10 ‎Prevalent Reasons for Partition Data Loss on Hard Disk Drives

A Partition or Disk Partition is the logical segmentation of a physical hard drive. Partition, with respect to computer hard drive or any external drive helps users to create different logical sections of a storage device.

Partitioning a disk particularly a large-sized drive helps users to organize and manage files more effectively, such as videos, photos, audio and text documents, etc. Each Partition has its own file system, which is responsible for managing data. Having a separate partition for storing operating system files can reduce the chances of computer malfunction.

Since each Partition on a disk is separate from the other, running various operating systems on the same computer system is also possible.

The 10 Reasons for Partition Data Loss on Hard Disk Drives

Below are the various reasons that can lead to a complete partition data loss.

1. Partition table loss:
   

   A partition table is a table maintained on storage disk by the operating system. Basically, the partition table acts as an address table and gives out every information to the operating system like the information about the partitioning of a disk.

   If the partition table becomes corrupt, then it can lead to partition data loss even without actually deleting the partition data that’s present on the drive.

2. Bad sectors:
   

   A hard drive platter is segmented into numerous tracks, and each track consists of multiple sectors. If any sector in a drive becomes inaccessible, meaning cannot be read or write, then it is called a bad sector. A bad sector is either a result of physical damage or logical corruption due to power surge issues, improper power shutdowns, etc. Any data located or saved on the bad sector gets permanently inaccessible or lost.

   Multiple bad sectors on a partition make all the saved data on the partition inaccessible. Thus, if a partition disk becomes a bad sector due to logical error, it erases the complete files saved on it by making the partition disk unavailable.

3. Unexpected system shut down:
   

   Improper system shutdowns or frequent computer shutdowns affect the smooth functioning of the computer system. This can be due to power surge issues, frequent load shedding, etc. not only affect the computer performance but also lead to partition data loss.

4. File system corruption:
   

   A File system is responsible for managing the data located on a storage drive. It controls how and where the files are saved in storage drive. Without a file system, an operating system can’t understand how and where the files are located individually in the storage drive.

   Each partition consists of a file system. So, any corruption or damage to the file system can lead to missing partition, which is again – a severe partition data loss situation.

5. Severe virus infection:
   

   Severe virus-infection not only corrupts the data present on the drive but can also damage the complete drive or partition. Any boot-sector viruses can infect master boot record (MBR) which is responsible for booting an operating system.

   Such virus infection can make the complete drive or partition data corrupt. And thus, it leads to complete loss of partition data. Examples of some boot sector viruses are Form, Disk Killer, Michelangelo, and Stone virus.

6. Deletion of Partition table:
   

   Deleting a partition table that contains the information about the files saved or located in a disk partition leads to data loss. Such an inevitable mistake erases the location of the saved files. Thus, creating a partition data loss scenario.

7. Formatting a drive or Partition:
   

   Formatting is usually done when the user experiences lag in performance or errors in the drive. Formatting a drive or disk partition completely disregards the data saved on it by creating a new file system.

   Although formatting a drive or a partition resolves performance issues, it is always recommended to maintain a backup to avoid data loss before formatting a computer’s drive, partition, or external storage drive like pen drive, SSD, hard disk drive, etc.

8. Operating system crash:
   

   Operating system failure due to hardware or software issues like overheating, RAM issues, corrupt registry, severe corruption, etc. can lead to partition data loss.

9. Altering/ resizing a partition size:
   

   Increasing or shrinking a disk partition space can be risky to the existing data present on the partition, especially using inappropriate methods. Sudden interruptions while resizing a partition like power failures, system shutdown, etc. can lead to partition data loss.

10. Intentional deletion:
    

    Any intentional deletion or unintentional deletion of files and folders can lead to data loss. Deleting files in a partition with shift + delete keys permanently deletes the entire partition data without leaving a copy of files in the Trash bin.

Five ways to Avoid Partition Data loss?

1. It is always recommended that you maintain a backup of all your important data before you perform any operation like – formatting a drive or disk partition, deleting important files or folders, reinstalling the new operating system, etc.
2. Ensure that there are no power fluctuations if you are resizing your disk partition or transferring files to other devices, etc.
3. Install Anti-virus in your computer system to protect important files and folders from corruption.
4. Acquaint yourselves with complete information before you perform any risky operation on your device which can lead to data loss. For instance, reinstalling the operating system, resizing a partition, etc. can lead to data loss if executed using an improper method.
5. Utilize Remo Partition Recovery software to recover deleted or lost files, folders or partitions in a few simple steps. Remo Partition Recovery software is specialized in recovering more than 300 file formats such as photos, videos, raw-images, audio, text documents, etc. not only from computer’s internal hard drive but also from various external storage drives like pen drive, HDD, SDD, memory cards, SD cards, etc. with ease. This user-friendly tool scans the entire formatted, corrupted or missing partition/ drive to recover lost or deleted files in a quick time.

Conclusion:

This is all about the 10 most common reasons that can lead to complete loss of disk partition files. However, there are many other situations like improper reinstallation of the operating system, interruptions during partition data transferring, etc. can also delete your partition data.

Remember that maintaining a backup of all your important files is a good deed that can save you from data loss. Lastly, you can always install Remo Partition recovery software to restore partition data from any partition loss scenarios.

The two variants of the tool (Windows and Mac) are compatible with all the latest versions of both Mac and Windows operating systems like Windows 10, 8, 7, macOS Catalina, Mojave, etc.