Window 10 Won't boot - Says No Boot Device - Partition gone (unallocated)

Hi, Ian2211

My name is Smith and I am an Independent Advisor. I would be happy to help you today.

I recommend you look for another computer to create a USB and repair Windows

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

You can retrieve your files following the steps of this link

https://www.intowindows.com/repair-windows-10-i...

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance.

Hi Ian. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 9 year Windows MVP here to help you.

You have a mess there. Why is F marked Active when only the partition booting Windows is to be marked Active on the old Legacy BIOS? Is the partition labeled XP actually the new Windows 7 install you did? There was no reason to install Windows 7 as you want to reinstall Windows 10 to replace it, correct?

Rescue any files off of F onto C so they're backed up against it failing or to do the Reinstall.

So to have a partition disappear like that requires that you test the hard drive to be certain if it's failing or not. Test the hard drive with diagnostics: https://www.lifewire.com/free-hard-drive-testin.... Best is Seatools bootable Long Test which works on all models:
http://blog.nowherelan.com/2013/04/04/boot-seat....
https://www.seagate.com/manuals/software/seatoo...

Follow that up with a full Disk Check, from the Command Prompt if necessary: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/check-hard-dri...

If it passes both tests then unplug the other hard drive, boot into the Windows 10 installation media I'll provide, delete all partitions off of the drive and do this gold standard Clean Install following the illustrated steps in this link which compile the best possible Install of Windows which will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given, has zero reported problems, and is better than any amount of money could buy: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

To create Windows 10 Installation Media (if necessary on another PC) install the Media Creation Tool and follow the directions here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m.... Uncheck the box for Recommended Settings to choose the exact version and bit rate for the target PC only.

Insert media, boot it by powering up PC while pressing the BIOS Boot Menu Key here: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/hardware-tutor...

If the media won't boot you may need to enter BIOS/UEFI Setup (pressing key given in chart in link above) to turn off Fast Boot or Fast Startup first.

Choose the boot device as a UEFI device if offered, skip the Product Key screen and choose your licensed version only if offered. On second screen choose Install Now, then Custom Install, then at the drive selection screen delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, click Next to let it create needed partitions and start install - this makes it foolproof.

You will get and keep the best possible install to the exact extent you stick with the steps, tools and methods in the linked tutorial. It's a better install than any amount of money could buy and a great learning experience that will make you the master of your PC because you will learn everything that works best and how to apply it with your own hands.

If you have files that aren't backed up you can use the same bootable media to try to rescue your files using this method: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. If you'll wait to rate whether my post helped you, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

________________________________________________________

Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I have created a USB Windows 10 boot stick and I used it to access the Advance tools and trouble shooting and the repair windows tool but this did not work.

The drive is working as its reconised in the bios and images above but the partition with Windows 10 and all my data is saying 'Unallocated' and I can't access it.

How can I make this accessable again?

I think the data must still be on it but its lost some kind of Boot Record Table information?! How can I make it boot to Windows 10 again, or at worst just accessable so I can copy the data off?

Thanks for any advice / help.

Ian

Hi Ian. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 9 year Windows MVP here to help you.

You have a mess there. Why is F marked Active when only the partition booting Windows is to be marked Active on the old Legacy BIOS? Is the partition labeled XP actually the new Windows 7 install you did? There was no reason to install Windows 7 as you want to reinstall Windows 10 to replace it, correct?

Rescue any files off of F onto C so they're backed up against it failing or to do the Reinstall.

So to have a partition disappear like that requires that you test the hard drive to be certain if it's failing or not. Test the hard drive with diagnostics: https://www.lifewire.com/free-hard-drive-testin.... Best is Seatools bootable Long Test which works on all models:
http://blog.nowherelan.com/2013/04/04/boot-seat....
https://www.seagate.com/manuals/software/seatoo...

Follow that up with a full Disk Check, from the Command Prompt if necessary: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/check-hard-dri...

If it passes both tests then unplug the other hard drive, boot into the Windows 10 installation media I'll provide, delete all partitions off of the drive and do this gold standard Clean Install following the illustrated steps in this link which compile the best possible Install of Windows which will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given, has zero reported problems, and is better than any amount of money could buy: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

To create Windows 10 Installation Media (if necessary on another PC) install the Media Creation Tool and follow the directions here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m.... Uncheck the box for Recommended Settings to choose the exact version and bit rate for the target PC only.

Insert media, boot it by powering up PC while pressing the BIOS Boot Menu Key here: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/hardware-tutor...

If the media won't boot you may need to enter BIOS/UEFI Setup (pressing key given in chart in link above) to turn off Fast Boot or Fast Startup first.

Choose the boot device as a UEFI device if offered, skip the Product Key screen and choose your licensed version only if offered. On second screen choose Install Now, then Custom Install, then at the drive selection screen delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, click Next to let it create needed partitions and start install - this makes it foolproof.

You will get and keep the best possible install to the exact extent you stick with the steps, tools and methods in the linked tutorial. It's a better install than any amount of money could buy and a great learning experience that will make you the master of your PC because you will learn everything that works best and how to apply it with your own hands.

If you have files that aren't backed up you can use the same bootable media to try to rescue your files using this method: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. If you'll wait to rate whether my post helped you, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

________________________________________________________

Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

Thanks for your message.

I am not very technical regarding partitions and setting up Windows 10 Boot files. I think its lost that data. Not sure why it says Active, I didn't even think it had 2 partitions and not sure what that one is for.

Disc 0 (F:) is my SSD that has Windows 10 OS on and my data that won't boot and now says 'unallocated'. I had Windows 7 on the other drive (called XP) and booted to this to gain access to the above screenshots information.

I can't access the drive as it says its unallocated so can't copy or back up anything.

How can I fix the boot record information on my SSD and get it showing up again and booting into windows 10?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Ian

I downloaded a partition manager software and ran it and it gives the following drive information:

In the second link that I send you, this is how to recover your data, most of the time it works, you have to do everything as a new installation but keeping your files, I hope it works for you.

I can't load Windows so I can't run the setup from Windows. I tried the install Windows via the bootable USB but it won't work as I guess it can't find Windows on the hard drive. It gave the following message:

'The upgrade option isnt available if you start your computer using Windows installation media.

If a copy of Windows is already installed on this computer and you want to upgrade, remove the installation media and restart your computer . After Windows has started normally, insert the installation media and run Windows Setup.'

Is it possible to rewrite the boot system information for the drive to get it recognized and boot to Windows 10?

you may have to reinstall windows your hard drive may have stop working

I hope you get it fixed.

Hi again Ian -

As you suspect Windows 10 partitions are gone except for the Recovery partition. I have no idea why it was deleted to Unallocated. If you thought you might have deleted it and that's all that was done, it can be undeleted using this tool:
http://partitionwizard.com/video-help/partition...

Otherwise we assume it's failed, although again it's strange the Recovery partition survived. To know this for certain test it with Diagnostics I linked you in my earlier post and Disk Check. You can also run File Recovery software on it starting with this tool to see if it's even possible: http://www.piriform.com/recuva/features

I gave you the rest of the steps to do in my first post so you could already have it done if you'd gone ahead. But if you have questions or need more help, I will be here to help.

If the drive has failed I'd replace it with an SSD which is the best Upgrade one can have - lightning fast, faster than a new higher-end PC without one, especially if you do the gold standard Clean Install in this link which compiles the best possible install which will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given, has zero reported problems, and is better than any amount of money could buy: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...