5 Fixes to Repair Partition Table in Windows 10/11/8/7

Have you ever encountered "Invalid Partition Table" or "Missing Partition Table" messages? This situation prevents your system from finding the partition containing the boot data. Thankfully, there are 5 methods to repair partition table to working condition.

On this page, we will teach you how to solve this problem and recover data from a drive with an invalid or corrupted partition table, including some information of partition table.

What Is a Partition Table?

A partition table is a table contain data stored in the boot sector of an HDD or SSD describing how it is divided into drives. It helps your system recognize existing hard drives and allows users to perform operations such as create, extend, shrink or delete partitions to better manage data. The two most commonly used partition tables on Windows are MBR and GPT.

MBR is an older partitioning scheme mainly used on pre-2015 computers. GPT was developed to overcome the limitations of MBR and is used by most modern computers. Below are three main advantages of GPT: 

• Supports up to 128 partitions.
• Support a maximum partition size of 18 exabytes (EB).
• Includes a backup partition table to achieve better performance data protection and integrity.

If your partition table is damaged, you will receive the "Invalid Partition Table" or "Missing Partition Table" message when starting a PC. It indicates your drive is not accessible and you need to repair partition table.

Reasons for Invalid Partition Table Error

There are many reasons for invalid partition table error, some common reasons：

• bad sectors
• Incorrect boot sequence
• Accidentally deleted drive partition
• Virus attack
• Damaged partition table
• Power outages

How to Recover Data From a Drive With an Invalid Partition Table Error？

Repairing partition table can sometimes result in data loss, depending on what caused the error and the method used to fix it. Therefore, it is particularly important to restore the data in it before repairing it. We recommend you use the data recovery software MyRecover to recover and get your data from the disk with an invalid partition table back. Please follow the steps below.

Here are the main features of MyRecover:

• High recovery rate: With a 95% success rate, MyRecover ensures your data is recovered successfully.
• Recover 200+ formats: Recover deleted Microsoft Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, PPTX, ODP, CSV, WPS files, and more.
• Locate drive data quickly: Filter the file type, date, or size to filter your needed files.
• Support all brands of drive: Western Digital (WD), Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie SanDisk, Samsung, ADATA, Transcend, etc.

Step 1. Download MyRecover in Windows, install and run it. Hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.

Step 2. MyRecover will scan your drive automatically and thoroughly to locate all the found data on the drive.

Step 3. You will see a list of data that MyRecover found on the drive. Choose your desired files to recover, and click Recover x files.

Step 4. Select a new location to save the recovered files and click Select Folder to confirm it. Your files will be recovered in a few minutes or longer, depending on the amount of data you want to recover.

How do I Repair Partition Table?

After recovering data from your drive with an invalid partition table, you can recover partition table error as follows. Now, let's get started.

Way 1. Check the Boot Order

If a disk read error occurred, you should first check whether the boot sequence in the BIOS is correct.

1. Restart the computer and repeatedly press the prompted key (F2, F8, F10, F12, Esc or Del) to enter the BIOS.

2. Use the arrow keys to select the Boot tab. You will then see system devices in order of priority.

3. If the system disk is not first in the boot order, move it to the top of the hard drive list.

Way 2. Use System Restore

System Restore will restore your computer to its previous state, where the system was configured correctly.  So if you want to restore partition table, you can use the Windows partition table repair tool System Restore.

1. Connect the Windows installation media (DVD or bootable USB drive) to your PC to enter Windows RE (Recovery Environment). Click Next.

2. On the install Windows screen, Choose Repair your computer.

3. Click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.

4. Click Next on the pop-up window.

5. Choose a system restore point and click Next to go on.

Way 3. Use Bootrec Command

Windows has several commands that can detect corruption and fix partition table. You need to execute these commands in Command Prompt.

Step 1. Go to the Advanced options interface and click Command Prompt.

Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, input bootrec /fixmbr > bootrec /fixboot > bootrec /rebuildbcd > restart.

Step 3. Restart the system and let Bootrec fix partition table.

Way 4. Rebuild MBR

Sometimes, MBR (Master Boot Record) is corrupted or damaged, so you can use partition assistant to fix this problem easily. Here it is highly recommended that users get a mighty helping hand from a third-party tool AOMEI Partition Assistant to rebuild MBR.

Step 1. Remove your drive and install it to another computer. Install AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro version on another working computer. Click Make bootable media > Next.

Step 2. Select “USB Boot Device” and click “Proceed” to begin the pending operation. Then, click the “Yes” button to begin the process.

Step 3. After taking out the bootable disk and putting it back to the original computer. Restart your computer to BIOS and set it as the first boot option. Then, press a prompted key to boot from it. It will load this partition assistant.

Step 4. Right-click on the unbootable system disk >click Rebuild MBR.

Step 5. Set the type of MBR for the correct OS, then click OK.

Step 6. You can preview the operation you did, then click Proceed >Apply to confirm.

Way 5. Initialize Drive and Recreate Partitions

If the entire disk becomes unknown not initialize or needs to be initialized. Replace the partition table through initialization to achieve repair purposes. You can try to go through the 2 parts listed below to fix partition table. Remove the drive and install it on another computer by doing the following.

Part 1: Initialize Drive

1. Press the Windows and X keys together to choose Disk Management.

2. Locate your drive with invalid partition table, then right-click on it and choose Initialize Disk.

3. Choose a partition typefor your drive. GPT is the best choice. Then click OK.

Part 2: Create a New Partition

Now, you need to create a new partition on unallocated disks so that the partition table will be repaired by the new table created.

Step 1. Press“Windows + R”, then enter “diskmgmt. msc” in the window and click “OK” to open Disk Management.

Step 2. Locate the unallocated space on your hard drive and right-click it, select “New Simple Volume”.

Step 3. Enter the New Simple Volume Wizard, and click "Next" to continue.

Step 4. Enter a smaller simple volume size in the box on the Specify Volume Size window, then click “Next”.

Step 5. Type a new drive letter for the new partition via “Assign the following drive letter”, then click “Next”.

Step 6. Specify your file system and volume label. Ensure Perform a quick format is selected and click Next.

Then a new volume will be successfully created.

Conclusion

With the above 5 methods, you can repair partition table in Windows 10/11/8/7 easily. Also, get useful information to recover data from a drive with invalid partition table. We recommend that you back up your storage device regularly to reduce the risk of data loss. When disaster strikes, you'll be able to quickly restore files from backups and get them back in no time.

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