Partition - Mark as Inactive

How to Mark a Partition as Inactive in Windows 7 and Vista​

   Information

Marking a partition as active on a basic disk means that the computer will use the loader (an operating system tool) on that partition to start the operating system. Marking a partition as active if it doesn't contain the loader for an operating system may cause your computer to become unbootable.

This tutorial will show you how to mark a partition as inactive in Windows 7 and Vista in case you marked it as active by mistake.

   Tip

If you mark the wrong active partition as inactive by mistake and can no longer boot from it, then you can do a startup repair to fix it.

EXAMPLE: Partition Marked as Active and Inactive
NOTE: This is an example of my D: data partition shown as active by mistake in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc). I used the steps in this tutorial to mark it as inactive since my System Reserved partition is my true active partition instead.






Here's How:
1. Open a elevated command prompt, or a command prompt at boot.

2. In the command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 6)

3. In the command prompt, type list volume and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 6)
NOTE: Make note of the volume number or letter that you wanted to mark as inactive. At boot, the drive letters may not be the same as they are in Windows.

4. In the command prompt, type select volume # or select volume letter and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 6)
NOTE: You would substitute # for the volume number listed, or letter for the volume/partition letter. For example, I want to mark my D: partition as inactive, so I would type either select volume 2 or select volume D and press Enter.

5. In the command prompt, type inactive and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 6)

6. In the command prompt, type exit and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

7. Close the elevated command prompt in Windows, or restart the computer if at boot.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Mark a Partition as Active in Windows 7
• How to Delete a Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Extend a Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Create a New Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Shrink a Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Run a Startup Repair in Windows 7
• Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to Repair Boot Issues
• Bootmgr is missing - Fix

 

[SPEC13]

Thanks

That was useful!

 

[GDavidF]

Awesome again!
Another win provided by sevenforums.
Thanking you once again.
Regards,
Dave

 

[Brink]

I'm glad it could help David.

 

[cpmusic]

I'm just about ready to pull out what's left of my hair and then throw my PC through a closed window, because I cannot get Windows to recognize any hard drive to create an image. This includes drives that have never been used as a system drive. I've cleared and recreated partitions, I've tried both GPT and MBR, I've run "clean" in diskpart (no help), I've run "inactive" in diskpart (it tells me the partition is already inactive), and everything else I've found here, the Microsoft forum, and elsewhere. Nothing is making Windows find an external drive for creating a system image. The only thing it will turn up is my burner, and that won't do the trick for me.

I've also read that Partition Wizard can make this happen, but I can't see how. I have the latest version of that software.

I've had some serious frustrations lately with Windows, and I think this one tops them all.

I'll post some screen shots if I can remember my Photobucket login.

Please help?

 

[AddRAM]

So it does not show up in Disk Management ?

 

[Brink]

Hello Chris,

If you haven't already, you might test the hard drive with a program like SeaTools to make sure it's not failing or already dead.

SeaTools | Seagate

 

[cpmusic]

So it does not show up in Disk Management ?

It shows up in Disk Management, and as long as there's a partition it shows up in Windows Explorer, but Windows backup will not report it as a destination for the image.

 

[cpmusic]

Hello Chris,

If you haven't already, you might test the hard drive with a program like SeaTools to make sure it's not failing or already dead.

SeaTools | Seagate

That's a good idea, but I've tried this with three different drives, none of which has ever been a system drive, and they all fail to show up in Windows Backup.

I have a feeling I'll need to use a third-party program to create an image.

 

[Brink]

I have a feeling I'll need to use a third-party program to create an image.

Macrium Reflect would be a good choice if you do.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html

 

[cpmusic]

I have a feeling I'll need to use a third-party program to create an image.

Macrium Reflect would be a good choice if you do.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html

Thanks! I just downloaded it and made a rescue disk, and I'll give the image a whirl tomorrow.

 

[Brink]

Please let us know how it went.

 

[cpmusic]

Please let us know how it went.

Creating the image was quick and easy. I used an external drive connected via eSATA, and Macrium Reflect created an image of my C drive in less than 15 minutes.

Restoring the image wasn't necessary, but I wanted to try it to be prepared, so I used my previous SSD which I had messed up somehow. On the first try it reported that restoration was complete, but Reflect showed a second boot partition (actually, a copy), and Disk Management and Partition Wizard both reported that the entire drive was unallocated.

That was odd, but I had started with an unallocated drive, and from what happened I guessed that there has to be a partition on the drive before an image can be restored to it, so I created a simple partition on the M4, and when I tried again it worked like a charm. I'm running off that restored drive as I write this.

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Brink]

Great news Chris.