Reset bootable HDD windows 10


  1. Posts : 6
    windows 10
       #1

    Reset bootable HDD windows 10


    Hello, i downloaded media creation tool in order to have a clean install of windows 10. i didnt think that doing it, would convert my Hard drive disk to an other form.

    My HDD is 500GB and now it's a bootable HDD with 32gb space. it's FAT32 (yes bios needs that form)

    I want to reset it back to its previous form (500gb hdd) without losing my IMPORTANT data.

    Should i right click ----> disk management ---> NTFS? but i cant change the space of 32gb...

    Please help me, need the HDD for my work immediately...


    PS1. i did the form NTFS and it formatted the disc. now it's 100% free but not in the previous form of 480gb.
    Last edited by navyseal; 20 Aug 2016 at 20:04.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #2

    navyseal said:
    Hello, i downloaded media creation tool in order to have a clean install of windows 10. i didnt think that doing it, would convert my Hard drive disk to an other form.

    My HDD is 500GB and now it's a bootable HDD with 32gb space. it's FAT32 (yes bios needs that form)

    I want to reset it back to its previous form (500gb hdd) without losing my IMPORTANT data.

    Should i right click ----> disk management ---> NTFS? but i cant change the space of 32gb...

    Please help me, need the HDD for my work immediately...
    Hi navyseal and welcome to Tenforums.

    If I understand you correctly, you downloaded the W10 install media and saved it to your external USB hard drive as bootable media? In that case, Windows will indeed create a 32GB FAT32 partition with the bootable install media on it. So, it sounds to me like you need to do a partition recovery, and then try to get as much data back as possible. The area that was written to by the installation media will probably be unrecoverable.

    MiniTool Partition Software Edition Comparison

    The free version should do it.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6
    windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    yes, i downloaded and saved it as a bootable media. Indeed, a FAT32 32gb partition is created.

    If i undertood you (i hope not correctly) i cant revert to the old form of non bootable media and 480gb without losing all my data???

    I found a guide to revert it to its previous form by creating a new partition but this means losing all my data, does it?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #4

    navyseal said:
    Hello, i downloaded media creation tool in order to have a clean install of windows 10. i didnt think that doing it, would convert my Hard drive disk to an other form.

    My HDD is 500GB and now it's a bootable HDD with 32gb space. it's FAT32 (yes bios needs that form)

    I want to reset it back to its previous form (500gb hdd) without losing my IMPORTANT data.

    Should i right click ----> disk management ---> NTFS? but i cant change the space of 32gb...

    Please help me, need the HDD for my work immediately...


    PS1. i did the form NTFS and it formatted the disc. now it's 100% free but not in the previous form of 480gb.
    I am seeing an edit here. You formatted the drive? File recovery is a tricky thing, especially when partition structure changes are involved. The less you do to a drive, the better your chances of recovery. If you did what I think you did, then the first order of business would have been to restore your original partition structure, then try to recover your files. Formatting the drive now to NTFS further complicates things. I assume the NTFS partition is still only 32GB?

    navyseal said:
    yes, i downloaded and saved it as a bootable media. Indeed, a FAT32 32gb partition is created.

    If i undertood you (i hope not correctly) i cant revert to the old form of non bootable media and 480gb without losing all my data???

    I found a guide to revert it to its previous form by creating a new partition but this means losing all my data, does it?
    You should not be "creating" partitions. You need to "recover" the partition you lost. MiniTool Partition Software Free can be used to "recover" your original partition. Once that is done, you can try to get your data back (although, as I said, the chances of recovering anything on the 32GB that was used are slim).
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6
    windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    i saw a topic that's why i did only the format in FAT32 form... it's said that i need to open cmd diskpart create a new partition and the format the old (the FAT32 and then switch it to NTFS)

    let's see what minitool will do... check the image.

    Reset bootable HDD windows 10-.png
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 15,444
    Windows10
       #6

    navyseal said:
    i saw a topic that's why i did only the format in FAT32 form... it's said that i need to open cmd diskpart create a new partition and the format the old (the FAT32 and then switch it to NTFS)

    let's see what minitool will do... check the image.

    Reset bootable HDD windows 10-.png
    Minitool may not work here as the original partition has been partly over-written. It can recover partitions that have not been overwritten and is great for that.

    I think you need to use Recuva and you will need another drive to write the data to. This could be a long process - many hours,
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 6
    windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #7

    cereberus said:
    Minitool may not work here as the original partition has been partly over-written. It can recover partitions that have not been overwritten and is great for that.

    I think you need to use Recuva and you will need another drive to write the data to. This could be a long process - many hours,

    you were right, minitool didnt help recovering files for the reason you mentioned. i only resized the disk to its normal capacity (480gb) and it's formatted.

    i'm testing Recuva again, 1st try when it was 32gb with no results, and 2nd try now after the resized to the normal capacity but it's definitely a long process... let's see!


    PS1. with the minitool partition i managed the disk. But what type should the disk be? Primary or Logical? how can i know how was before?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #8

    If it was the only partition on the drive, it was probably Primary. Windows allows up to 4 Primary NTFS partitions; anything after that needs to be logical.
      My Computer


 

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