How To Fix Partition Issues?

Drive partitions are a fairly new concept to most users. The fun part about partitions is that the issues faced are also different. For some readers, dealing with partition issues was equivalent to joining a circus. Do not fret my friends, today, I have compiled the most common partition issues and present them to you as an article.

What is a Disk Partition?

A disk partition is one or more parts created within the drive that can be managed as a separate independent drive. They can be treated as a separate storage device, run a different operating system, or be formatted with a different file system.

Types of Partitions

• Primary- The partition that Stores the operating system.
• Extended- A partition that can hold up to 4 logical partitions.
• Logical- A partition created within an extended partition.

Common uses of partitions

• OS installation- Partitions can store multiple operating systems with the same PC.
• data separation- Partitions can be used to split the drive into 2 or more different parts which can be used to separate or organize data.
• Backup- Apart from separating data, you can also store backup copies of important data.

Common Partition Issues

While there are several different partition issues, each different from the first. I have listed out the most common ones that you are more likely to run into-

1. Unallocated Space

When trying to create a partition using the remaining space available. You may notice the new partition does not contain the entire storage, instead, you will see a part marked as unallocated.
If you try to create a partition using the unallocated space, you may run into the “unallocated space cannot create partition” error message.

Reasons Behind Unallocated Space Issues

A strong majority of such cases occur because they have installed an MBR format. There are 2 types of Formats, MBR and GPT.

• MBR (master Boot Record)- only supports up to 2TB of storage and 4 partitions that include 3 primary partitions with 1 extended partition.
• GPT (GUID Partition Table)- Can support more than 2TB storage and allows users to have an infinite number of partitions.

Note: Experiencing MBR issues. learn how to fix your Master Boot Record.

Solution

1. If you notice that you have an MBR partition format, converting it to GPT may help.
2. You can also merge unallocated space with your partition using the disk.

2. Partition Corruption

A Partition is considered to be corrupted when it can’t be read, written, or organized by the operating system. If you notice the following symptoms there are chances that your drive partition may be corrupted.

Symptoms of a corrupted partition

• Unable to access data or files within the partition.
• The partition does not show up in the file explorer.
• Your PC hangs/ crashes while using the partition.

Solutions

If you have a corrupted partition, the following solutions are your best course of action-

• Windows Error Checking Tool.
• Formatting the partition. (will cause you to lose all the data in it)
• Rikvr- Recovery Tool + Formatting.
• Professional data recovery software.

3. Boot Issue

This usually occurs with partitions of the work of a separate operating system. The Boot Partition contains all the necessary files to start your operating system. With the boot partition malfunctioning, you won’t be able to start the system. If you are facing boot issues you will have trouble while booting up the partition or run into error messages like “no bootable device found” or “operating system not found”.

Causes Behind Boot Issues

• Faulty Boot settings
• File system corruption
• Boot leader corruption
• Faulty hard drive

Solutions

• Change Boot Order
• Run Startup Repair

4. Inaccessible Partitions

The name is self-explanatory, users affected by this issue are unable to access their drive partition or the contents inside it. And is usually caused by a corrupted partition.

Solutions

• Use Windows ErrorChecking Tool
• Recover data from the drive using the Rikvr Data Recovery tool and format it after
• Professional data recovery service

5. Partition Format Issues

Several users face difficulties formatting their drives or have trouble accessing or using their drives because of the file system installed. If you are facing formatting issues, you may run into one of the following error codes as well.

• Diskpart format stuck at 0 percent
• format EFI partition
• the volume is too big for fat32
• too large for the volume format

Diagnosing Partition Problems

It’s one thing to suspect an issue and another to confirm it. here are a few tools that you can use to safely check for partition issues.

1. Windows Error Checking Tool

Windows has an in-built error-checking tool that you can use to detect and rectify any minor errors or inconsistencies within your partition. You can follow the steps below to try it out for yourself-

Step 1: Open Windows File Explorer, Right-click on your NTFS partition and click on Properties.

Step 2: Under the Tools tab, click on Check inside the Error checking section.

Step 3: The error-checking tool will now scan the entire NTFS drive and rectify any errors that it may find.

2. Disk Management in Windows

The Windows Disk management tool allows users to view the status of any partition or edit any partition settings. You can access Disk management by following the steps below-

Step 1: Use the Windows+R shortcut to open RUN.

Step 2: Type in diskmgmt.msc and click OK to confirm.

Step 3: Once Disk Management Opens, all the drives and partitions will be listed.

Step 4: You can right-click on any one of them to make changes.

3. Disk Utility In macOS

Disk utility is a system utility that is available on macOS. You can use Disk Utility to manage disks and disk volumes. The best part of disk Utility (in this scenario) is that it can find and repair warriors within disk volumes. You can try it for yourself using the given steps-

Step 1: Open the Disk Utility app.

