition will be analyzed.
At the next screen, select “Proceed” and press Enter.
Press “Y” or “N” based on the truth (the partition was created under Vista or not).
When TestDisk says “Structure OK”, choose the RAW drive to fix and hit Enter.
Select “Write” and press Enter, and then press “Y” and Enter.
Finally, close TestDisk and restart your PC.
Your hard drive should be changed to NTFS and works normally as it was. However, to fix Convert is not available for RAW drives on USB flash drives, or there is no crucial data to recover, you can turn to another easier method.
Since convert is a command that does not work on RAW drive, you need to turn to another command, format. You can type format F: /fs:fat32 in CMD directly or perform formatting with Diskpart.
list volume
select volume n (where n is the volume number of your RAW drive)
format fs=fat32 quick
exit
The biggest difference between using CMD and using Diskpart would be the time that cost for formatting. In most cases, Diskpart takes up much less time than CMD. But the disadvantage is obvious, it requires more steps.
Nevertheless, both Diskpart and CMD have limitations that may fail you. For instance, you cannot format a drive that is larger than 32GB in size with FAT32. Some users also complain that format failed due to unknown reasons. In case you encounter such situations, have a look at this tool.
AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is comprehensive partition manager that allows you to solve Convert is not available for RAW drives in Windows 7/8/10 by easily formatting the drive to any file system you desired. The partassist.exe utility in AOMEI Partition Assistant supports formatting volumes/partitions in Command Prompt. Install the software to have a try.
1. Open Command Prompt and type: cd + installation directory of AOMEI Partition Assistant to get started. For example, type: cd C:\Program Files (x86)\AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition 6.6 and hit Enter.
2. Type: partassist.exe /fmt: F /fs: fat32 and hit Enter. That means format partition F to FAT32.
3. Click on Yes at the User Account Control dialogue. Then the formatting process will start. Wait for the process completes and type exit to leave the Command Prompt.
Descriptions:
*/fmt: format; followed by partition number or drive letter.
*/fs: file system; can be followed by fat16, fat32, exfat, ntfs. For more information, please refer to AOMEI Partition Assistant Command Line Operations.
Except for command line operations, AOMEI Partition Assistant also provides graphical user interface (GUI) that is suitable for both beginners and IT experts. With that interface, one can settle down Convert is not available for RAW drives in CMD trouble as well.
When you get the Convert is not available for RAW drives in Windows 7, 8, or 10, don’t worry, you still can do something to remedy the drive to some extent. If it contains valuable data, try to recover it. If your purpose is changing file system to a Windows-recognized one, just use a different syntax, format, in CMD.
As an all-around partition manager, AOMEI Partition Assistant also supports to copy UEFI boot disk and allocate unallocated space on 4TB hard drive. If you encounter not convertible issue on Server, please refer to AOMEI Partition Assistant Server edition.
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