Solved ALL data on C Drive Deleted including Windows Install-Failed To Boot

[NateThug]

I was installing Ubuntu on a separate partition and in the ubuntu install I was partitioning the C Drive and then it said loading for 45 mins so I shut down my pc with the power button and it boot from the ubuntu cd and then in the partition menu it said that the c drive was free space. I hit quit, removed the install dvd and then it says windows failed to boot. What do you want to boot to? Windows 7 or Ubuntu but they both dont work. Ubuntu wasn't even installed.

 

[Ztruker]

Try running Startup Repair up to 3 times, see if it fixes it.

How to Run a Startup Repair in Windows 7

 

[gregrocker]

How were you partitioning the C drive during Ubuntu install? You should have shrunk it in Disk Mgmt, then created from the shrink space your Ubuntu partition during its install. It sounds like you lost your Win7 partition.

You can browse in with the Win7 installation media or System Repair Disk to see if you can see your files or anything else, using Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console.

If C appears to be intact then using the same disk's System Recovery Options Command Line confirm that 100mb System Reserved (if you have it) or C (if you don't) is Partition Marked Active then run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times.

 

[NateThug]

I was shrinking the partition to make space for the ubuntu install. I opened My Computer in the load drivers menu and I have 3 options:
Boot (X 21.0 MB out of 31.4
System Reserved (C 239 MB out of 349 MB
Local Disk D) (My CD/DVD Drive)
I ran startup repair 3 times and the first 2 times it said it could not repair my computer but the third time it saidrestart your pc and see ifit fixed it but it did not.

 

[AddRAM]

Startup repair does not always work to fix windows

 

[gregrocker]

Which was the partition marked Active? Did you skip that crucial step?

Other last resort steps in Troubleshoot Failure link under my pic below.

 

[NateThug]

Which was the partition marked Active? Did you skip that crucial step?

Other last resort steps in Troubleshoot Failure link under my pic below.

The troubleshoot failure link is not there. Also what do you mean by which was the partition marked active? Did you skip that crucial step? Thanks! Also is there any way to get some of my data back? Maybe installing a second os on a USB and run a file recovery program on the c drive from that OS?

 

[gregrocker]

All of that is contained in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start which was clearly visible under the picture if you'd looked. You need to be thorough, read and observe closely to resolve these problems.

 

[NateThug]

I thought you meant under your profile pic not your sig. Windows used to find the win y
7 partition and say it was 0 mb but i ran all the steps in the link and now it can't find it. I only need one answer now lol. Is there any way I can get my files back. I dont care about installing another os, hacking it (lol) i jut want to know if and how i can get my files back. Thanks

 

[gregrocker]

Rescuiing your files is discussed in the introduction and Step 11 in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start. Unless the partition has been deleted the files should be there to copy out as shown. If you cannot browse to them and copy them out then you'll need to try data recovery. But this is usually only necessary if deleted and in the vast majority of cases they are sitting there waiting.

I assume you didn't try everything in the tutorial to try to start Win7 since you didn't read the introduction which tells how to rescue your files. So you really haven't started to try to fix the OS until you work through those steps.

 

[RolandJS]

I have to leave work, when I get home -- I can research and give you some real good file/data recovery programs choices -- a few are free, some are not free. The Big Boys co$t some; however, a couple of freebies do quite well.

 

[RolandJS]

My point is NOT to sell you or to be a shrill for these tools, rather, my point is to let you know there are choices of several good data recovery programs. However, to my knowledge, none really offer a separate "folder" recovery function, only files recovery functions, partition recovery functions.

some free choices:
Wise Data Recovery
Piriform's Recuva
some pay-for choices:
ActivefileRecovery[demo].exe
EaseusDataRecoveryWizard[free=1GBlimit].exe
MiniToolpdrMediaBootBuilder.exe
MiniToolPowerDataRecovery68[Free1GBmax].exe
RestorerUltimate8[free=128KBlimit].exe
RStudioDataRecovery7.exe
RStudioFileUndelete4[free=64KBlimit].exe
StellarPhoenixWindowsDataRecoveryHome.exe