Step 2: Choose View and select Show all devices.

Step 3: Click on the First Aid button in the sidebar.

The Best Solutions To Solve Common Partition Issues

The good thing about partition issues is that they come with solutions. Listed below, you will find some effective fixes that you can use to fix your partition and rescue the data within it.

1. Data Recovery

The first and foremost priority during any partition-related scenario is to ensure the safety of your data. If you do not have a backup of any sort, make sure to use professional data recovery software to recover all the data from your partition.

Not only will you be able to recover existing data but you will also be able to recover any data that was originally deleted, lost, or corrupted. Over here, we will use Rikvr Data Recovery.

Step 1: Download, Install, and Launch Rikvr Data Recovery.
Step 2: If your drive partition is extremely damaged, you will need to use the Select Physical Drive option to locate the sneaky partition.

Step 3: Now, select the drive partition and click on Start Scan.

Step 4: You can use the Preview feature to view all the recovered.

Step 5: Select the files that you wish to recover and save them in a healthy drive.

Note: After partition recovery, you can format the problematic drive partition for a fresh start.

2. Merging Unallocated Partitions

To get rid of unallocated space, you can merge it with a volume. Follow the steps below to do so-

Step 1: Use the Windows+R shortcut to open RUN.

Step 2: Type in diskmgmt.msc and click OK to confirm.

Step 3: Once Disk Management Opens, all the drives and partitions will be listed.

Step 4: Right-click on a healthy volume and select the Extend Volume option.

Step 5: From the pop-up window, you can add your unallocated partition.

3. Repairing Partition Corruption

3.1. CHKDSK

Step 1: Locate Command Prompt Administrator using the Windows search bar.

Step 2: Right-click on Command Prompt and choose the Run as Administrator option.

Step 3: Enter the following command – chkdsk B: /f /r /x. (Replace “B” with the drive letter of the partition you want to repair.)

Step 4: Press Enter to confirm.

3.2 System File Checker Tool

The System File Checker Tool or SFC scanner for short, scans your drive for a corrupt file system and repairs it. While it doesn’t usually show results, it is worth a shot. Try it out for yourself using the instructions below-

Step 1: Locate Command Prompt Administrator using the Windows search bar.

Step 2: Right-click on Command Prompt and choose the Run as Administrator option.

Step 3: Type in sfc / scannow (to verify and repair corrupt file systems) and Press Enter.

Step 4: After the scan, type in sfc / verifyonly and Press Enter.

Step 5: If the command finds any error, it will replace the corrupt file with a cached copy located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%\System32\Dllcache.

4. Disk Utility (For macOS)

Disk utility is a great option for macOS users as it is safe and easy to use. you can try it out for yourself by following the instructions below-

Step 1: Open Disk Utility.

Step 2: Select View and click on Show All Devices.

Step 3: From the sidebar, choose a volume to repair.

Step 4: Click on First Aid.

Step 5: Click on Run to begin the scan.

Step 6: Follow the instructions on the screen.

Step 7: Click Done after the process completes.

5. Fixing Boot Issues

Fixing boot issues using Windows Recovery Environment can be tricky. you will require a recovery disk to boot up your device. if your primary

Step 1: your first step would vary depending on which partition was affected.

• If your Primary drive partitions are affected: Use a Recovery disk to boot your device.
• If a secondary drive partition is affected: In the login screen, click on Shutdown, then select Restart while pressing and holding Shift.

Step 2: In the Installation screen, click on Restore System.

Step 3: Then select Troubleshoot and click on Advanced Options.

Step 4: Click on Startup Repair and select the OS whose bootloader you want to try to repair.

Precautionary Measures

Regular Backups- Creating and regularly updating a backup drive is the best thing you can do to protect your data in case your partition fails. If anything goes wrong, you can format your partition and restore all your data using your backup.

Proper Partitioning Practices- make sure you take your time while creating partitions and ensure the partitioning process is interrupted without hiccups.

Avoiding frequent resizing and moving partitions – frequent resizing and editing partitions only leaves more room for error. Make sure to plan your partitions so that minimal changes are required in the future.

Running disk checks periodically- Running regular disk checks is a great way to maintain healthy drives and partitions. Catching issues early will prove to be advantageous in the long run.

Keeping software and drivers updated- keeping software drivers updated will help prevent any compatibility issues in the future.

Conclusion

I hope that this article provides everything you need to learn about common partitioning errors. In my eyes, the most effective way to protect your data is to create and regularly update a backup drive. If you have any queries or feedback please feel free to contact me.

Frequently Asked Questions