# Solved: How to UnHIDE partition in Windows 7



## nostradamus2 (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi,

I Have a MEDION desktop P4010D with Windows 7 pre-installed and I was using Partition Commander to install another operating system ( Windows XP Pro) and then everything came undone.

Windows XP would not install ( I think this has something to do with missing scsi drivers So I will attempt a slipstream procedure I read about eleswhere but first I want to unhide partition2) and now Windows 7 won't reboot.
There are 4 primary partitions already on the 1Tb HDD. The 1st (active partition ~ 100Mb) and 4th (~ 1Gb) Partitions seem to be secret and did not appear in Windows Explorer when computer was working.
The Other two primary partitions were 'C' (~881Gb Windows 7 installation but not active and also on Partition 2 which is now HIDDEN and not associated with a Volume) & 'D' (~50Gb Recovery Files)

How Do I change Partition 2 which has the Windows 7 installation back so it is no longer hidden ?

I can't get GDisk.exe on a Win98SE startup DVD to work as Windows 7 does not seem to allow it to boot. ( I am guessing there is something on either the 1st or 4th partitions which may be responsible for preventing
it to boot from the Win98SE startup DVD.)
DiskPArt will not UnHide partitions.

All I seem to have access to at the moment is the DOS command prompt ( I assume it is DOS it is The Black window with cursor not sure about anything with Windows 7)

Thanks in Advance !


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## nostradamus2 (Jan 31, 2010)

You did not seem to read where I said nothing is booting.
I do not have windows XP booting to be able to use PARTEDIT32 program !

I only have the Command Prompt !

But thanks for trying.


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## nostradamus2 (Jan 31, 2010)

Ultimate Boot is gone..

it redirects me to Powersuite for $50

I am not forking out for something that may not do the job.

Still looking for help


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

Get the iso:
Computer Center/University of Crete (6th on the list).


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## n2ts (Dec 1, 2006)

Here is the full address  i just downloaded the latest version while you are there check out the list of tools
they may be usefull


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Parted Magic disk partitoning tool (Bootable CD image)


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## nostradamus2 (Jan 31, 2010)

I have managed to unscrew active partition (which produced error message ntldr is missing) Fixed this by using recovery DVD and getting to
screen which asks "Load Drivers" which I then saw a MS explorer window
with My Computer I inserted USB stick with cmd.exe (XP version)
I right clicked cmd.exe and selected "run as administrator"
selected disk 0,
selected partition 1 and entered active and rebooted.
Back to square 1.
.
So now computer has original problem again where I can not unhide Partition 2 which has the Windows 7 installation.

Thanks to N2TS for providing a link to UBCD which works.
all I achieved with UBCD slipstreamed Win XP sp3 DVD was the splash screen for XP then the dreaded bluescreen
"Houston we have a problem..."

I cannot get my computer to boot Win98SE startup dvd (with gdisk and cmd.exe)


I cannot get my computer to boot DOS_622 dvd (with gdisk and cmd.exe).


After going through Windows 7 startup recovery, the only access I am allowed is the command prompt,

It is strange how F8 (then boot from DVD) does not bypass Windows 7 Startup recovery.

My computer has 
X: (not sure what that is)
D: (DVD rom)
C: (impotent nothing, no files readable )
I feel like saying something bad in Klingon.

But alas Please help.
I shall now try PartMAgic .. wish me luck !

I tried booting PartEDMagic and it seems to run OK.

But I don't know how to use it to unhide Partition 2.

Oh Yes, I forgot to mention my new computer does NOT have a Floppy A Drive.
My old XP desktop does have a Floppy A drive so that is how I made the DVD boot disks for the New Windows 7 Computer..


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Where are you getting these boot CD's? How are you creating the boot sector for the BIOS to read? Cold hardware is stupid in the extreme. It can't read file names. You have to communicate with it in much simpler terms, like nudges, hints, and tracks for it to follow that are impossible to fall off from.

Not sure what this means, but if you get a boot menu, then you didn't boot from the DVD:

"It is strange how F8 (then boot from DVD) does not bypass Windows 7 Startup recovery."

So you have done a startup repair?

Come on back. We can easily unhide the partition. 

You can't make a partition active with cmd.exe. I'm surprized that you got no error. In any case, the partition is still not active if that is all you did.

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Did you get Parted Magic booted up? It really is an amazing disk. I got connected to my wireless network and on the net within about 10 seconds of seeing the desktop. It's nice to have that access when doing something so important on the drive. And it has a file manager and mounts all connected devices on boot, so you can back up any files you want, or even make a disk image of the whole drive if you want.

But for our purposes, we need the partition editor. Boot up the CD with any devices you may want to use connected. That includes USB thumb drives if you want to recover or back up files.

Start the editor. It will scan all devices for partitions. That may take a few minutes.

Find your drive in the graphic. It will probably be sda if it is SATA and the first drive.

Right-click your system partition and choose the "Set Flags" option. In the window that appears, you want the "hide" option unchecked. You want the "boot" option checked (Linux-speak for "active").

If you want to recover any files, just in case, go to the "Start" menu and choose System Tools > PCman File Manager. Use it to copy your files from the hard drive to your USB drive (if it was not mounted as "read-only", in which case, use something else for your files, like a second hard drive, or the internet, or try to figure out how to mount it as read/write as your homework for tomorrow night).

Close the window. 

Use the icon on the desktop to check the SMART status of your drives, if you want. It's a good chance to see if the drive itself has detected any abnormalities or things to worry about (SMART=-Self-monitoring and Reporting Technology).

Go to the "Start" menu and log off.

All done.


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## nostradamus2 (Jan 31, 2010)

I think the guys who made parted magic ... particularly the graphical server Option 4 on the Menu deserve a Good pat on the back.

From Start Menu
Choose Option 4 Graphical Server Interface
Then choose Partition Editor Lower 6th Icon on Left of screen
And away you go.

FYI Elvandil I did change ACTIVE partition to Partition 1 via the method I outlined.


Now to get WIN XP Pro up and running.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Fantastic.

You can mark your own threads "solved" using the button above.


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