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My desktop PC hasn't been powered on for a few months. During this time, the power cord stayed connected to the power supply, which was connected to a surge protector.

I recently powered on the PC, but the SSD, which has Windows 8 installed on it, won't boot. Even though the drive won't boot, it shows up in the BIOS boot menu. I'm assuming that the drive was somehow damaged during the period of time the PC wasn't powered on.

I've now replaced the SSD with a newer one that boots just fine.

My problem is that I need to access some of the files on the non-working SSD. I've tried connecting the non-working SSD to another SATA input on the motherboard, but wasn't able to access the files. I've also tried using an external enclosure, which led to the same result.

The drive isn't visible in 'This PC'. If I go to 'Disk Management', the drive is shown, but is labeled 'unallocated'.

How can I access the files on the drive?

user22939
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  • Just a quick tip: do not bother using Windows for recovery. Use Linux and then scan it using Testdisk. If the file system itself is damaged (very unlikely) then you can use RecuperaBit (disclaimer: I am the developer). – Andrea Lazzarotto Nov 14 '17 at 06:53
  • Okay. I'm not familiar with Linux or Testdisk. Are there any tutorials that you'd recommend for both of them? – user22939 Nov 15 '17 at 19:55
  • Sure, here: https://superuser.com/a/1144489/278831 – Andrea Lazzarotto Nov 20 '17 at 12:13

1 Answers1

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"Unallocated" means the OS sees no partition on the disk - it either got damaged or the SSD is faulty.

You will not be able to access the files without recovering the original partition. Search for "partition recovery" to get list of recommended tools (SW recommendations are off topic here)

Alternatively you can use one of the many commercial recovery services if the data is of a high value - expect to pay $500 and up

TomEus
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