Drive partition must be mounted on system restart

[jimmydalton]

I have an HDD consisting of 3 partitions: C (system), E, and F. Yesterday, I used Alcohol to mount an image onto a virtual drive. However, suddenly my E and F drive disappeared. I checked Control Panel > Adm Tools > Computer Management, and it shows that I only had C partition, while the rest is a free space drive.

Trying not to panic, then I downloaded Find&Mount. It found those drives, and I have to mount them every time I restart the system.

Is there a way to restore this? I fear I will lose the data if I meddle with Computer Management. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[MrTomasboy]

Hi,

You would have to contact the programs support team or find an options in the settings that's called "Start on Windows Startup" or "Auto mount when Windows Starts" That's my best option to you.

Thanks,
Tomas

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey Jimmy. You could try @MrTomasboy's solution and it would be great if it works, because it doesn't require a lot of hassle. You could also try the following - backup the important data which you can't afford to lose and uninstall the program which cause this in the first place, to see if this fixes the issue for you. Also there might be some other options in the program which might resolve the issue, but unfortunately I can't give you any pointers there.

Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD

 

[jimmydalton]

Thanks for the reply
I did the system restore just before I installed the program, but no luck. I still have to mount the partitions.

I'm searching for the setting in the program just in case I accidentally click something.

 

[jimmydalton]

I can't figure it out. I still need to mount it and the speed is terribly slow.

I tried using Test Disk to recover the lost partitions, but now the computer won't boot. I think the worst case is I have to reinstall windows 🙁

 

[Boogieman_WD]

That's very unfortunate. So I assume you weren't able to backup your data before that. I'd recommend that you connect the drive to another ocmputer either externally or internally to see if it's recognized an try to recover your data before reinstalling Windows. You could do that by trying to access it via Linux Live USB/CD to see if you can retrieve the data without a data recovery program. Otherwise I'd advise you to try some of the solutions from this thread here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1644496/lost-data-recovery.html

Good luck!

 

[jimmydalton]

Thanks. I used Test Disk, did the system repair because my pc wouldn't boot, and I was able to save one partition. I lost the other one, though.

I still don't know why ir how it happened. My HDD is still in good condition. However, I would like to ask for advice. If I had to buy a new HDD, is it better to buy solid state drive instead?

 

[APassingMe]

It sounds like your MBR either got corrupted or overwritten somehow. It should of been repairable with the right tools and know-how but I think we're past that point. Make sure you do a full disk check before you re-install Windows.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Thanks. I used Test Disk, did the system repair because my pc wouldn't boot, and I was able to save one partition. I lost the other one, though.

I still don't know why ir how it happened. My HDD is still in good condition. However, I would like to ask for advice. If I had to buy a new HDD, is it better to buy solid state drive instead?

If the drive is indeed in good health (which I think it should be, having in mind the nature of the issue), then I don't think you'll need a new HDD. As for the HDD vs SSD question - it all depends on your personal preference. The SSD is preferred because of its enormous advantage when it comes to speed, but the HDD has the advantage with the capacity. So it all comes to budget and personal preference. The SSD is best used for your OS and programs.

 

[jimmydalton]

I want to use it mainly for gaming actually.

Thanks for the suggestion 😀

 

[riopelnet112]

When your server boots normally, your partitions are mounted automatically during startup so you have access to those files. When booting a server using the Rescue System however, the partitions are not mounted automatically. This article may be used as a genereal guide for mounting partitions, if you are not already familiar.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

I want to use it mainly for gaming actually.

Thanks for the suggestion 😀

Usually SSDs are not recommended for gaming, but you can get a great boost from them in terms of loading, e.g. loading the game, in-game loading screens, etc. Basically instead of waiting 20-30 seconds or more (depending on the game) it will load almost instantly.

 

[jimmydalton]

Oh, I see. I don't have long loading problem, even when playing Skyrim with many mods.

I thought it will increase fps. Thanks

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Well basically that's the noticeable part of the performance boost you can expect from a fast hard drive or an SSD. If you want more FPS you should turn you attention mainly to your GPU and CPU. On the other hand a fast HDD or an SSD would be OK if you plan on streaming/recording while playing so that the FPS of the video don't drop if you record/stream videos with a very high resolution.

 

[jimmydalton]

Thanks for the enlightenment