Partition Recovery: Recover Lost Partitions and Data

In cases of partition loss, backups are oftentimes unreliable for recovering everything, as they’re not usually configured to back up the entire partition. Most backup utilities are configured to back up only select files and folders instead. In such cases, data recovery software can sometimes be the only option.

For recovering a lost partition in Windows 11, we recommend Disk Drill. Simply install Disk Drill on a separate drive, scan the disk for the lost partition, and recover the data. Keep in mind, however, that you must have a separate disk that’s either the same capacity or more to store all of the recovered data.

There are a few choices for the best partition recovery software, depending on how you want to recover the data. 

Disk Drill is an excellent all-rounder that can tackle all types of data loss scenarios, including partition recovery. TestDisk is another good option that’s an open-source command-line tool and capable of recovering the partition without affecting the data, as it tries to fix the underlying file system errors. R-Studio is another great option that’s geared more towards advanced users, featuring support for all file systems and dedicated search by file signature. However, its high price reflects its quality.

A partition that’s not showing in File Explorer but appearing in Disk Management is likely caused by a missing drive letter. This is a simple fix, and can be done through CMD. Keep in mind that this is a fix rather than recovery method. Here’s how to restore a lost partition using CMD:

1. Open CMD as administrator.
2. Type diskpart and press Enter to launch the Diskpart utility.
3. Type list disk and press Enter to list all storage devices connected to your computer.
4. Type select disk x (replace x with the number of the storage device with the lost partition).
5. Type list volume and press Enter to list all volumes on the selected storage device.
6. Type select volume x (replace x with the number of the lost partition).
7. Type assign letter=Z to assign the specified drive letter to the lost partition (you can choose any drive letter that’s not already assigned to a device or drive).

You can recover a deleted partition in Linux using TestDisk:

1. Launch TestDisk.
2. Select Create to create a new log file.
3. Select the storage device with the deleted partition.
4. Select the partition table type.
5. Press Enter to analyze the current partition structure and search for lost partitions.
6. Perform a Quick Search for the deleted partition.
7. (Optional) Perform a Deeper Search to find deleted partitions that Quick Search wasn’t able to recover.
8. Select the partition you want to recover and choose Write.

You can fix a corrupted partition that’s visible in File Explorer and has a file system (isn’t RAW) using CHKDSK. For NTFS partitions missing a boot sector, CHKDSK can restore a backup of the boot sector to fix it. Here’s how you run CHKDSK:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Type chkdsk /f X:, replacing X with the letter of the corrupted partition.
3. Press Enter to execute the command.
4. Allow CHKDSK to scan and fix file system errors.
5. Once complete, files can be accessed on the partition if repair was successful.

A lost partition is one that is no longer visible or accessible from your operating system. A partition can be lost when the Master Boot Record of your hard drive is damaged or erased. You may also encounter a deleted partition which may appear as if it is lost. Data on the partition remains until the disk space is reused.

You can recover files from a delete partition with these steps:

1. Download, install and launch Disk Drill.
2. Choose the disk that contained the deleted partition.
3. Click Search for lost data to initiate the scanning procedure.
4. Review the data that can be recovered and choose the files you want restored.
5. Click Recover all to perform the recovery from the deleted partition.

Yes, but you can only recover a formatted partition following a quick format. When partitions are formatted, the data that resided on them is not immediately physically removed. Formatting makes space previously occupied available for use by the operating system. As long as the space has not been reused and the data was not overwritten by new information, and as long as a full format wasn’t performed, data recovery software can restore the partition’s files.

To recover a deleted partition from an external hard drive follow this procedure:

1. Connect the external hard drive to your computer.
2. Launch Disk Drill and select the external drive from the disk list.
3. Click Search for lost data to start scanning for files.
4. Preview the recoverable data and select the files for restore.
5. Click Recover to retrieve the selected data.

You can recover files from a partitioned hard drive using data recovery software like Disk Drill. However, how your hard drive was partitioned matters. Firstly, was it a quick or full format? Data can be recovered after a quick format, but not a full one. If it was reformatted with the same file system, the chances of recovery will be lower. And, how long has the disk been used? Disk activity increases the chance of files being overwritten. 

In any case, you should scan the drive with Disk Drill to see what data is available. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Install Disk Drill on any storage device except for the partitioned hard drive.
2. Launch Disk Drill and scan the partitioned hard drive.
3. Wait for Disk Drill to find all recoverable files.
4. Go through the scan results and select every file you want to recover.
5. Click the Recover button and select a recovery destination.