Drive automatically became efi partition

[Aseem September]

My 3TB WD internal drive had a GPT partition and was working normally, I restarted my computer and the drive stopped showing in explorer.

The drive is visible in Disk Management but it shows up as EFI Partition and all of the right click options are disabled.

I have a lot of data on this drive, can it be recovered? Can the drive be fixed?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @Aseem September!

This seems odd. I'd recommend you check how the HDD will appear if you swap the SATA cable and the port where it is connected on the motherboard. Have you tried rebooting the system again afterwards? You could also try to access the HDD from another computer, if you have access to one. Have you performed any recent system updates? What is your Windows version?

You could also try running sfc /scannow command at boot and see if the scan will fix any incorrect MS versions and protected system files.

Hope it helps. Keep me posted with the troubleshooting.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Aseem September]

EDIT - SFC /scannow results

Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some
of them. Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For
example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. Note that logging is currently not
supported in offline servicing scenarios.

here is the cbs.log file
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey there, @Aseem September!

This seems odd. I'd recommend you check how the HDD will appear if you swap the SATA cable and the port where it is connected on the motherboard. Have you tried rebooting the system again afterwards? You could also try to access the HDD from another computer, if you have access to one. Have you performed any recent system updates? What is your Windows version?

You could also try running sfc /scannow command at boot and see if the scan will fix any incorrect MS versions and protected system files.

Hope it helps. Keep me posted with the troubleshooting.
SuperSoph_WD

Tried different sata cables and port, same result.
Will try sfc /scannow
after that will take my hdd to a friends house.
Thank you

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hello again, @Aseem September!

For some reason, I'm unable to open the link to the log. However, I'd advise you to backup all the data from your PC and then try some other troubleshooting methods. Better yet, try running the Startup Repair options from your Windows Installation/Repair disk.
Have you tried accessing the WD HDD on another computer already? Do you experience the same issue from there as well?

Hope that works.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Aseem September]

Hello again, @Aseem September!

For some reason, I'm unable to open the link to the log. However, I'd advise you to backup all the data from your PC and then try some other troubleshooting methods. Better yet, try running the Startup Repair options from your Windows Installation/Repair disk.
Have you tried accessing the WD HDD on another computer already? Do you experience the same issue from there as well?

Hope that works.
SuperSoph_WD

Just tried it at a friends place, same issue. Drive shown as EFI partition. did sfc /scannow on his pc and everything was fine.
going to buy a new HD to back the data as data recovery software (R-Studio) can see the data.
Anyway to fix this drive after data recovery? its not even been a year since its purchase, do you think i should RMA it as it may give further problems down the line.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Just tried it at a friends place, same issue. Drive shown as EFI partition. did sfc /scannow on his pc and everything was fine.
going to buy a new HD to back the data as data recovery software (R-Studio) can see the data.
Anyway to fix this drive after data recovery? its not even been a year since its purchase, do you think i should RMA it as it may give further problems down the line.

I'm sorry to hear about that 3 TB WD HDD of yours, @Aseem! However, I'm glad that you will be able to retrieve the files!
Indeed, you should be able to get the HDD replaced through our Customer Support. You just need to check your warranty here first, and then send your RMA request either by phone or e-mail. Since it was bought a year ago, I think it should still be covered.

Hope these links help you. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Aseem September]

I'm sorry to hear about that 3 TB WD HDD of yours, @Aseem! However, I'm glad that you will be able to retrieve the files!
Indeed, you should be able to get the HDD replaced through our Customer Support. You just need to check your warranty here first, and then send your RMA request either by phone or e-mail. Since it was bought a year ago, I think it should still be covered.

Hope these links help you. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

So this hd cant be fixed? RMA is the only option?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

So this hd cant be fixed? RMA is the only option?

Sorry, @ Aseem September, of course, It's not necessary... as long as the HDD is healthy and working properly after the data recovery. Once you have your files retrieved, you should definitely reformat the HDD through Disk Management, once you have the data off of it.
Afterwards, I'd strongly recommend you run both the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from the Data LifeGuard Diagnostics tool for Windows. If the 3 TB WD drive passes both tests, then the issue with the corrupted partition most probably came from some OS issue.
Either way, never forget to backup all the data from your internal storage somewhere off-site as well. Keeping multiple copies of your files is the best way to avoid any potential data loss in the future.

Keep me posted with the results, though. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Aseem September]

thanks for the help, bought a new HD, recovered the data. Old HD passed all tests and is working after the reformat.
Now i recall that i used a software called HD tune 5.5 to scan the HD for SMART data and then this problem occurred.