cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

I've had a slight mishap with a Windows 7 system drive. Embarrassed
There was the main partition and a small partition which I accidentally deleted.
I cannot now access the main partition and would like to recover this partition and make it accessible again.
There are loads of free applications but they tend to offer limited drive space recovery or file view only, The drive is 1TB.
Can anyone recommend a good one at a reasonable price...please Smiley
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
46 REPLIES 46
avatastic
Grafter
Posts: 1,136
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Partition Recovery

Are you adverse to Linux live CDs?
Something like http://www.sysresccd.org/SystemRescueCd_Homepage should be up your ally.
F9 member since 4 Sep 1999
F9 ADSL customer since 27 Aug 2004
DLM manages your line the same way DRM manages your rights.
Look at all the pretty graphs! (now with uptime logging!)
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Partition Recovery

Quote from: avatastic
Are you adverse to Linux live CDs?

Absolutely not, I've used them quite a lot.
I'll have a closer look at that package.
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
avatastic
Grafter
Posts: 1,136
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Partition Recovery

It's not one I've used myself, I tend to go for a generic Ubuntu / Debian Live CD and use the command line tools I'm familiar with.
F9 member since 4 Sep 1999
F9 ADSL customer since 27 Aug 2004
DLM manages your line the same way DRM manages your rights.
Look at all the pretty graphs! (now with uptime logging!)
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

I imagine you have killed some files use in the boot process.  Booting from the Windows disc should enable you to fix the problem without needing to recover your deleted partition.  See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392 if the computer does not peform this operation spontaneously.
Conversely, I doubt that any recovery software would work accurately enough to help.
ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
Thanks: 631
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

Quote from: Strat
There was the main partition and a small partition which I accidentally deleted.

Does that mean you accidentally deleted only the small partition, but after that you then couldn't access the main partition? What do you mean by "cannot now access the main partition"? Do you mean the computer doesn't boot from that disk, or that there's no trace of any partition on the disk if you connect the disk to another computer or boot a live CD?
The software on Live CDs for recovering deleted partition table entries is http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

I deleted the small partition. Now when I access the remaining partition on that drive it tells me the drive needs formatting.
it's not the drive I boot from but it is the previous windows boot drive.
I'm out just now and on my phone.
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

so it appears that you deleted the MBR which Windows set up - of course I could be wrong
gtowen
Rising Star
Posts: 379
Thanks: 13
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎05-05-2013

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

Not sure about the partition you mean, is it the system reserve partition that a new install of win 7 creates ? If so you have deleted the boot manager.
This may help.......
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71363-system-reserved-partition-delete.html
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

I'll clarify when I get home.
Thanks for the interest so far, its much appreciated.
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

Having read gtowen's link I believe I need to take the offending disc out of my PC and install it in a PC on it's own to work with.
Basically I had a PC with a standard hard drive on which Windows 7 was installed as the operating system.
I recently purchased an SSD and installed it into my PC.
I disconnected the old Windows drive, did a fresh install of Windows 7 on the SSD and made it the boot drive in BIOS.
I then reconnected the old drive in order to access anything that had not been backed up to my NAS drive.
The old Windows drive was now showing as 2 partitions, F and G, F being the System Reserved of the old Windows and G being the old 'C' drive.
I deleted the System Reserve partition in Disk Management and then found I could not read the G drive.
Sorry if I have not made myself clear. Sad
I'm a compulsive fiddler and should live by the motto "If it's not broken don't fix it" Embarrassed
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
gtowen
Rising Star
Posts: 379
Thanks: 13
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎05-05-2013

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

That link was only if you wanted to make the drive bootable again. If not, any linux live cd could be used to gain access to the drive and transfer any data you wish to keep to another drive....... then using gparted on the linux live cd I'd format the whole drive thus rebuilding the mbr Smiley
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

Thanks everyone for your help Smiley
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

Quote from: gtowen
That link was only if you wanted to make the drive bootable again.

But it would still almost certainly do the trick and render the missing partition visible again in Windows.
Strat, "System Reserved" means "Do Not Touch".
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Partition Recovery Software advice needed.

RR I suppose I sort of knew that but as I said I'm a compulsive fiddler and can't leave things be if my curiosity is aroused Embarrassed
Thankfully it's not the end of my world.
I now have a folder on my NAS drive full of 1000's of anonymous files of different sorts.
Windows 10 Firefox 109.0 (64-bit)
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine