This is probably the most common question people ask on this forum once they have succeeded in getting CHDK to load and run. CHDK RAW files are not the same thing as the RAW or CR2 files produced on DSLDR and higher end P&S cameras. They are simply a dump of the raw information directly from the camera sensor. They contain no format or size information to tell a PC software package how to interpret the information they contain.
Having said that, some PC software packages can guess the layout on the sensor information in the file based on the file's size if the author of that package has been informed that a new CHDK port has been released and told of the file format.
Until that happens, outslider's advice is the best path forward as DNG format files contain the information necessary for PC software to interpret the image data.
Here's some additional reading if you would like to learn more :
link> CHDK Wiki Page about RAW
link> CHDK Forum thread on RAW
link> CHDK Wiki Page about Raw Software
link> CHDK Forum Board for RAW
thanks for such a detailed response. it was filled with potentially useful thoughts and info. unfortunately, it still hasn't solved my problem. i downloaded a few of the converter programs, and when i tried to import a file, all 3 said, more or less, the same thing as Photoshop did. so i gotta wonder if somehow i'm doing something wrong with those programs (which seems unlikely, as there's not much to "do" with them), or if maybe i need to set my RAW parameters a certain way, or something else, which i have no idea of what. i also read through the 3 pages of the CHDK & RAW, the beginners thread, and there's something about badpixel.bin vs badpixel.something else, to change to DNG format, to make it work directly from the camera (no, wait... that was in a different thread, but for the same problem, but i did read through the aforementioned thread), or something, but so far, nothing is working. if anyone would give me some specific, detailed steps for to take, so i can use these RAW files i'm making, or to make them right in the first place, if i am indeed messing them up somehow, i would sure appreciate it. a little info about my RAW settings, in case that matters (and if you know, would you please tell me if it matters, either way? i'd just like to know), here they are:
RAW file prefix [CRW]
RAW file extension [.CR2]
Raw subtract prefix [CRW]
Raw subtract extension [.CR2]
Bad Pixel Removal [RAWconv]
that should do it. i await your helpful response(s)
P.S. also, if anyone knows if/where i can get scripts to let me shoot in timelapse, motion detecting, quick burst shooting, and any other fun/helpful stuff, that would be super too.