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How to Fix You Need to Format the Disk Before You Can Use It Raw?

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Published By Ashwani Tiwari
Aswin Vijayan
Approved By Aswin Vijayan
Published On March 18th, 2024
Reading Time 7 Minutes Reading
Category Recovery

When you insert an external hard drive into your local machine and try to access the files on it, if you pop up an error message, i.e., “you need to format the disk before using it”  what would you do in this situation? At this time, you need a permanent solution to resolve this error. In this article, we will provide you with an instant guide on fix you need to format the disk before you can use it raw.

In today’s arena, computers are basic for personal or professional use. Usually, people use the desktop in their daily routine or at their workplace. They may have some important files or folders stored on their hard drive. But a common and cumbersome problem with computers is the sudden and apparently abnormal disappearance of a hard disk that has been functioning appropriately. It can be a shocking experience to be told unexpectedly that your data, often irreplaceable documents, pictures, and videos, might be gone forever.

you need to format the disk before using it fix raw

The external hard drive becomes very useful when you need to copy large files between computers or back up your valuable files like photos, videos, documents, and other data. They typically have a large capacity and can be connected to any machine through a USB port or FireWire.

Most of the time, a user faces an occurrence of an error message, such as the need to format the disk raw. If you are also asked to format the disk when you plug in an external device like a USB flash drive, or SD card, in case of data loss, do not format the disk immediately. In some cases, the device will still not work even after it has been formatted. So, in this article, we are going to discuss the manual and professional solutions to fix this error in an appropriate manner. Initially, go through the below-outlined scenario to understand more about this error. The query is taken from the forum site:

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You Need to Format the Disk Before You Can Use It Raw—User’s Query

“I have a 4TB external hard drive that all of a sudden tells me it requires to be formatted. I have a total of 3.8 TB of files, pictures, videos and much more on that drive without any backups of it anywhere. So basically, when it is plugged in, every 5 to 10 seconds or so, it disappears and then again reappears with this pop-up message: “You need to format the disk in drive F: before you can utilize it. Do you want to format it?” Seriously, I do not want to format it, as that means I lose all my crucial data. So please provide me with an alternative to fix it. how to fix a raw drive without format it and using it to fix the raw error message effectively.”

First Save Your Files and After that, Format The Disk to Fix Error

There are multiple ways to repair this disk error. But there is no surety to getting positive outcomes using these manual solutions. So, here we come up with a secure solution to save your files first using Hard Drive Data Recovery Software to recover permanently deleted files from external hard drive.

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With the help of this tool, a user can easily and simply retrieve files. This recovery software is capable enough to scan the formatted disk within a few clicks. It is equipped with advanced features and functionalities. Moreover, it fixes this tiresome error without losing a bit of data. Use this software to secure your files and after that, format the disk to fix it. how to fix raw drive without format. with this utility external hard drive says it needs to be formatted without losing any information.

  1. Download the tool and install it on your computer.
  2. Select the disk partition and hit Scan Format.
  3. The tool will now scan the selected partition 100% of the time.
  4. The software will display all recovered files in the preview panel.
  5. Save all recovered deleted files from another hard drive by type.

Manual to Fix You Need to Format the Disk Before You Can Use It Raw Error

When you get this error message and want to get rid of this problem, try the below-listed solutions first. All the workarounds are discussed in a descriptive manner, which is easy to follow and to fix errors, you need to format the disk in drive raw:

Workaround 1: Insert the Drive-in Other USB Port

There is a possibility that the USB port into which you plug the hard drive is to blame. Probably the USB port is corrupted or something else happens to it. Thus, you can plug the drive into another port to check whether the error message is gone. If the error continues, turn to the next workaround.

Workaround 2: Check the Hard Drive for Errors Using CMD

  1. Initially, select the “Start” button and hit “Run.”.
  2. Now, type “cmd” in the field and hit the “Enter” key.
  3. Here, add “chkdsk n:/f” in the “Command Prompt” wizard, and after that, press the “Enter” key.
  4. Lastly, it will begin repairing damaged files and you will see some of your file names before it finally asks if you need to save lost chains in another location. When it completes, you can again try to read your external drive after restarting your PC.

you need to format the disk before using it

Workaround 3: Using Anti-Virus Scan The Drive to Fix Need to Format Error

Another potential possibility is that the drive is badly affected by viruses and malware. Therefore, you can run appropriate and reliable anti-virus software on your computer to scan the drive. If viruses get detected, scan them right away and retry to access the drive. If no virus is detected, you have no choice but to allow the error messages, such as formatting the drive.

Workaround 4: Format It and Retrieve Data from Backups

When you get these error messages, you first have to take a backup. Once you follow its command to format the disk, you have to continue data recovery. The best and most perfect case is that you have backed up your data immediately. It means that you are holding an existing data backup. In this case, you can easily recover your data from backups.

Note: If none of the above solutions work for you, then forcefully format the hard disk. After formatting, all files and folders will be erased from disk. So, the experts recommend that, before formatting the disk. First, recover all data files. A complete guide is listed below.

Summing Up

In this article, we discussed the methods to fix the format of the disk raw error. When a user faces this kind of desktop and hard drive related issues,. Then they require an ultimate solution. To resolve this, you need to format the disk before using it. In the above segment, we have also discussed the various ways to fix the  USB raw error.

But, in the manual technique, there are some limitations, like that it may permanently delete the user’s crucial data. Hence, users can opt for a third-party application to repair the issue simply and conveniently. Moreover, a user can select any one of them. They can use it as per their requirements; you need to format the disk before you can use it raw.

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