I messed up and deleted boot partition and made C: RAW format

1974darrenh · 22 Dec 2023

Hi.

Long story short - I accidentally messed up my partitions and now my C: drive ( with windows etc on it) is now in RAW format. I also accidentally deleted my boot partition 😡

I've recovered all the files off it ( which took 26 hours) but ideally I want to fix the original partitions as I don't want the hassle if possible of reinstalling windows and everything with it. Apparently I can convert RAW back to NTFS without data loss.

Next I need to add a new boot partition, which I believe can be done with Diskpart.

spunk · 22 Dec 2023

Since you have backed up all your personal files, the cleanest and easiest thing to do is a Clean Install of Windows. Then install any 3rd party apps you have and restore your backed up files.
Trying to fix the mess you made would take endless amount of time and just be a band-aid to a deeper problem.

Once you get your computer back the way you want, then, as we endlessly suggest here and every other forum, create a 3rd party System Image file like Macrium Reflect and save it to an External HDD.

SIW2 · 22 Dec 2023

Long story short - I accidentally messed up my partitions

It depends what you did. If it is a partition table error, diskgenius free version might be able to fix it.

Or you could try running a partition recovery program and see if that comes up with anything promising.

1974darrenh · 23 Dec 2023

I have Diskgenius pro

SIW2 · 23 Dec 2023

I have Diskgenius pro

Get it to check the partition table. If it cant find anything to fix, then you could try the partition recovery module

farrellart · 26 Dec 2023

If you have your personal files backed-up and saved on another disk/usb, just reinstall Windows and let that sort out the partitions, and then put back your personal files. Bosh! job done in less than 30mins.