Fat to ntfs with data saving. How to convert FAT32 to NTFS without losing data using Windows. Reformatting a flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS without data loss

Flash drive or disk from FAT32 V NTFS, then let's use normal formatting. This is done if you want, for example, . If you have any important data on a flash drive, be sure to transfer it to another medium.

What if you don’t have any free media at hand, or yours is completely full? What to do in this case? There is a solution.

How to format from FAT32 to NTFS without data loss?

Today we will try to convert the file system from FAT32 V NTFS without data loss. Why NTFS? Yes, because this file system is much better and allows you to write large files, and is also more secure. You can read about this in.

Now we will convert our file system. For this we will open command line as administrator, although not required. This is done using a combination Win+X, and select the command line.

Enter the following command there:

convert (drive letter or flash drive) /fs:ntfs

Let's say the letter of your flash drive is D, then the entry will look like this:

convert d: /fs:ntfs

Now the transformation must begin file system. After successful work, you can go to the flash drive and make sure that all the files remain in place.

There are a couple of things to note.

Before you start converting, you need to check the flash drive or disk for errors, this is in the paragraph properties, if you press right click via flash drive.

Another point is that file fragmentation will be quite large, which will affect the speed of the media; subsequently, defragmentation can be either labor-intensive or completely impossible.

Therefore, it is better to carry out the conversion using normal formatting, and important files, move it somewhere. If you have a problem on your disk, this indicates that there are problems and you can’t just pull out the files. Read the article at the link provided.

And one more thing, after experimenting, I realized that if you have a flash drive with a file exFAT system, then you won’t be able to use this method.

How to format a flash drive to FAT32 without deleting files? Hello admin, it’s interesting that there is such a possibility to format a flash drive with data from the NTFS file system to FAT32 without losing this very data, it seems like on the Internet they say that it will be suitable for these purposes Acronis programs Disk Director and Paragon Partition Manager?

How to format a flash drive to FAT32

This question comes up quite often on our website. Unfortunately no, you are wrong, programs Acronis Disk Director and Paragon Partition Manager are not able to convert a flash drive with the NTFS file system to FAT32 without complete removal files on a flash drive. Without deleting data, you can convert a flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS and the easiest way to do this is to use the built-in tools operating system Windows.
And anyway, I can’t guess why you want format flash drive to FAT32 when there is another and more modern NTFS file system that has many advantages over FAT32, for example in performance and reliability.
Note: if you decide to format a flash drive to the NTFS file system, read our article. But if you have already decided to make your flash drive happy with the outdated FAT32 file system, then go ahead. Let's do this in the simplest possible way using Windows. We can apply GUI, or we can use the command line. Let's look at both options. Since the first method is much easier, let's start with it.
Open the “Computer” window, right-click on our flash drive (Caution! In my case, the flash drive is assigned the letter H:, in your case it may be a different letter) and select “Format”.

Here we select the FAT32 file system. Begin.

Attention! Formatting will destroy ALL data on that drive. We agree and click OK.

Formatting is complete.

That's all.

How to format a flash drive to FAT32 using the command line
I’m sure that if a real hacker (and that’s you and me) suddenly needs a flash drive with the FAT32 file system, he will certainly create it in command line. Be sure to open the command line as administrator

And enter the command
format /FS:FAT32 H: /q
/FS:FAT32 - for formatting we select the FAT32 file system.
H: - the letter of your flash drive.

/q - quiet mode.

To the question - Is a volume label not needed? Just press Enter.

The FAT32 file system is becoming obsolete and does not allow movies to be stored in good quality(HD, Blu-ray) and disc images, reduces the capabilities of your computer. A visible indicator of the need to replace FAT32 is the inability to copy files larger than 4GB to your storage medium. When transferring files, a copy error appears.
NTFS has good fault tolerance

NTFS has good fault tolerance. Monitors data integrity and automatically recovers in case of incorrect shutdown or random reboot computer. FAT32 - “loses a cluster” when shutting down incorrectly, the clusters become system and occupied, and are never used again.

Modern computers receive significant performance gains over FAT32. The main indicators for change file structure are specifications computer: more than 256 MB of RAM and a hard drive with more than 1 GB of memory.

