Help! My HDD Shows Only 32GB After Windows 11 Installation – How Can I Recover My Data?
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CuriousPenguin927
I have a 2TB HDD, and I used it to create a bootable drive for Windows 11, but now it only shows 32GB when I connect it to my PC. Disk Management shows the remaining space as unallocated (around 1830GB). I tried using MiniTool to recover the data, but everything came back unnamed (like recovered1, recovered2, etc.), and I stopped the process because it felt like I might lose more. Is there a better way to recover my lost data?
Answers
I suggest creating an image of the drive before attempting further recovery. If you're not familiar with data recovery processes, you might want to send your HDD to a professional service to avoid further data loss. It's often worth investing in professional help for important files.
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It sounds like the Media Creation Tool may have formatted your HDD to FAT32, which is why you're seeing just 32GB. When using that tool, it will warn you that selecting your drive will erase its contents. For recovery options, there are paid software solutions like R-Studio that might provide better results than free ones, especially if your files haven’t been overwritten yet.
DataWizard77: I noticed that it shows 32GB as FAT32 when you check it. Is there a way to retrieve my files with their names and original folders? I used MiniTool, and it seems to recover them one by one without metadata.
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CuriousPenguin927: That's a good idea! I’ll consider getting a pro's help. Thanks for the advice!