The best partition recovery software applications can manage to locate and display safe entries on the partition to enable secure data recovery to a completely different storage device. In this case, it's less likely to recover lost files from the partition than if your OS wouldn't boot due to missing or corrupted system files. If that's the case, users typically see an error message - 'Drive is invalid', 'MFT is corrupted', etc. If the partition file systems (e.g., FAT32, Root, MFT) are damaged or corrupted, the partition's contents may not be displayed correctly. If the conditions are met, the OS can read the partition (or drive) parameters to display the partition in the list of available options.

The partition (or drive) boot sector is safe.The partition (or drive) can be found through a Partition Table.In the best-case scenario, you can immediately copy all recoverable files and store them securely on your storage devices.įor the OS to locate and explore the partition/drive, it requires two conditions to be met: If the boot succeeds, the recovery software will help you see all files and directories on the drive. This is typically done by booting the partition recovery software from external storage devices - external HDD or other bootable storage media - CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, floppy, USB flash drive.

In such a case, partition recovery software can access the hard drive on the most basic level, bypassing the system boot to search for a deleted or lost partition. If the specific files related to the file systems are corrupted, deleted, or missing, then your operating system (OS) won't be able to boot properly. (e.g., COMMAND.COM) depending on the partition's file system type. If the above requirements are met, the Master Boot Record executable code passes control to the active partition the partition can now load proper files.

At least one Partition Table containing at least one active partition exists.

The Master Boot Record (MDR) exists and is operational.So, let's begin with that.įor a machine to start booting correctly, it needs two primary conditions met: To understand how partition recovery software works, we need to know how computers operate at a fundamental level. What does partition recovery software do?

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