Before converting FAT32 to NTFS, you need to remember that FAT32 works without problems with almost any systems and gadgets. The compatibility of NTFS with obsolete equipment or specialized devices needs to be clarified. If this is not done, then your storage device, when interacting with a TV or tablet, will go into “Read only” mode, which will make it impossible to work with them.

How to convert from FAT32 to NTFS without losing files

Translating the format is in itself potentially dangerous for data safety. If there are power problems during the conversion process, you will probably lose some data. Therefore, before starting the process of changing the file system, important data must be saved on other media.

To convert the format, it is advisable to close all running programs, check the disk for system errors and perform defragmentation. To do this, go to “Computer”, select required disk and pressing right key mouse select “Properties”. Go to the “Service” tab.

To switch to NTFS you can use system utilities or third party programs. If there is data on the storage device and there is no way to transfer it to other media, you can reformat the hard drive or flash drive to NTFS without losing data.
Having administrator rights, go to the command line:

Fig.1. For Windows 7, click “Start”, “Run”
Fig.2. Type the command “cmd” and click “ok”
Fig.3. After that, use the “convert” command with the necessary keys

For Win 8, while on the desktop, press the “Win + X” button.

To change the file system to NTFS for drive D: enter the command: convert D: /FS:NTFS
If you need to change the system on another volume, then replace its name, that is, change the letter from D: to the required one.

The time to reformat FAT32 to NTFS depends on the size of the memory drive, how full it is with data, and the power of the computer on which the conversion is performed. For a flash drive, writing and reading speed matters. The hard drive conversion process takes place long time(few hours).

What is the RAW file system and how to return NTFS format without data loss - in this article we will look at these issues in detail, as well as recovery methods.

It often happens that after an incorrect shutdown of your computer, for example, if you unplug the cord from the socket or the power in your house is suddenly turned off, or your computer has experienced a virus attack, an unpleasant situation may occur. The disk file system on your computer or laptop changes its format to RAW and for proper operation device (as a rule, you want to do this as quickly as possible), you need to return it to NTFS format.

What is a RAW disc?

So, file type RAW systems, let's figure out what it is. RAW system – non-existent system. If the computer indicates that the storage medium has this format, then the drivers cannot determine the type of its file system (FAT, FAT32 OR NTFS).

If the media has received the RAW format, Windows 10 OS will display it among the hard drive partitions, but any actions with it will be impossible, such as defragmentation, checking for errors, and, of course, viewing the data on the disk. The computer will constantly give an error and prompt you to format the disk, and in the “properties” line logical drive» “RAW” will appear. So how do you restore a file system from RAW to NTFS format on a hard drive?

Restoring a file system from RAW to NTFS

The system will offer you the easiest way - to format the disk. But don’t rush to do this, because your data is not lost, now there is simply no access to it. If you format RAW disk to transfer the file system back to NTFS, you will have to restore data from the media for a long time using special programs. We offer several ways to restore a disk from RAW to NTFS without losing data.

Restoring a file system to NTFS from RAW without formatting

Method 1: Windows Tools

Mainly for changing the file system from RAW to NTFS, it helps standard utility from the operating system chkdsk. Follow these steps:

Right click "Start" and select "command prompt"
Type the command chkdsk drive_letter: /f
The computer will begin a scan, after which it will repair the damage and the NTFS system in the problem area

Chkdsk will also help if it is damaged system disk. For this you will need a flash drive or boot disk.

Here are your steps:

Start your computer from a flash drive or disk, and then select “Recovery”
Then open " Extra options", followed by "command line". There, enter chkdsk drive_letter: /f

Important!

When restoring, the partition letters may differ from the disk names. In order to prevent errors in operation, open the list of computer partitions in the command line, then enter diskpart, Then listvolume and you will see which drive is the system one. This will be indicated in the list.

You can also try from previously saved backups.

Method 2: Using special programs

Here's how to make NTFS from a RAW file system using third-party programs.

First of all, we recommend using free program Testdisk. This is a utility that interacts with partitions hard drive. She will help correct the situation. Disadvantage of working with Testdisk program The problem is that it does not work with Russian names and they may not be displayed correctly.

