System Reserved Partition Disappeared

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  1. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
       #1

    System Reserved Partition Disappeared


    Hi,

    I decided to replace one of my 1TB (WD Black Label) drives (2 drives, 2 partitions on each HD, the system drive did not need replacement) since it became really slow and purchased a Seagate 1TB Barracuda drive (all Sata III).

    After the swap my computer stopped booting and BIOS didn't even see the original WD drive anymore.

    I installed Windows 7 (same installation disk as the original installation) on the new Seagate HD and copied all the information from the slow drive. After that I replaced the logic board on the non-working HD with the one from the slow one (same model) and it started working again.

    However, now I can't boot from this HD anymore ("Boot from CD/DVD" prompt).

    Windows disk management sees both original partitions (both listed as primary) on that HD, but does not see the system reserved partition.

    I would really benefit from having my original Windows installation restored (have a lot of paid software for which I don't have keys anymore).

    What has happened to my boot and system reserved partitions and what are my options here?

    Thanks in advance.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #2

    It sounds like the System Reserved partition was located on the 1TB WD Black you removed - this placement of the System Reserved partition is a common issue during installation, which is why its always best to only have one single HDD connected during the installation operation.

    Re-insert the 1TB WD Black and reboot the computer - if it boots as expected, then please run this so we can examine the partition layouts and determine a course of action:

    Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    The other disk only contains 2 partitions and that's it.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #4

    ?

    What other disk are you referring to? Can you boot your computer at the moment, or not?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I'll switch the WD drives (I can only have 1 active at the time because of the failed logic board) to double-check my previous statement.

    Here's the layout of the currently working WD (F: is the former system partition) and Seagate (Disk 0 and Disk 1 respectively).

    The Unallocated space on Drive 0 was created manually by me in order to re-create System Reserved space.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails System Reserved Partition Disappeared-layout-wd-seagate.png  
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    I have 3 disks at my disposal:

    New Seagate disk. I installed W7 on it and this is the one I booted up from.

    2 1TB WD disks. One of them is where the original W7 installation was. It is currently powered up and working. That's the disk I want to boot up from.

    The other WD disk (which I replaced with the Seagate disk) is not functional ATM. I have to switch the working logic board to make it work. I am pretty confident that it only has 2 data partitions and no System Reserved partition. However, I can verify that if you want me to (I am a little bit reluctant to replace hardware pieces without need, but that can be done if that's what you want me to).
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #7

    Please post screen capture image of Disk Management screen as per tutorial linked earlier

    OK, see you did that.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #8

    The easiest method may be to unplug DISK1, then boot from an installation DVD and run this:

    Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thank you for the advice. Which partition should I make active, the F: or the currently unallocated one? There is about 80GB of free space left on F.

    Also, can I make the partition active without rebooting (while Disk 1 is still attached)?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Thank you for the solution.
      My Computer


 
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