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After trying to extend the C: drive to two other drives, E: Documents (79.46GB) and D: Software (50GB), I do not see the data contained in E: Documents (79.46GB) folder, but the data is present that was in D: Software (50GB). How can I recover my data?

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    How exactly did you merge those partitions? Sounds like whatever operation you performed resulted in the permanent deletion and loss of that data.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 14:18
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    Do you have a backup of your documents?
    – anon
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 14:19
  • Indeed, there's no other solution than the usual file recovery software and you shouldn't expect too much from those.
    – ChanganAuto
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 14:19
  • I just clicked on "extend volume" and nothing else.
    – Hafijur Rahaman
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 14:20
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    @HafijurRahaman - The data is gone due to that action
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 14:40

1 Answer 1

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@HafijurRahaman, each drive had its own index of files, the Master File Table (MFT).

If you are lucky, the files might still be there, but the merger likely hid or destroyed the MFT for drive E:.

  • Stop using that whole physical drive. Each time you boot from it or store data to it, more files are destroyed, perhaps beyond recovery.
  • Boot from USB with a rescue tool for data recovery, such as MiniTool® Power Data Recovery, RecoverIt or one of the many free and commercial alternatives.
  • Follow the tool's directions to save any recovered files to another physical drive, not the one with damaged file system.

Do not expect recovery of all files. You might try using a commercial recovery service, but there is no guarantee how much will be recovered.

The best way to prevent such a disaster is to plan ahead: make drive images periodically, and particularly when performing risky drive operations. A verified drive image allows full recovery even if a drive has been destroyed.

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    +1 @HafijurRahaman: Do not expect to recover the file-names, since these were included in the destroyed file-table. You might need to identify the files by their size and contents,
    – harrymc
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 15:19
  • Ideally use a file recovery tool that allows to recover 2 file system parameter sets, both representing previous 2 file system states. Most tools will pick "dominant" file system (or fail altogether). Recovering data from merged file systems can be the more challenging scenario even for the more experienced.
    – Joep van Steen
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 21:01
  • Special consideration required if the drive is one that supports TRIM (some SMR drives + SSD) as anything that's not present as far as file system is concerned may be subject to TRIM.
    – Joep van Steen
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 23:13

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