Restore hard disk partitions using the TestDisk application

It is common knowledge that Windows applications intended for partitioning or repairing a hard disk do not allow you to work with the partition on which the operating system is installed. In other cases, programs such as Recuva, Power Data Recovery, Undelete 360, RecoveryDesk, etc., which can easily perform these operations not only on the hard drive, but also on removable media, including USB-drives, SD-cards and etc. What can I do if you need to restore a hard disk partition that contains Windows? What would be the most convenient way, especially when the system does not boot?

Using the Ubuntu Live disk allows users to start the operating system in an isolated environment without having to follow the standard installation method. Thus, you can use it to configure the hard disk and start the data recovery operations. Ubuntu in its open repository includes two widely used tools, from which you will need TestDisk.

To restore hard disk partitions with this tool, restart the computer in the BIOS menu by pressing "ESC", "F2", "F10", "F9" or another key and set "USB" or "CD" as the first boot option on the menu. As soon as the boot priority changes, save the settings, exit the BIOS and reboot the computer. After that, start Ubuntu Live.

This operating system does not include TestDisk by default, however you can quickly download and install this application. First, open the Synaptic package manager from the "Administration" menu available in the "System" category. From the "Settings" menu, select the repositories. A dialog box will open, which will enable the option to download free applications. On the "Ubuntu Software" tab, enable the Open Source support and click the "Close" button. Then select "Update", this will start downloading the software package you selected, which allows you to later restore the hard disk partitions.

When this process is complete, enter "TestDisk" in the Quick Search bar, and after its detection, right-click on it and select "Mark for installation".

Now click the "Apply" button on the toolbar to load TestDisk. Once the application is installed, close the Synaptic package manager. Since TestDisk is a console service, you need to open the terminal from the "Standard" menu (available in the "Applications"). As mentioned above, this application allows you to perform not only the recovery of hard disk partitions, but also remote data from removable media.

When you start the application, you will be asked if you want to create a file log to save the whole process of the recovery process. To use this function by default, simply press the "Enter" key to go to the next step.

The program will search for the internal hard disk and all connected removable media. When the scan completes, select the object on which to restore the data and lost partitions.

Now you need to specify the types of data that include Intel, EFI GPT, Xbox, Sun, and Mac. In your case, this is Intel, because you intend to restore the hard disk partitions. Select the structure analysis and search for lost data from the menu.

After a quick or in-depth search, TestDisk will be able to find the desired partition and will prompt the user to determine its characteristics. You can press the P button to make it basic, L - logical, E - to load the advanced mode, and D - to delete or add the partition. Now you need to press the "Enter" button to start the process. After it completes, you will be prompted to reboot the system so that the recovery of the hard disk partitions is complete.

If you want to selectively scan and restore deleted files, type "P" to load them. The deleted data is displayed in red, while the white color indicates the current data. The program displays files and folders in the root directory, but you can change it by pressing the "R" button and then selecting from the menu.

The time it takes to recover a deleted hard disk partition depends on its size. TestDisk supports several file systems, including EXT3, NTFS and FAT. It is recommended that you first create a directory where the recovered data must be saved, and only then start working with the application.