Changing a new seagate disk or an old damaged seagate usb disk file system fat32/ntfs/hfs+ etc may need formatting. Or you may try diskpart convert fs cmd to change seagate disk to fat32/ntfs without losing data.
If it's a brand new seagate disk, it's safe to initialize it in disk management; if it's an old disk that went wrong, here are also ways to fix the seagate disk without formatting.
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Repairing a Seagate disk without formatting can be challenging, as certain disk issues may require formatting or other drastic measures. However, you can try the following methods to repair the disk without formatting:
Check Disk Errors: Use disk diagnostic tools provided by Seagate, such as SeaTools, to check for and repair disk errors. These tools can scan the disk for bad sectors or logical errors and attempt to fix them. Run a thorough scan and follow the instructions provided by the diagnostic tool to repair any identified issues.
Video: how to use SeaTools to repair a damaged disk
SeaTools for Windows download link:https://www.seagate.com/content/dam/seagate/migrated-assets/www-content/support-content/downloads/seatools/_shared/downloads/SeaToolsWindowsInstaller.exe
Use Data Recovery Software: There are various data recovery software options available, such as iCare Recovery Free, Disk Drill(commercial), or Recuva. Install a reliable data recovery tool, connect your Seagate disk to your computer, and run the software to scan for recoverable files. These tools can often retrieve data even from corrupted or inaccessible disks.
Use Disk Utility (macOS): On macOS, you can utilize the built-in Disk Utility to repair disk errors. Open Disk Utility, select the Seagate disk, and click on the "First Aid" or "Repair Disk" option. Disk Utility will attempt to fix any file system errors or inconsistencies on the disk.
Try a Different Data Cable or Port: Sometimes, connectivity issues or faulty cables/ports can cause disk problems. Try using a different USB or data cable and connect the Seagate disk to a different port on your computer. This simple step can sometimes resolve the issue.
Update Disk Drivers: Ensure that you have the latest drivers installed for the Seagate disk. Visit the Seagate website and download any available driver updates for your specific disk model. Outdated drivers can sometimes cause compatibility or performance issues.
To update the Seagate disk driver on Windows, you can follow these steps:
Updating the driver for your Seagate disk can help ensure compatibility, performance, and stability. It's recommended to keep the disk drivers up to date to avoid any potential issues and take advantage of any improvements provided by Seagate.
Seek Professional Help: If the above methods fail or the disk exhibits severe physical damage, it's recommended to consult a professional data recovery service or contact Seagate support for further assistance. They may have advanced tools and techniques to repair the disk or recover data without resorting to formatting.
It's important to note that if the Seagate disk has significant issues or data corruption, formatting may be necessary to make the disk usable again. Always prioritize data backup and consider professional assistance if the data on the disk is critical or irreplaceable.
Formatting a Seagate disk to FAT32 or NTFS using the Command Prompt (diskpart) without losing data is not possible. Formatting a disk involves erasing all existing data on it. If you want to change the file system without losing data, you would need to perform a conversion process, which can be done using the following steps:
Please note that the conversion process can take a significant amount of time, and there is still a small risk of data loss or corruption. It's essential to have a backup of your data before attempting any disk-related operations. If your data is critical, it's recommended to back up your data, format the disk, and then restore the data from the backup.
Note: You need to use data recovery software such as iCare Recovery Free to retrieve data from damaged seagate disk at first, and then you may safely do the formatting on Windows/MAC.
Plus note: If you need a backup, we would recommend a disk clone free tool IM-Magic Partition Resizer that can help clone the whole seagate disk to another disk as backup to avoid possible missings.
To format a Seagate disk in Disk Management with either the FAT32 or NTFS file system on Windows, follow these steps:
To initialize and format a Seagate disk using Disk Management in Windows, you can follow these steps:
Note: Initializing and formatting a disk will erase all data on it, so make sure you have a backup if needed.
After completing these steps, your Seagate disk will be initialized, formatted, and ready to be used for storage or other purposes.
To format a new Seagate disk on a Mac, follow these steps:
Step1. install the data recovery utility and run it to recover.
Step2. Choose the Seagate disk drive that shows RAW file system, and scan it. You can wait during the scanning.
Step3. Preview files before recovery. And choose the files need to be recover and store them to another safe place.
There are two possible cases that you may want to change the seagate file system raw to ntfs fat32:
One: the file system is damaged and reports raw, it alters you "Format the disk before you use it", the trueth is that you already formatted it before using it and you have used it to store data a long time ago. Why it warns your to format it twice? It is because the file system sector is damaged like virus attack or other software malfunction.
Advice: use iCare Data Recovery for raw seagate USB hard drive data recovery for free, besides seagate disk, it would also restore files from other hard disk, memory card, usb flash ect.
Two: it is the first time that you use your disk, then just format it with the format operation of Windows.
1. You cannot recover data by converting the Seagate disk drive from RAW to NTFS or FAT32, so you had better not format the RAW disk drive before all files can be restored. Many people believe that they can fix data lose problems as long as the files are able to convert the RAW disk drive back to NTFS or FAT32. However, the truth is that you can use data recovery utility to restore the lost files.If you want to convert the RAW disk drive to NTFS or FAT32, then you may format the disk drive after data recovery.
2. You should not save the recovered files to the original disk drive that shows RAW file system, instead, you can store those recovered files to any other partition or storage device.
RAW, NTFS and FAT32 are file system on Windows OS. However, only FAT32 and NTFS file system can be recognized by Windows operating system. When a disk drive has RAW file system, the space of this drive might become 0byte. Windows system will mark the disk drive as unformatted disk, so it often asks you to format the device before you can use it. NTFS and FAT32 file system have different features and advantages. You are able to access a NTFS disk drive or FAT32 disk drive normally on Windows OS.
Last updated on Sept 10, 2024
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