How to Convert RAW to FAT32 Using CMD with Ease?

• Need to Convert RAW to FAT32 File System in CMD
• How to Convert RAW to FAT32 Using CMD Properly?
• Conclusion

Need to Convert RAW to FAT32 File System in CMD

Many users are looking for the method of changing RAW format to FAT32 file system on the Internet. Before discussing when you will convert RAW drive to FAT32, it is good to know what they are.

▌About RAW and FAT32 File System

A drive that has not been formatted or with unknown file system will be displayed as RAW in Disk Management and won’t show up properly in Windows File Explorer. If a normal formatted storage becomes RAW, the partition’s file system could be damaged or corrupted. RAW format is a type of file system that cannot be recognized by Windows 11/10.

FAT32 file system, along with NTFS and exFAT, is a partition format used to store files and commonly used by Windows operating system. Convert exFAT to NTFS is a common topic as well. The difference is that FAT32 format has the highest compatibility so that it can also be recognized by other operating systems. Therefore, many removable storages like micro SD card, pen drive, USB flash drive and memory card ought to be formatted with this kind of file system.

▌Why Convert RAW to FAT32 Using CMD?

Speaking of changing file system, Windows 11/10 provides more than Command User Interface (CUI), the Command Prompt. Then why choose the CUI type? In a nutshell, the CUI saves the steps of tedious clicking comparing with the GUI operation. As an advanced operation behavior, command lines supports unattended mission, that’s why it is so popular among professional IT experts. Well, how do you convert RAW drive to FAT32 in Command Prompt?

How to Convert RAW to FAT32 Using CMD Properly?

You can run command in CMD directly or input orders one by one in Diskpart. No matter you want to convert RAW to FAT32 in pen drive, memory card, SD card or USB flash drive, you may need to be aware of the inherent flaw of CMD first.

▌Convert Is Not Available for RAW Drives

Type command prompt in search box, right-click it and run it as administrator. Type convert F: /fs:fat32 at the prompt and press Enter, you’ll get the error message saying: Convert is not available for RAW drives. Similar errors emerge when you try to convert NTFS to FAT32 and convert RAW to NTFS using CMD. The “convert” syntax only works its magic from FAT32 to NTFS file system.

▌Format RAW to FAT32 in CMD

In order to change file system from RAW to FAT32 with command line, you need to use another command, format. In the aim of converting RAW to FAT32 without losing data, you’d better perform a sector by sector file backup. Then, start the formatting.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.

2. Type format F: /fs:fat32 (where F is the drive letter of the RAW drive) and press Enter. Press Enter again. Specify the partition label if you want to. It takes around twenty minutes to format this 32GB Samsung SD card in this example.

3. Type exit to leave CMD.

If there is no drive letter available on the RAW drive, you can, for example, format micro SD card from RAW to FAT32 using Diskpart. In Diskpart, the volume number of the RAW drive is available. To convert RAW to FAT32 in Diskpart:

1. Type diskpart in CMD prompt and hit Enter.

2. Type the following orders in sequence:

• list volume

• select volume n (where n is the volume number of the RAW drive)

• format fs=fat32 quick

• exit

Tip: you can also format bootable USB drive to FAT32 with the help of Diskpart.

In most cases, the RAW drive will be formatted to FAT32 in a short while. However, in a few cases, the format won’t complete due to its bad state, or the formatting process lasts for a long time. If you happen to encounter one of the unlucky situations, it is always good to get a worry-free workaround.

▌How to Format RAW Memory Card in CMD via Professional Software?

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is a comprehensive partition manager that allows you to format RAW drive to FAT32, NTFS or exFAT using Command Prompt. The partassist.exe utility in this software supports almost all operations of its GUI utility.  You can download the demo version and have a try.

1. Open Command Prompt and run as administrator as instructed. Type cd + the installation path of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional and hit Enter. For example, input cd C: \Program Files (x86) \AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro Edition 6.6 and press Enter.

To learn installation path, right click the desktop shortcut of AOMEI Partition Assistant and select Properties. In the pop-up window, you can find the installation path next to Startin, and then paste the path to CMD.

2. Type partassist.exe /fmt: F /fs: fat32 and press Enter. That means format F drive to FAT32. You can replace F with another drive letter.

3. Click on Yes at the prompting User Account Control dialogue. Then the formatting process will start immediately. It takes less than two minutes to format this 32GB SD card.

★Descriptions:

*/fmt: format; followed by partition number or drive letter.

*/fs: file system; can be followed by fat16, fat32, exfat, ntfs.

For more information about command line operations of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, please visit command line partition.

Tips: covered methods apply to format pen drive, memory card, SD card, USB flash drive from RAW to FAT32.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional also provides the graphical user interface for common users. You can easily format RAW drive to FAT32 within the easy-to-use wizard. Steps are: right click the RAW drive (it shows up as Unformatted) and select Format Partition; specify partition information and click OK; finally, click Apply and then Proceed to commit the operation.

Conclusion

To convert RAW to FAT32 using CMD, you can turn to Windows 11/10 built-in utilities as well as third-party professional formatting tool. To change partition file system from one format to the other, AOMEI Partition Assistant should be the most suitable tool for both beginner and experts. You can format USB to exFAT and convert system disk to GPT without losing data as well.