The table describing where your volumes start and end sits in the first sectors of the disk. Damage it and terabytes become invisible at once — while the file systems themselves remain perfectly intact further in. That is why this recovers well, and why initialising the disk is the one thing that turns it into a real loss.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/sdb → Device: Seagate HDD (2 TB) → Status: PARTITION LOST — drive reads as RAW → Client: confidential · Oxford OX2 $ bdr engineer-working → Read-only image: taken · source untouched → Partition table: rebuilt + remounted → File system: structure intact · files visible $ bdr verify → ✓ documents — 14,210 files → ✓ photos — 21,540 files → ✓ partition recovered — files back
“Disk unknown, not initialised” means the partition table cannot be read. Initialising writes a brand-new, empty one over it — destroying the very structure a recovery would have rebuilt. Close the dialog and leave the disk alone.
A partition is a few hundred bytes describing where a volume starts and ends. Lose that and terabytes become invisible.
Partition loss is among the more satisfying categories of recovery, because the information is often duplicated by design.
GPT disks store a backup partition table at the very end of the disk specifically so a damaged primary can be reconstructed. Where that survives, the layout can frequently be restored exactly. On MBR disks there is no such backup, but the volumes themselves can be located by scanning for file-system signatures — NTFS boot sectors, ext superblocks, APFS containers all have recognisable structures at predictable offsets.
Once the boundaries are established, the volume is mounted from the image and the data read normally, with filenames and folder structure intact. That is the usual outcome here, and it is considerably better than carving.
Nothing is written to the original disk at any stage.
Before any analysis, including on a disk that appears healthy — the reconstruction is trial and error, and it should happen on a copy.
On GPT disks the secondary table at the end of the disk frequently survives intact and gives the exact original layout.
Where no table survives, the image is scanned for volume boundaries by structure, and candidate layouts tested until one produces a coherent, mountable file system.
A reconstructed layout is checked by mounting it from the image and confirming the directory structure is sane rather than plausible-looking noise.
Data is either copied out from the mounted image, or the corrected table written back to a healthy replacement disk if you want the volume restored in place.
Usually a logical job, and priced accordingly.
A single drive is from £300 +VAT, and a RAID, NAS or server volume from £500 +VAT, confirmed in a written quote after a free 48-hour diagnostic. Most jobs are no fix, no fee.
Tell us what the disk looked like before — how many partitions, roughly what sizes, which operating system. That information genuinely shortens the search. Full write-ups: a PC that lost its partition, not its files.
Send the device in for its free diagnostic and tell us briefly what happened; an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before anything starts.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01865 593000.
What people most often ask about recovering a lost or missing partition.
That Windows cannot read the partition table, so it does not know how the disk is divided. The volumes and files are almost always still there. Do not accept the offer to initialise — that writes an empty table over the one recovery would rebuild.
Usually, and often completely. Deleting a partition removes the table entry rather than the file system, which stays where it was. On GPT disks a backup table at the end of the disk frequently survives and gives the exact original layout.
Normally yes, and that is what makes partition recovery a good outcome. Rebuilding the boundaries lets the volume mount properly, so filenames and folders come back with the data rather than files being carved out unnamed.
It happens, usually from an interrupted disk operation or a drive letter being dropped rather than the partition genuinely being deleted. Check Disk Management before assuming the worst — a volume showing as healthy but without a letter simply needs one assigning.
Then it changes from a logical job to a hardware one and urgency increases. If the sectors holding the partition table are failing, the drive needs imaging read-only before any reconstruction is attempted.
From £300 plus VAT for a single drive and from £500 plus VAT for a RAID, NAS or server volume, fixed in a written quote after a free 48-hour diagnostic, with most jobs no fix, no fee.
A free diagnostic, no fix no fee on most jobs, and lost-partition recovery off any drive, stick or card — every file back intact. Begin your recovery today.