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[How to] Recover Data from a GPT Partition on Windows
This article describes how to perform GPT partition recovery easily with 3 simple methods and some insights on data recovery, hope it can help you. Scroll down to learn more.
By Ivy / Updated on January 23, 2025
There is no doubt that partition loss can be very frustrating for users, especially if there is a lot of data. In this case, you may google MBR partition recovery or GPT partition recovery. We're here to show you what the GPT partition is and the reason for its loss.
More importantly, we still provide you with the most effective method to recover data from a GPT partition on Windows. Scroll down to try it.
⚠️Warning: To make sure that your data can be successfully recovered, stop using the missing GPT partition immediately.
What is a GPT partition?
GPT (GUID Partition Table) is a new hard disk partition format that supports a larger number of partitions and hard disk capacity than the traditional MBR partition format.
The GPT partition was created to address the limitations of the MBR partition format and to enable better management of hard disk space. It also provides better data integrity and fault tolerance through the GUID to identify the partition and use a backup mechanism to improve data security.
Thus, if your computer supports UEFI boot mode, creating a GPT partition will be a good choice. Also, please refer to the comparison table between MBR and GPT for further information:
▶ About differences between MBR and GPT:
| ✦ Hard disk capacity | GPT partition supports maximum capacity over 9.4ZB (1ZB=1024EB), far exceeding the upper limit of 2TB of MBR partition format. |
| ✦ Partition number | GPT partition supports up to 128 partitions, while MBR partition only supports 4 primary partitions, or 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition. |
| ✦ Data Security | GPT partition uses a data redundancy checksum protection mechanism to automatically detect and correct data errors for better security. Also, the GPT partition table stores backups at the end of the disk, which helps to protect data better in case of problems. |
| ✦ System Boot Mode | GPT partition is usually required to boot a pure UEFI system, with a faster and safer system boot experience, and more hardware features, while the MBR partition can only boot a traditional BIOS system. |
| ✦ Compatibility | Since GPT is a newer technology, not all computer hardware and operating systems support GPT, while MBR partition format is more widely supported. |
▶ About GPT VS. MBR Structure:
Overall, the GPT partition format has obvious advantages over the MBR partition format in terms of hard disk capacity, number of partitions, data security, and system boot support, but there may be some problems with compatibility. Therefore, when choosing which partition format to use, you need to weigh the actual needs and hardware conditions.
The reasons for GPT partition loss
GPT partition loss can be due to some factors. Here are some common reasons for GPT partition loss:
◆ Corrupted partition table
This is one of the major reasons for GPT partition loss, which can occur due to the loss of the hard disk's protective MBR causing the backed-up GPT header and partition table to not function properly.
◆ Loss of drive letter
When resizing the partition or performing other partition operations, if the drive letter is lost, the GPT partition may be lost.
◆ Accidentally deletion
You may delete the GPT partition due to some improper operations. After that, an unallocated partition will be generated. Fortunately, you can recover accidentally deleted partition.
◆ Sudden Power Failure or Abnormal Shutdown
Sudden power failure or abnormal shutdown of the computer or storage device during the working process may lead to GPT partition table corruption or data loss.
◆ Failed to convert partition
If convert the partition from MBR to GPT, your partitions will be left in a vulnerable state during the process. If anything goes wrong, it can cause catastrophic damage to your partition.
◆ Virus or malware attack
Some viruses or malware may tamper with the GPT partition table, resulting in partition loss or data corruption.
◆ Operating system issues
Operating system crashes, upgrades or installation of new systems may result in loss or corruption of GPT partition information.
How to perform GPT partition recovery in 3 simple solutions
Here are 3 useful ways to recover lost GPT partition. You can select the one that meets your situation best.
▶ Solution 1: Recover data from a GPT partition with AOMEI FastRecovery
If you simply care about data on a lost GPT partition, you can choose to recover data or specific files or folders you want. The best method is to use AOMEI FastRecovery, a professional Windows data recovery software, supported by a sophisticated team with over 10 years of experience.
AOMEI FastRecovery- It has a free edition that can recover data over 500MB.
- AOMEI FastRecovery integrates top algorithms to scan and recover data from GPT partition quickly, with a high success rate.
