How can I convert RAW to NTFS without losing data?

Tips
5

One small disagreement with @caminantenocturno and @sonhadordobosque: before assuming corruption, I’d also check whether the partition lost its drive letter or volume GUID after the reboot. I’ve seen Windows label a volume oddly while the underlying partition was still mostly intact.

Quick checks I’d add:

  • diskpart
  • list volume
  • list disk
  • select disk n
  • detail disk

If the partition size looks right, that matters. If the capacity is suddenly wrong, think hardware or enclosure first.

Also, skip any “convert RAW to NTFS” tool. That wording is marketing fluff in most cases. @mikeappsreviewer is right that recovery comes before repair, but I would separate two scenarios:

  1. Drive health fine, partition present, only file system unreadable
    Try a read-only scan with Disk Drill and preview files before saving anything.

  2. Capacity wrong, disconnects, clicks, SMART warnings, painfully slow reads
    Stop software experiments and image it first, or send it out if the data is truly irreplaceable.

Disk Drill pros:

  • easy preview
  • good at RAW scans
  • decent folder reconstruction

Cons:

  • deep scans can be slow
  • recovered filenames may be generic if metadata is damaged
  • not magic on failing hardware

After recovery, recreate the partition and format NTFS. If this is an external HDD, I’d also replace the cable/enclosure before trusting it again.