Cant view logical partitions in windows explorer after reinstall


  1. Posts : 5
    Win 7 x64 Home
       #1

    Cant view logical partitions in windows explorer after reinstall


    Hi guys,
    i have a 1 terabyte drive set up with dual boot windows 7 operating systems.
    It is partitioned into 4 with original drive letters
    1. contained an older version of Wind 7 (C:\)
    2&3 contained data storage (D:\ and E:\)
    4. contained a new version of Win 7 (F:\)
    I attempted to change motherboards and stuffed up the sysprep.exe process somewhat. I did get the older OS (C:\) up and running again but since it has a registry problem unrelated to this (from a virus i got about 6 months ago and removed) i decided to reformat c:\ drive and start again.
    The second Win 7 OS (f:\) basically is stuffed...not that im worried about it as i had only just installed it recently and hadnt put anything important on that partition anyway.
    Since i have reformated c:\ and put a new win7 OS on it, i am now unable to view the d:\ and E:\ drives in windows explorer!
    I went into control panel>computer managment>disk management and am able to see the missing partitions (labelled D:\ and E:\).
    What do i do in order to recover the data off D:\ and E:\ partitions???
    i tried using Piriform's software program called "Recuva" but it cannot see those drives either...instead finding all the files on c:\ and F:\ (which it lables as C:\ and D:\ because it cannot see the other 2 partitions)
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Cant view logical partitions in windows explorer after reinstall-drives.png   Cant view logical partitions in windows explorer after reinstall-drives-windows-explorer.png  
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 72,050
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #2

    Hello Adam,

    It appears that you should be able to just add drive letters to your 195.31 GB and 195.32 GB primary partitions in Disk Management to be able to have them available in the Computer window. Logical partitions would be the blue one instead.

    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ndows-7-a.html

    Hope this helps, :)
    Shawn
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #3
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 5
    Win 7 x64 Home
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Brink said:
    Hello Adam,

    It appears that you should be able to just add drive letters to your 195.31 GB and 195.32 GB primary partitions in Disk Management to be able to have them available in the Computer window. Logical partitions would be the blue one instead.

    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ndows-7-a.html

    Hope this helps, :)
    Shawn

    Hi Shawn,
    i cant seem to change the drive letters on these two missing drives...i get an error saying i need to refresh...but refresh doesnt make any difference (i havent tried a restart as yet, but will after i submit this post).

    Having said the above, i can right click on the last drive (345 GB Healthy logical...) and was able to change its drive letter no problem.

    Just wondering, what would happen if i right clicked on the two 195 GB partitions and choose the "make active option"? (windows warns me that i should only choose this option if they have a functioning OS on them or my computer might stop working)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 5
    Win 7 x64 Home
    Thread Starter
       #5

    update shawn,
    i restarted computer and still get same error...it keeps wanting me to refresh, but the refresh doesnt work!
    any ideas???
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5
    Win 7 x64 Home
    Thread Starter
       #6

    I have also downloaded the partition wizard software you pointed me to...got it running now...will hopefully get some results!
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #7

    adamjedgar said:
    Brink said:
    Hello Adam,

    It appears that you should be able to just add drive letters to your 195.31 GB and 195.32 GB primary partitions in Disk Management to be able to have them available in the Computer window. Logical partitions would be the blue one instead.

    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ndows-7-a.html

    Hope this helps, :)
    Shawn

    Hi Shawn,
    i cant seem to change the drive letters on these two missing drives...i get an error saying i need to refresh...but refresh doesnt make any difference (i havent tried a restart as yet, but will after i submit this post).

    Having said the above, i can right click on the last drive (345 GB Healthy logical...) and was able to change its drive letter no problem.

    Just wondering, what would happen if i right clicked on the two 195 GB partitions and choose the "make active option"? (windows warns me that i should only choose this option if they have a functioning OS on them or my computer might stop working)
    Leave the first partition ACTIVE!! it has the boot manager and boot menu.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5
    Win 7 x64 Home
    Thread Starter
       #8

    yeah i did that.
    In the end, i rang a computer guru mate of mine and he said that realistically the easiest solution was to use a data recovery program. I downloaded "MiniTool Power Data REcovery" (cost me approx $70 and was worth every cent). I have now almost completed recovering all of my data off the middle 2 drives. I reformated the other 2 and should be back up and running with all of my old programs reinstalled soon.

    Thanks for your help
    adam
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:29.
Find Us