- Support different data types, such as photos, videos, documents, emails, etc., in more than 1000 data formats.
- Search or filter data quickly through file name, extension, data type, etc.
- Preview files before recovering.
- Recover specific files or folders instead of all without waiting for the final result.
- Work perfectly with NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems, and Windows 11/10/8/7 and servers.
- Apply to partition loss due to deletion, formatting, file system errors, system crashes, etc.
Click the download button to get started now.
Step 1. Select the GPT partition where the data is lost and click Scan.
Step 2. While scanning, input the filenames/extensions to locate the files faster. Also, you can sort the detected files by size, path, type, etc.
- Type: It will contain all the file types in the local drive, such as images, videos, documents, emails, webpage, compressed files, etc.
- Data Modified: It supports today, yesterday, last 7 days, last 30 days, and custom.
- Size: It allows you to filter file size from less than 128KB to 128KB ~1MB to 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.
Step 3. Preview and select the desired files by ticking the checkboxes or leaving unwanted files unchecked. Then, click Recover x files and select a new location to save the recovered files.
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AOMEI FastRecovery will display the number of files to be recovered and their entire size.
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Retrieving files to the original location may overwrite the space occupied by lost or deleted data, resulting in data recovery failure.
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It still allows you to recover items deleted from Recycle Bin, formatted drives, external disks, USB drives, etc.
▶ Solution 2. Recover the entire GPT partition using AOMEI Partition Assistant
If you want to use this GPT partition afterward, you'd better choose the advanced & easy partition manager - AOMEI Partition Assistant to retrieve the entire deleted/lost GPT with a few clicks, especially useful for a huge amount of users who don’t possess any backup. It will restore all the data on that partition.
- Easy to use. It requires no specific expertise; all users can use it to get deleted partitions back with ease.
- Comprehensive. Utilizing advanced scanning methods, this tool could scan hard disks for deleted partitions from HDD/SSD/memory card/USB flash drives within several minutes.
- Compatible. It works smoothly with Windows 11/10/8/7/XP, etc.
- Multi-functional. Besides partition recovery, it can also merge/move/check/resize/create partitions, etc.
Please download it to recover GPT partition with the following steps.
Step 1. Click Partition Recovery. Then, select the disk containing the GPT partition and click Next.
Step 2. Here offer 2 modes that you can choose from. "Fast Search" is the recommended method, which can find out deleted or lost partitions quickly. Select it and click "Next".
Step 3. After scanning, it will show you all the lost or deleted partition(s) and ask you to select the partition you want to recover. Once done, click Proceed to start GPT partition recovery.
If you can't find the GPT partition, you still can click Back" and select "Full Search" to re-scan the disk.
▶ Solution 3. Restore Lost GPT partition in Disk Management
If the problem is losing a drive letter, you can use Disk Management to specify a new one.
Step 1. Start your PC. Go to Control Panel > System and Security and choose Create and format hard drive partitions.
Step 2. Locate and right-click the GPT partition, then select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Step 3. Click Add on the lower-left part of this panel, you can then choose a new drive letter from Assign the following drive letter menu. Finally, click OK to start the GPT partition recovery.
Bonus tips to keep away from GPT partition loss
As discussed, backups are always the safest and most direct way to get your data back when data is lost. Also, you can directly backup or clone GPT disk, system partition, or specific partitions as backup copies to protect them.
Step 1. Download AOMEI Backupper and launch it. Click Backup on the left side and then Disk Backup.
Step 2. Click Add disk to choose the GPT partition you want to back up, select it and click Add to confirm.
Step 3. Click the second volume to specify the backup destination. It can be another internal disk, external disk, network drive or NAS, etc. At last, click Start Backup.
Conclusion
In this guide, we bring you 3 effective GPT partition recovery solutions, you can select the one that meets your needs best. If you need to recover data from a GPT partition, AOMEI FastRecovery is a good choice you can try. It is a top data recovery program on the market to get deleted/lost data back easily.
Data loss always comes as a surprise, so you need to take proactive steps to avoid it so you can bounce back immediately. Creating backup copies of files, partitions or entire disk will be one of the best method, depending on your disk capacity.
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