How to: Recover Deleted or Lost Partition in Windows 10 or 11

Help! Accidentally Deleted Partition in Windows 10

Accidentally deleted partitions leave most users in a dilemma, but with the right methods, it is possible to recover deleted or lost partitions in Windows 10 or 11. When a partition is deleted, it is marked as invisible in Windows Explorer. So, please take it easy and don't worry too much.

Why Is a Partition Deleted or Lost?

Here is a collection of the main causes behind deleted or lost partitions：

Some of them may further lead to a large amount of data loss, for example, you mistakenly delete partitions that are not where the operating system resides. Thus, some users still need to recover data from lost partitions, especially those who don't have backups created before. 

How to Recover Deleted or Lost Partition 

Here we collect 8 easy and effective methods to recover deleted or lost partitions, even specific files or folders, or damaged partition. You can choose the one  that suits you.

▶ Option 1. Restore Deleted Partition with TestDisk

TestDisk is a free disk repair and data recovery tool that you can use to recover deleted partitions. However, it lacks a GUI, and recovering deleted partitions can be a challenging task for users with no computer experience.

Step 1. Install and lanch TestDisk.

Launch TestDisk, click [Create], select the disk where you lost the partition, choose the partition table type, and then select [Analyze]. In the new window, choose directly [Quick Search] to continue.

Step 2. Search partition.

Wait for the analysis process to complete. Some warnings may be displayed. You just need to click [Continue]. Then, you will get the scanning result as shown below. Existing partitions and lost partitions are listed.

Step 3. Locate the deleted partition.

You can check if the missing partitions are listed by their start and end positions. Alternatively, you can highlight the partition and press “p” to check the files in that partition. In this way, you can determine if the partition is the one you want to recover.

Step 4. Recover the deleted partition.

If all partitions are available and the data is listed correctly, press Enter to continue. Then, select [Write] to save the partition structure. After that, the lost partition will be recovered soon. You need to open the Disk Management tool to add a drive letter for the partition. Now you can use the partition as usual.

▶ Option 2. Restore Deleted Partition with AOMEI Partition Assistant

AOMEI Partition Assistant is an alternative to TestDisk, which provides a user-friendly interface and easier steps than TestDisk.

● Provides 2 advanced scanning methods - Fast Search and Full Search.
● Successfully recover lost and deleted partitions from HDD/SSD/USB/memory cards, etc.
● Apply to Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP, and Vista.

Step 1. Install and launch this partition recovery software - AOMEI Partition Assistant. Click Partition Recovery Wizard and select a disk containing lost or deleted partitions. Then, click Next.

Step 2. Choose Fast Search or Full Search to scan and find lost partition(s) on the disk.​

Step 3. After scanning, it will show you lost or deleted partition(s) and ask you to select them. Do as suggested and click click Proceed to recover lost or deleted partition in Windows 10.

▶ Option 3. Recover Specific Files from Deleted or Lost Partition 🔥

If you just want to recover partition data instead of the entire partition, you can also try the data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery. It helps to recover lost or deleted Word documents, Excel files, photos, videos, audio, emails, and more than 1000 file types.

✦ Recover data from HDD or SSD drive, external disk, USB drive, SD card, etc., with a high success rate and fast speed.
✦ Search or filter data quickly through file name, extension, data type, etc.
✦ Preview and recover files while scanning. Don’t need to wait until the process is complete.
✦ Selectively restore files, not all of them.
✦ Work perfectly with NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ReFS file systems.
✦ Recover lost or deleted data due to accidental deletion, format, virus infection, system crash, etc.

Step 1. Start Windows data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery. Find the target partition and click Scan.

Step 2. It will scan the drive with Quick Scan. In addition, you can use the Filter and Search bar to narrow the scanned scope to quickly find the files you need. If the target file is still not found, click Deep Scan to search for more disappearing files on that drive.

You can also search for specific files (eg: PDF files) with Filter and it’s faster. Here are 3 options in the following:

• Type: It will contain all the file types in the local drive, such as, images, videos, documents, mails, webpage, compressed files, etc.
• Size: It allows you to filter file size from less than 128KB to 128KB ~1MB to 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.

To retrieve PDF files on lost or deleted partitions, click Filter > Type and select Documents. Then, input PDF in the Search for files or folders box.

Step 3. Select the deleted PDF files you want to recover and click Recover to restore PDF files on deleted or lost partitions.

