How to Fix and Recover Data From Unallocated Hard Drive? [Proven Solutions]

In a Windows computer, when you open “This PC” or “My Computer,” you typically see a list of partitions and drives, including external drives, providing easy access to your files stored on each of them. However, there are instances when a partition or an external drive doesn’t appear in the File Explorer under “This PC” or “My Computer.” Instead, you may find it listed as an unallocated drive or unallocated disk in Disk Management.

What does it mean when a Hard Drive is unallocated? An unallocated drive or unallocated partition is a hard drive or volume that is not assigned a drive letter or does not belong to a partition.

So, while installing the Operating System on your new computer, you need to partition that unallocated hard drive since you can’t use a hard drive without allocating a drive letter and file system.

What about the data trapped in the unallocated drive? How can you recover it? Most importantly, can I fix the hard disk unallocated issue? If so, how can I fix the unallocated hard drive issue?

We perfectly understand your situation and feel your pain. I can assure you that if you stick to this article’s end and follow my instructions. You can fix the issue and recover the data. Also covered are the possible reasons why you and many other users encountered the issue in the first place, and understanding the causes will ensure you do not encounter the issue again.  

Table of Contents:

• How to Recover Data From an Unallocated Hard Drive?
• How to Fix an Unallocated Hard Drive?
• Top 10 Situations Where Hard Drives Become Unallocated
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Attempting to repair unallocated space on a hard drive can be risky, as it may unintentionally result in data loss. Fixing an unallocated drive typically involves formatting and permanently erasing all stored data. Therefore, it is very important to prioritize data recovery as the initial step.

How to Recover Data From an Unallocated Hard Drive?

There are two main ways to recover data. The first one is simply restoring the already backed-up data from backups. The second one is trying to recover it using specialized data recovery tools. 

If you have taken a backup of the data saved in the unallocated hard drive and saved it in multiple locations. I recommend you restore that data upon completion of the Unallocated hard drive fixing process.

If you don’t have a backup. Then, you need a professional data recovery tool like Remo Recover to recover data from an unallocated hard drive.

Follow the steps mentioned below to recover data from unallocated disks and restore unallocated partitions.

Steps to Recover Data From Unallocated Drive Using Remo Recover

Step 1: Download and install the Remo Recover tool on your computer. Once installed, launch the tool to begin the unallocated disk recovery process from your unallocated hard drive.

Step 2: After launching the tool, select the unallocated hard drive from which you want to recover data. If you wish to recover data from your unallocated external hard drive, ensure it is properly connected via a USB cable. If you cannot locate the drive, you can initiate a manual search by clicking on the “Can’t find the drive?” option.

Step 3: Click on the Scan button to initiate the scanning process. This tool will perform a Quick Scan, and after its completion, it will automatically run a Deep Scan. The deep scan will thoroughly examine your drive sector by sector to recover the maximum number of files.

Step 4: Once the scanning process ends, this tool will list all the recovered files under the lost and found folder or lost partition folder. You can Double-click on any file to Preview and judge the condition of the file for free.

Step 5: At the end, select the files you want to recover and click the Recover button. Now select a safe location where you want to save the files and click on the OK button to complete the recovery process.

Now that you have safely recovered your data from the unallocated hard drive and stored it in an external location, it’s time to start the fixing process.

The next section discusses all the possible ways to fix unallocated partition(s), entire unallocated hard disks, and other storage devices. 

How to Fix an Unallocated Hard Drive?

You can begin the repair process once you have successfully recovered the data from the unallocated hard drive. Below, we have provided five proven methods to fix the unallocated hard drive:

• Method 1: Scan Your Unallocated Drive for Malware
• Method 2: Update or Reinstall Driver
• Method 3: Run DiskPart Command to Fix the Unallocated Hard Drive
• Method 4: Extend an Existing Partition to Fix Unallocated Hard Drive
• Method 5: Create a New Partition from Unallocated Space

If you suspect that viruses or malware are causing your drive to show unallocated or that the partitions are affected. You can try the first solution, which involves scanning your unallocated drive or partitions. 

You can try reinstalling the same version if your drivers are outdated or corrupt. If they are outdated, try updating them to a new version.

Diskpart is an effective solution when you want to delete the unallocated volume or partition.

Use this solution when you want to enlarge the unallocated space adjacent to an existing partition. It lets you maximize the usage of the available disk space without creating additional partitions.

The last solution on this list is to create a new partition by utilizing the unallocated space. This makes the space usable for various purposes, such as storing new data and installing new applications.

Method 1: Scan Your Unallocated Drive for Malware

Before diving into technical solutions. It is a good idea to eliminate the possibility of a virus or malicious scripts causing the problem. Just install and run reliable antivirus software to clean up any viruses or malicious scripts that may have infected your hard drive.

Method 2: Unallocated Disk Fix by Updating or Reinstalling Drivers

Outdated or corrupted drivers can often lead to an unallocated hard drive. Drivers play a crucial role in communicating between your storage device and other hardware components. To resolve driver-related issues, follow these steps:

1: Right-click on the Start menu and select “Device Manager.” 

2: Expand the “Disk drives” section, right-click on your disk drive, and choose “Properties.” 

3: Navigate to the “Driver” tab and click “Update Driver.” 

4: Select “Search automatically for drivers.”

5: If no updates are found, proceed to the next step. Close the window and then uninstall the device. 