 

[NateThug]

I assume with a file recovery software I could get some of my files back but I need to install a program that requires me to boot windows. I am going to try to install Win 10 preview on a usb and then run the 2 programs I just mentioned. I will try the steps again. I tried to restore from registry backup but when I typed in
CD \windows\system32\config
it said the system cannot find the path specified. Thanks for all the help so far! Also I don't know if the files are still on the c drive because that partition was deleted. I will try what I put above.


EDIT: I just checked again and my c drive was turned into system reserved.
Here is a list of all the drives: C Drive: System Reserved
D Drive: Local Disc
X Drive: Boot

Just saw your post RolandJS. Would these work if the C drive got turned into system reserved as I mentioned?

 

[gregrocker]

I told you how to copy out your files, and you should have seen that step if you had been following the steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start like you said you had done.

Instead you continue to ignore the steps that have helped everyone else rescue their files and get Win7 started, going off on your own to try things that have nothing to do with this while ignoring my help like I'm not even here.

There is no evidence shown yet that your Win7 install is not still there and intact so that you can browse in using the methods in Step 11 to rescue your files. Having an install not show up to repair when booting into repair utility does not mean that it is deleted, only that the repair utility doesn' t see it. This situation is specifically dealt with by Step 5.

You can try data recovery software but it is not at all indicated here yet, so don't pretend like you've tried everything else because from what I see you have not even started yet.

 

[NateThug]

Believe it or not I have tried your guide. I also tried step 5 with the Bootrec.exe tool and it did not work. And me listing other options is not "ignoring my help like I'm not even here". I tried to copy out my files but they were not there. I will try the steps again but I have already tried them and they did not help.

 

[gregrocker]

I don't know that you've done any of these things if you don't report back. No steps were interacted with or reported back upon, yet you asked how to rescue files which should have been seen in the Intro and in Step 11. You also asked what confirming Partition Marked Active means when it is discussed at length in the Step 1. So why would I think you actually did the steps when the Intro and most important Step 1 were obviously not completed?

Remember that the drive letters will not be the same in Boot Mode, so browse into each drive to try to find the User folders.

 

[NateThug]

Ok I will try to set the active partition. I am in command prompt and there are disk 0 and disk 1. Disk 0 has 465 GB size and 0 free. Disk 1 has 58 GB size and 0 free. Which one do I set as active? I am guessing the 465 gb one because that is the size of the hard drive and that is where windows is/was installed. Sorry for not reporting back.

EDIT: I went with the 465 gb one and now there are 5 partitions in it.
EDIT 2: There was no 100mb partition so I tried marking each partition active 1 by 1 and partition 1 (300 something mb) gave me a windows failed to boot error: Status: 0xc000000f, File: \Boot\BCD, Info: An error occurred while attempting to read the boot configuration data. All the other partitions said cannot find an os or an error like that I can't remember the exact error.

 

[gregrocker]

Please follow the tutorial to List partitions and confirm 100mb System Reserved is set Active.

 

[RolandJS]

All of that is contained in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start which was clearly visible under the picture if you'd looked. You need to be thorough, read and observe closely to resolve these problems.

GregRocker said it best in his posts. My "last resports" can be a dangerous thing, 'cause they are a lot like fire-fighting -- the fire gets put out, but, the house may have suffered water damage and other effects from having the fire put out. Really thoroughly follow all of Greg's advice before venturing into data recovery programs.

 

[NateThug]

I have been searching google and I have tried these commands: (My windows folder is in x drive: boot but have tried x c and d for the drives.

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
(bcdboot path to your windows folder) bcdboot d:\windows
bcdboot.exe c:\windows /l en-us
bcdboot c:\Windows /s c: /l en-us