Thread: Recovering deleted partitions

Can you see them in the "Computer Management"?

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

While its not a partition recovery program we have been using
Recuuva with great success.
Recuva - Download

Originally Posted by Stuuu

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

Originally Posted by p38arover

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?

On three HDDs at once? That sounds unusual.

Originally Posted by abaddonxi

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.

Originally Posted by MinniTheMoocha

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.