6: Restart your computer to trigger the automatic reinstallation of the drivers.

Note: If the unallocated drive issue occurs on a removable device, you can simply disconnect and reconnect the storage device after restarting your computer.

Method 3: Run DiskPart Command to Fix the Unallocated Hard Drive

DiskPart is a powerful command-line tool that provides greater flexibility for managing your computer’s drives. It allows you to create a new partition to occupy the unallocated space. Follow these steps to create a new partition and format it:

1: Open DiskPart, type in the below commands, and press Enter key after each.

2: list volume – This command will display all the volumes or partitions on all the internal or external disks, along with details like label, volume letter, file system, type, size, status, and other info.

3: run the diskpart command to fix the unallocated hard drive.  

4: select volume # (replace # with your unallocated hard disk drive letter or number) –

5: delete volume – This command allows you to delete the selected volume.  This step is vital when you want to delete or remove the problematic or corrupted volume that is causing any issue. 

6: list volume – This command lists all the partitions or volumes. Run it to ensure the partition has been deleted and the list shows the updated volumes. 

Now that you have deleted the unallocated volume space, you can create a new assigned volume.

If you do not want to delete the unassigned or raw drive space, you can try merging or combining the unassigned partitions or spaces with the assigned space. 

Also Read: How To Fix and Recover Data From Corrupted Hard Drive?

Method 4: Extend an Existing Partition to Fix an Unallocated Hard Drive

If only a portion of your hard drive is unallocated, consider allocating that space to an existing partition for added storage. Here’s how:

1: Right-click on the Start menu and select “Disk Management.”

2: Locate the existing partition, right-click, and choose “Extend Volume.”

3: Follow the on-screen instructions to allocate the unallocated space to the existing partition.

Now, open Disk Management and right-click on your unallocated hard drive. Create a new partition and assign it to a new file system.

Method 5: Create a New Partition from Unallocated Space

When a significant portion of your hard drive becomes unallocated, it’s practical to turn that space into a new partition. This enables you to format it with a file system and start using it for data storage. Here’s how to create a new partition from unallocated space:

• Right-click on the Start menu and select “Disk Management.” 

• Locate the unallocated space, right-click on it, and choose “New Simple Volume.” 

• Follow the on-screen instructions to assign a drive letter and format the partition using the NTFS file system.

By following these methods, you can efficiently resolve unallocated hard drive issues, recover lost storage space, and get back to using your device without any data loss or inconvenience.

As mentioned earlier, the last section in this list discusses the reasons why your hard drives or other storage devices show up as unallocated.  

Top 10 Situations Where Hard Drives Become Unallocated

Scenario	Description
💽 New Hard Drive Installation	When you install a new hard drive in your computer, it typically comes unallocated and needs to be initialized and partitioned before use.
🧩 Disk Management Utility	Connecting an external hard drive to a computer may show as unallocated if it hasn’t been configured with partitions for that particular system.
💾 Formatting or Reformatting a Drive	If you format a drive or perform a full reformat, it can become unallocated as it erases all existing partitions and data on the drive.
⚠️ Disk Failure or Corruption	When a hard drive experiences failure or corruption, it may become unallocated, making it inaccessible until you repair it or initialize it.
🔄 Repurposing an Existing Drive	When repurposing an existing drive for a new use, you might delete existing partitions, leaving the drive unallocated until you create new ones.
🖼️ Cloning or Imaging a Drive	When you clone or create an image of a drive, the target drive may initially be unallocated, requiring you to allocate and format it afterward.
🖥️ Connecting an External Drive	When you connect an external hard drive to a computer, it may show as unallocated if it hasn’t been configured with partitions for that particular system.
🔄 Disk Migration or Replacement	During the migration or replacement of a hard drive, the new drive may be unallocated until you set it up with partitions and transfer data to it.
🛠️ Recovery from Data Loss	Unallocated space may be encountered in some data recovery scenarios when trying to recover lost or deleted partitions and data.
🚫 Accidental Deletion of Partitions	Accidentally deleting partitions using disk management tools can lead to unallocated space on a drive.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of our long discussion, where we have discussed in-depth why the device or the partitions within them become unallocated (Hint – Accidental partition deletion, file system corruption due to power failure, forceful system shutdowns or malware attacks, issues with the hardware due to connection problems or failing devices, bugs and errors due to the usage of unreliable third-party software, and bugs in the operating system, and driver issues resulting from incompatible or outdated drivers.

Problems during the Disk Management operations, such as partition table errors and failed partition resize and move. Issues with the OS reinstall or update, Dynamic Disk conversion failure, etc.)

Regardless of what cause might have triggered the problem, you can always try solutions like running a quick antivirus scan, reinstalling the problematic driver or updating the outdated drivers, deleting corrupt or unassigned partitions using Diskpart, extending or merging the unallocated disk space with the already assigned partitions, or creating a new partition.  

I am sure you have found the solutions mentioned in this article helpful, and you were able to fix unallocated disk without losing data.

Frequently Asked Questions on Recover Data from Unallocated Drive

About the Author: John Harris

With a decade of experience in data recovery, John Harris, Senior Editor at Remo Software, is your go-to specialist. His focus includes partition management, Windows solutions, and data troubleshooting, delivering insightful content that serves both users and search engines. John's expertise shines through in illuminating blog posts, untangling data loss intricacies across diverse storage platforms.…