The Tech Library

Has one of your hard drives or partitions suddenly appeared as "not formatted"? Or disappeared from "My computer"?

This situation is typically caused by moving the drive from one computer to another or reinstalling Windows.

If the drive/partition appears as Unallocated or RAW in Disk Management - then the partition table (or MFT) might be missing or corrupt.
To open XP's disk management: Right click "My computer" > choose "Manage" > Disk Management (the procedure is similar in Vista).

The partition table (MFT) can be repaired with a freeware program called TestDisk.
None of your data will be altered or deleted IF YOU FOLLOW THE STEPS DESCRIBED BELOW.

Download the Windows version of TestDisk and unzip it to your C: drive.
Open C:\testdisk-6.10\win and double click the testdisk_win icon.

TestDisk runs in a "command" window and doesn't have to be installed.
Use the keyboard's arrow keys to navigate.

The steps below (A, B, C...) correspond to a new TestDisk window.

A. First screen. Select "No log" and press the <Enter> key.


B. Choose the drive to analyse, select "Proceed", then press <Enter>.


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


D. Choose "Analyse", then press <Enter>.


E. Select "Quick search", then <Enter>.


F. Press "Y" if the partitions were created with Vista - "N" if not.


G. If TestDisk says "Structure OK" - press <Enter>.


H. Select "Write" and press <Enter>.


I. Confirm by pressing "Y".


J. Press <Enter> to finish the process.



Close TestDisk and REBOOT the computer.
Your hard drive and data should now be available again.


In some cases running TestDisk from a Linux based boot CD will be the best, or only, solution.
Parted Magic is such a bootable disc and can be downloaded here: http://partedmagic.com/wiki/PartedMagic.php

Boot the computer from the created CD. When Parted Magic has loaded - click the arrow next to the Utilities icon and choose TestDisk (see image below).
Then follow the steps described above.

Leave your comment:
Name:
Email:
Comments:
	Security Check Refresh Note: Emails will not be visible or used in any way, and are not required. Please keep comments relevant. Inappropriate or offensive may be edited and/or deleted. No HTML code is allowed. Line breaks will be converted automatically. URLs will be auto-linked. Please use BBCode to format your text.

� 2008 Nicholas. This article may not be reproduced, in part or in whole without the express permission of the author.