Reinstalled Windows 10 BUT - I've lost my E Drive

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  1. Brad 63
    Posts : 30
    Windows 10 Ver 1909. OS Build 18363.592
       New #1

    Reinstalled Windows 10 BUT - I've lost my E Drive


    As the title says......my E drive has now vanished and............I think somehow there might actually be three copies of Windows 10 on my computer now.

    I'd been having trouble installing it because of Ubuntufied partitions

    Once that was solved, it installed three times in a row.

    I wondered if it was so happy at finally being able to install that it couldn't get enough of doing it.

    Then I realized....I'd left the USB with the installation software in situ. Of course it kept going in circles!

    So first - how do I get it to realize that there actually is an E drive there waiting to receive lots of lovely documents?

    And how do I find out if two useless iterations of Windows 10 are sitting about occupying space unnecessarily? And if they are, how do I get rid of them?

    BTW - It's the latest version. November 2019 downloaded yesterday and today from the Windows 10 website.
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  3. dalchina
    Posts : 42,992
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       New #2

    Please post a screenshot of your partitions using a 3rd party partition manager (not Disk Management) ensuring the text in all columns are visible, and for all disks.

    To post a screenshot see tutorial/use the icon above your post with tooltip Insert Image.

    What is the build number of your Windows? (as requested by the forum when you created your post). Thanks.
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  4. f14tomcat
    Posts : 56,830
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       New #3

    Brad 63,

    The 3rd party partition manager is this:

    Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Wizard Free

    Reinstalled Windows 10 BUT - I've lost my E Drive-2020-03-26_07h22_40.png

    Be careful when installing. It may have "Extras" offered that are already checked off. Be sure to read each screen carefully for hidden extra software. Not trying to spook you, just we've all been thru this before and we know MiniTool is the best for you to use, but it has a habit of wanting to install other things. Just keep your eyes open during install and you'll be fine.
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  6. Brad 63
    Posts : 30
    Windows 10 Ver 1909. OS Build 18363.592
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    Okay, thanks. I'll give it a try.

    - - - Updated - - -

    dalchina said:
    Please post a screenshot of your partitions using a 3rd party partition manager (not Disk Management) ensuring the text in all columns are visible, and for all disks.

    To post a screenshot see tutorial/use the icon above your post with tooltip Insert Image.

    What is the build number of your Windows? (as requested by the forum when you created your post). Thanks.
    Okay, it's Version 1909. OS Build 18363.592

    And here's an image of the partitions.
    Reinstalled Windows 10 BUT - I've lost my E Drive-partitions.png

    I suspect from looking at it there is more than one example of Windows 10 seeing as the only other things I've loaded are the Shell Windows 7 start button, the partition viewing and managing tool and Mozilla Firefox.

    - - - Updated - - -

    f14tomcat said:
    Brad 63,
    The 3rd party partition manager is this:
    I've got it. It looks interesting and it knows the E Drive is there. Now hopefully I can work out how to use it and get rid of unnecessary examples of W 10.
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  7. dalchina
    Posts : 42,992
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       New #5

    Hi, that appears to be a straightforward MBR installation at a quick glance. Presumably Disk 2 is meant to be your E: drive- all you need to do is to allocate it a disk letter, which you can do with Disk Management or your partition manager.

    The used space on C: is consistent with one Windows installation with little else installed.
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  8. f14tomcat
    Posts : 56,830
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       New #6

    Appears to be a Legacy install, not UEFI, if I'm reading that correctly.

    And the "E to be" drive just needs a drive letter. Either assign one, or since it's empty anyway, give it a quick format, it'll probably default to "E".

    Quick format might be better..... that "logical" designation doesn't look right. Should be Primary.
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  9. Brad 63
    Posts : 30
    Windows 10 Ver 1909. OS Build 18363.592
    Thread Starter
       New #7

    It's done! I gave it a quick format and applied the change and presto! It now appears in Explorer as a functional E Drive. And it's become primary too.

    And there's only the one version of W 10? Brilliant!

    Thank you both so much for your help.
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  10. f14tomcat
    Posts : 56,830
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       New #8

    Brad 63 said:
    It's done! I gave it a quick format and applied the change and presto! It now appears in Explorer as a functional E Drive. And it's become primary too.

    And there's only the one version of W 10? Brilliant!

    Thank you both so much for your help.
    You're welcome!

    We are obliged because we are Tenforums Mother Hens to remind you to do a System backup if you haven't already.
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  12. dalchina
    Posts : 42,992
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       New #9

    ..missed the Logical type issue- kudos to @f14tomcat for that.

    Now, start a regular routine of disk imaging using e.g. Macrium Reflect + large enough external drive for disk image files.
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  13. f14tomcat
    Posts : 56,830
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       New #10

    See? Best of everything, Brad, and stay safe.........
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