Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - Have you "lost" a hard drive, partition or files in your computer?

**eneles** · 11-11-2007, 11:56 AM

Have you "lost" a hard drive or partition in your computer?

If there is a (hidden) recovery partition on the drive you should start a thread asking for advice before trying TestDisk.

The situation with a "lost" hard drive typically arises after Windows has been reinstalled or when a slave/external drive is moved to another computer.
If the drive/partition shows up in Device Manager and Disk management, but NOT in "My Computer", chances are that it is "only" the partition table that is missing or corrupt.

You can use a freeware program called TestDisk to repair the partition table and get access to your data again.
TestDisk will not change or delete any of your data if you follow the instructions below.

This guide is written for Windows, but you can use TestDisk with Linux and Mac as well.

Try this to repair the partition table:

Download the Windows version of TestDisk.
Unzip the downloaded file to your C: drive.
Open C:\testdisk-6.9\win > double click the "testdisk_win" icon.

The program runs in a command window and doesn't have to be installed.

Each of the steps (A, B, C etc) below corresponds to a new TestDisk window.
Use the keyboard's arrow keys to navigate.

A. At the first window, select “No Log” and press the <Enter> key.

B. Select which drive to analyse, choose “Proceed” and <Enter>.

C. Select partition type – Intel if it’s a PC then <Enter>.

D. Select “Analyse” then <Enter>. The drive will be analysed.

E. Select “Quick Search” at the next screen, then <Enter>.

F. Press “Y” if the partitions were created under Vista – “N” if not.

G. TestDisk should say “Structure OK”. If so, press <Enter>.

H. Select “Write” and press <Enter>.

I. Press “Y” to confirm.

J. Press <Enter>.

Close TestDisk and RESTART the computer.
The drive/partition should now be fixed and your data available again.

===========================================================================

If you want to run TestDisk from a bootable CD:
Please download and burn the ISO image of Parted Magic.
Boot the computer with the CD. When Parted Magic has loaded click the arrow next to the Utilities icon and choose TestDisk.

partedmagic2.jpg

============================================================================

If the drive still won't work after the steps described above - have a look here: [SOLVED] External HD not formatted all of a sudden

11-11-2007, 11:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
eneles Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sweden/Denmark Posts: 21,126 OS: 98SE/XP SP3/Vista SP1/Ubuntu 8.04 My System	Have you "lost" a hard drive, partition or files in your computer? Have you "lost" a hard drive or partition in your computer? If there is a (hidden) recovery partition on the drive you should start a thread asking for advice before trying TestDisk. The situation with a "lost" hard drive typically arises after Windows has been reinstalled or when a slave/external drive is moved to another computer. If the drive/partition shows up in Device Manager and Disk management, but NOT in "My Computer", chances are that it is "only" the partition table that is missing or corrupt. You can use a freeware program called TestDisk to repair the partition table and get access to your data again. TestDisk will not change or delete any of your data if you follow the instructions below. This guide is written for Windows, but you can use TestDisk with Linux and Mac as well. Try this to repair the partition table: Download the Windows version of TestDisk. Unzip the downloaded file to your C: drive. Open C:\testdisk-6.9\win > double click the "testdisk_win" icon. The program runs in a command window and doesn't have to be installed. Each of the steps (A, B, C etc) below corresponds to a new TestDisk window. Use the keyboard's arrow keys to navigate. A. At the first window, select “No Log” and press the <Enter> key. B. Select which drive to analyse, choose “Proceed” and <Enter>. C. Select partition type – Intel if it’s a PC then <Enter>. D. Select “Analyse” then <Enter>. The drive will be analysed. E. Select “Quick Search” at the next screen, then <Enter>. F. Press “Y” if the partitions were created under Vista – “N” if not. G. TestDisk should say “Structure OK”. If so, press <Enter>. H. Select “Write” and press <Enter>. I. Press “Y” to confirm. J. Press <Enter>. Close TestDisk and RESTART the computer. The drive/partition should now be fixed and your data available again. =========================================================================== If you want to run TestDisk from a bootable CD: Please download and burn the ISO image of Parted Magic. Boot the computer with the CD. When Parted Magic has loaded click the arrow next to the Utilities icon and choose TestDisk. partedmagic2.jpg ============================================================================ If the drive still won't work after the steps described above - have a look here: [SOLVED] External HD not formatted all of a sudden __________________ Click the banner for links Last edited by eneles : 07-20-2008 at 05:51 AM.