Recovering deleted partitions

[p38arover]

I don't know how but three of the four HDDs in my desktop are not accessible in Windows. I can see them in the BIOS and in Device Manager but they look like they are empty.

I suspect the partition information has been lost.

Can anyone recommend a good program for recovering the partitions.

All my photos and documents are on these drives. Yes, I had a back up - the back up is also one of the drives.

[Narangga]

Can you see them in the "Computer Management"?

[MinniTheMoocha]

I don't know how but three of the four HDDs in my desktop are not accessible in Windows. I can see them in the BIOS and in Device Manager but they look like they are empty.

I suspect the partition information has been lost.

Can anyone recommend a good program for recovering the partitions.

All my photos and documents are on these drives. Yes, I had a back up - the back up is also one of the drives.

Are they USB or SATA / PATA?
Were they mirrored or striped? If striped so you have one big disk then if one drive fails if can mean that all the data is lost.

But some things to try.

1. Reboot (the first thing to try and you may have done this already)
2. Reboot after disconnecting the extra drives and have only one extra one connected. Do this for each of the extra drives.
3. Check if the drives are visible in disk manager. Don't reinitialize them if prompted.
4. See if you can use the hard drives in another computer or put each hard drive into a USB caddy one at a time to see if you can see the data.

[djam1]

While its not a partition recovery program we have been using
Recuuva with great success.
Recuva - Download (http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download)

[p38arover]

Can you see them in the "Computer Management"?

Yes, but only as Disk 1, Disk 2, and Disk 3 - all showing as unallocated. (Disk 0 is drive C:)

[Narangga]

Yes, but only as Disk 1, Disk 2, and Disk 3 - all showing as unallocated. (Disk 0 is drive C:)

Had a similar thing happen. When you right click them what are the options?

[abaddonxi]

On three HDDs at once? That sounds unusual.

[Narangga]

On three HDDs at once? That sounds unusual.

Just on one - disappeared until I allocated it again or whatever the option was. Sounds simlar to what has happened to Ron.

[p38arover]

Are they USB or SATA / PATA?
Were they mirrored or striped? If striped so you have one big disk then if one drive fails if can mean that all the data is lost.

But some things to try.

1. Reboot (the first thing to try and you may have done this already)
2. Reboot after disconnecting the extra drives and have only one extra one connected. Do this for each of the extra drives.
3. Check if the drives are visible in disk manager. Don't reinitialize them if prompted.
4. See if you can use the hard drives in another computer or put each hard drive into a USB caddy one at a time to see if you can see the data.


Not mirrored. I don't know what striping is so I guess I don't have it. I'd better Google it.
Drive C: (visible) is IDE. The problem ones are all SATA.
Yes, I've rebooted with and without the drives. I've reinstalled Windows.
Disk Manager?
I don't have another computer to swap them to. Nor do I have a USB caddy. I guess I'll have to buy one.

[p38arover]

Had a similar thing happen. When you right click them what are the options?

Partition
Properties
Help

I assume that means I can only partition the drive. I don't want to do that just yet.

[p38arover]

On three HDDs at once? That sounds unusual.

You know me. :(

I also had the new HDD in my laptop fail at about the same time after less than a month's use (and the battery in my dedicated Rovacom/TestBook laptop).

[p38arover]

While its not a partition recovery program we have been using
Recuuva with great success.
Recuva - Download (http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download)

I shall Google it. Thanks.

[Narangga]

Partition
Properties
Help

I assume that means I can only partition the drive. I don't want to do that just yet.

Bugger - when it happened to me I was able to allocate or import or whatever it was and the disk returned to its rightful place in Windows Explorer.

[abaddonxi]

I used both Recuva and Pandora Recovery this week to get some jpgs of a friend's computer this week. Recuva did the job, a bit basic, worth a try.

Did you get struck by lightning, or just your usual luck?

[abaddonxi]

Could try this-
Partition Find and Mount — free partition recovery software (http://findandmount.com/) Don't know anything about it past a google search and a look at the website.

[p38arover]

I used both Recuva and Pandora Recovery this week to get some jpgs of a friend's computer this week. Recuva did the job, a bit basic, worth a try.

Did you get struck by lightning, or just your usual luck?

Just my usual good luck.

I just remembered I have Partition Magic 7.0 in a drawer. I'll have a look to see if it will recover deleted partitions.

[p38arover]

Could try this-
Partition Find and Mount — free partition recovery software (http://findandmount.com/) Don't know anything about it past a google search and a look at the website.

Ooh! Ooh! I'll try that.

[JDNSW]

I would try booting from a Linux CD or DVD (Knoppix for example as it has lots of utilities) and see if they are readable that way. If they are, copy onto an external USB drive.

John

[p38arover]

I'll give that a go if I have no luck, John. I struggle with Linux.

I'm currently trying the Partition Find and Mount that Simon suggestd and it seems to be working. I'm copying files to another drive as we speak.

[incisor]

search for an image of a hirens cd

on there there are several partition rrecovery programs that actually work...

you download the cd iso image, burn it to cd, boot from the cd select the recovery tool you want to try and away you go

hirens 10.5 is about the latest i think, maybe 10.6

[p38arover]

I downloaded Hirens. It has some useful stuff on it.

It has the Partition Find and Mount mentioned by Simon. I liked PF&M so much, I went and bought it. It's much faster when it's a registered copy!

I think I've recovered everything - except all my emails. However, there is a copy of my Outlook PST file on my old 250Mb boot drive which, while it boots into Windows doesn't allow me to access anything - the mouse doesn't work - but I can see everything using the programs on Hirens.

I don't want to corrupt anything on that drive but I need to copy everything off it.

Ideally, what I'd like is an image file so I can do a Windows repair or reinstall on the 250Mb drive then restore from the image without overwriting Windows.

I have a new 1Tb external drive sitting here waiting to be used.

Can one copy a 250Mb drive image onto a larger drive and then use that image to restore everything including all the programs and registry?

[abaddonxi]

Well that solves the unread email problem.:D


I don't think disk size is an issue with disk images.