How do I get rid of reserve designation?

Dear Frank,

Welcome to the Microsoft Community

If your data disk has been mistakenly marked as a system reserved partition during the reinstallation of Windows 10, it may prevent you from accessing your valuable files.

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you cancel or remove the reserved status and regain access to your data.

Before proceeding, ensure you have backups of any data on the affected drive using another computer or a data recovery tool if possible.

Access Disk Management

First, let's check how the partitions are set up in Disk Management.

Press Win + X and select Disk Management.

Identify the disk that is marked as reserved. Generally, the system reserved partition is labeled "System Reserved" and has no drive letter.

Locate your data disk. Take note of its Disk number (e.g., Disk 1).

Using Diskpart to Change Partition Attributes

Press Win + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).

In the Command Prompt or PowerShell window, type:

diskpart

Press Enter.

Within Diskpart, type:

list disk

Press Enter (Note the number of your data disk).

Then type (replace # with your disk number):

select disk #

Press Enter.

To view partitions on the selected disk, type:

list partition

Press Enter.

Identify the partition that is marked as reserved.

Then type (replace # with your partition number):

select partition #

Press Enter.

To remove the System Reserved attribute, type:

attributes volume clear hidden

attributes volume clear readonly

attributes volume clear nodefaultdriveletter

Press Enter after each command.

After successfully changing the attributes, type:

exit

Press Enter to exit Diskpart.

Assign a Drive Letter

Return to Disk Management.

Right-click the previously reserved or hidden partition.

Select Change Drive Letter and Paths….

Click Add and assign a drive letter not currently in use.

Click OK.

After assigning a drive letter, check if you can now access the files on the data partition:

Press Win + E to open File Explorer.

Navigate to the newly assigned drive letter.

If you continue to encounter issues, seeking help from a data recovery professional or a qualified technician may be necessary.

Best Regards,

Martin | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Thank you Martin, I will give this a try

Dear Frank,

You're very welcome!  Please take your time to follow through and let me know if you encounter any difficulties along the way. I’m here to assist you further if needed.

Looking forward to hearing how it goes. If you have any other questions or need additional support, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Best regards,
Martin | Microsoft Community Support Specialist