Here's how with using Testdisk convert RAW to NTFS:

RAW format on your flash drive

Reasons for conversion:

When the flash drive is connected, the computer is turned off incorrectly or there is a voltage drop
Windows crashes
Banal viruses
External damage to the flash drive, from impact or fall

How to change the wrong system format to the correct one:

converter gives good results MiniTool Power Data Recovery. The principle of its operation is that the program does not convert RAW to required format, but makes all the files on your flash drive visible, which makes working with them possible. The disadvantage of the program is that it is only free trial version, which works with files no larger than 1 GB.

How to use the program:

Also on our website you can familiarize yourself with the following topics:

Merging hard drive partitions on Windows 10
How to change sections of hard disk
How to change the page file in Windows 10

Almost every user has encountered a RAW file system error and wondered how to return to NTFS. To begin with, I would like to dwell in more detail on the reasons for the appearance of this very RAW and give some terminology.

So, RAW is not a file system at all. In this way, the OS identifies an unknown structure. By the way, RAW translated from English means raw material / raw material. NTFS – New Technology File System, translated from English - file system new technology.
You can name a number of signs that will help identify the problem when accessing a particular section. Windows may return the following dialog boxes and messages:

Resetting the disk structure to RAW type from NTFS and the appearance of such errors may be caused by the following factors:

sudden voltage surge;
incorrect disconnection of disks from power supply;
incorrect OS update at any stage;
bad sectors;
unstable work motherboard;
damaged cables;
virus attack;
If an error occurs with a USB screw/flash drive, you should also check the connector itself.

There are a number of ways to return a file system to NTFS from RAW, but we will start with the one that minimizes risks and helps preserve the data structure and the data itself. So, how do you return the disk to RAW format to NTFS without data loss? Let's look at several methods in order, starting with the simplest.

Classic restart

No matter how trite it may sound, but simple reboot sometimes it helps to return the file system from RAW to NTFS. It's connected with temporary failure. If this method does not help, move on.

Checking connections

If you have a desktop PC and it is not under warranty, open system unit and carefully check the integrity of all wires, connections and their tight fit. The check did not find anything, just try reconnecting the disk into a free slot on the motherboard.
If the netbook/laptop is under warranty or not, contact the service center.
If we're talking about about removable media, reconnect it to another USB connector. If the situation repeats, check usb performance another device - mouse, keyboard, other media, etc.

First you need to exclude a physical malfunction, and then move on to software solution. The above methods did not help to return the file system from RAW to NTFS? Go ahead.

Check Disk will help with NTFS

Checks hard drives and removable media for the presence of bugs in the file system with further correction. In some cases, this will help return the PC to working condition.
Launch cmd with elevated privileges:

No access to cmd?

The situations are completely different: if Windows does not boot, then there is no access to the command line. Naturally, there is no way to run Check Disk utilities with SFC.

Use live discs on CD/DVD/flash drive.
Take advantage boot disk or a flash drive for NTFS recovery:

To avoid errors, use the DiskPart utility:

After reboot, don't forget to return boot device– install the system disk.

If you have a desktop PC, you can disconnect the hard drive and connect it to another and run the scan from a different operating system.

Antiviruses will return NTFS

Check your system for viruses. The following will help:

MALWAREBYTES – trial version works fully for 14 days, you can download it from the official website.
https://ru.malwarebytes.com/premium;
Dr.Web CureIt! – free for use at home, you can download it from the developer’s website by following the link.
https://free.drweb.ru/download+cureit+free.
By excluding virus attack, and if it was not possible to return the normal file system, proceed to further instructions.

Formatting or how to return NTFS

One of simple ways To return the hard drive to its normal state is to format the disk, but this can only be done if nothing important is stored on it. You can convert RAW to NTFS using the built-in Windows utility- diskmgmt.msc.

Third-party tools to help the NTFS file system

Even verified people can return a file system from RAW to NTFS third party tools, which have proven themselves with the best side.

Recuva - from the well-known developer Piriform, they also created CCleaner.

We will download the program from the official website and select the version with a free license.