Except for Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc, it still can recover deleted files from Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, etc.

▶ Option 4. Assign a Drive Letter for Lost Partition

If you know the partition is probably lost but not deleted, you can check if it is a particular partition (eg: recovery partition, boot volume, and OEM partition) in Disk Management or missing a drive letter. You can try to assign a new drive letter for it.

👉 From Disk Management:

Step 1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative tools and select Create and format hard disk partitions.

Step 2. Right-click the lost partition on your disk and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.​

Step 3. In the pop-up window, click Add. Then, select a drive letter and click OK to confirm this operation.

👉 From DiskPart:

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and select Run as administrator.

Step 2. Type diskpart and press Enter to open this tool.

Step 3. In Diskpart, type the following commands and press Enter.

● list disk
● select disk X
● list volume
● select volume Y
● assign letter=Z

▶ Option 5. Create a New Partition on Unallocated Space

If the lost partition shows as unallocated space in Disk Management, you need to create a new partition on it.

👉 From Disk Management:

Step 1. Open Disk Management. Right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.

Step 2. It will pop up a wizard to help you create a new partition. Click Next.

Step 3. Specify the partition size you want and click Next.

Step 4. Assign a drive letter and click Next.

Step 5. Select a file system (eg: FAT32, NTFS, etc) and click Next. It will format this disk and create a new partition automatically.

👉 From DiskPart:

Step 1. Run diskpart in the command prompt window.

Step 2. Type the following commands and press Enter.

● list disk
● select disk X (replace "X" with the hard drive number containing the lost partition)
● create partition primary [size=n] [offset=n] [ID=byte | GUID] [noerr]
● assign letter=Y (replace "Y" with an available drive letter)

▶ Option 6. Repair Damaged Partition with Chkdsk Command

If the corrupted file system is the cause of your damaged partition, you can try the chkdsk command. It will scan file system errors and fix it.

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and select Run as administrator.

Step 2. In the command prompt window, type chkdsk X: /f/r/x and press Enter.

Note: Replace “X” with the drive letter of your corrupted partition.

▶ Option 7. Repair Corrupted Partition with Bootrec.exe Command

The corrupted MBR also causes a lost partition. At this time, you need to repair MBR with the Bootrec.exe Command. It requires a Windows installation disc. If you don’t have such a disc, try to create a repair boot USB in advance.

Step 1. Insert the installation disc or repair USB into your computer. Start your computer, press a specific key (eg: F2, F10, ESC, etc) to access BIOS, and set the plugged-in device as the first boot option. Press F10 to save changes and restart.

Step 2. It will load the Windows 10 recovery environment. Click Next in the initialized window.

Step 3. Click Repair your computer > Troubleshot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

Step 4. In the command prompt window, type the following commands and press Enter in order.

• Bootrec.exe/fixmbr
• Bootrec.exe/fixboot
• Bootrec.exe/rebuildcd

Step 5. Wait until the process is complete and restart your computer. Then, check if the lost partition goes back.

▶ Option 8. Repair Lost Partition using SFC

The corrupted system files in the OS might turn non-booting disks bootable. Worry not, Microsoft offers users a system file checker to repair it.

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if you receive the User Account Control prompt.

Step 2. In the command prompt window, type sfc /scannow and press Enter. It will check the file system integrity and repair the found issue.

Step 3. Reboot the computer and check if your lost partition goes back.

Bonus tip - Avoid Partition and Data Loss Again

Whether your partition is lost, deleted, or corrupted, you can get it back quickly and easily if you don’t overwrite the “free” space. But sometimes it can be avoided. Here are some suggestions you can follow:

• Be careful while managing the disk or partition.
• Back up your disk or specific partition containing important files or folders. Free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard not only offers different backup options but also makes this process run automatically, which will be a good choice.

• Always keep your PC running in a clean and dry environment.
• Stay away from spam, malware, or dangerous websites that contain a high probability of viruses.
• Scan your disk with antivirus software regularly.

FAQs on Recovering Deleted Partitions

Written in the End

You can easily recover lost, deleted, or damaged partitions and data in Windows 10 or 11, etc as long as you don’t overwrite the “free” space occupied by the malfunctioning partition. If it’s damaged, you still need to repair it after getting your partition or data back.

However, if you are careful when dealing with a disk or partition, the partition and data loss sometimes can be avoided. Also, there are many things you can do. Among them, the most effective method is to create a sector-by-sector backup including everything on the disk.