How to Recover a Lost Partition in Windows
Accidentally deleting a partition or experiencing a corrupt partition table can make your data seem lost forever. However, when a partition is deleted, the data often remains on the disk until it is overwritten. Specialized recovery tools can scan the disk, locate the lost partition structure, and restore it with your data intact. This guide covers the best methods for partition recovery in 2026.
Quick Answer
Can a deleted partition be recovered?
Yes, in most cases. When you delete a partition, the data remains on the disk but becomes inaccessible. Partition recovery tools scan for remnants of the partition table and can restore the partition with data intact, as long as the space has not been overwritten with new data.
Important: Act Quickly
Stop using the disk immediately. Do not write new data to the disk where the partition was lost. Every new file written increases the chance of overwriting your recoverable data. If the lost partition was on your system drive, boot from a USB drive or another computer to avoid further writes.
Method 1: MiniTool Partition Wizard Recovery
Download MiniTool Partition Wizard
The partition recovery feature is available in the Pro edition. Download from the official minitool.com website.
Select the disk with the lost partition
Launch the software and click Partition Recovery from the toolbar. Select the physical disk that contained the lost partition.
Choose scanning range and method
Select Full Disk scan and Quick Scan first. If the partition is not found, run a Full Scan which checks every sector (takes longer but is more thorough).
Review and restore found partitions
The tool displays all found partitions. Check the ones you want to recover and click Finish, then Apply to restore the partition table.
Method 2: TestDisk (Free and Open Source)
Download TestDisk from cgsecurity.org
TestDisk is completely free and open-source. Extract the downloaded archive to a folder.
Run testdisk_win.exe as Administrator
Select Create a new log file when prompted. Choose the physical disk containing the lost partition.
Select partition table type
Choose Intel for MBR disks or EFI GPT for modern GPT disks. TestDisk usually auto-detects the correct type.
Run Analyse and Quick Search
TestDisk scans for lost partitions. Found partitions appear in a list. If your partition is found, select it and press Enter to proceed.
Write the recovered partition table
Select Write to restore the partition table. Restart your computer and the recovered partition should appear in Windows with your data intact.
Recovery Tool Comparison
| Tool | Price | Difficulty | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| TestDisk | Free | Advanced | Technical users |
| MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro | $59/yr | Easy | Beginners |
| DiskGenius Free | Free | Moderate | Data recovery focus |