If you see an error message A required drive partition is missing while trying to reset your PC then this post will help you. Reset this PC is a handy feature in Windows 11/10 that enables you to restore Windows 11/10 to factory settings without losing your data. It is basically used when your system is not running properly and you are encountering a lot of problems on your PC. So, to repair serious operating system problems, you can the reset tool. You can access this handy tool from the Settings > System > Recovery section on Windows 11.
While the process of resetting your PC is very easy, you can also run into some errors preventing you from resetting or reinstalling Windows. One such error is the “A required drive partition is missing” error which a lot of users have encountered while resetting their PCs. The full error message that prompts is as follows:
Unable to reset your PC. A required drive partition is missing.
Now, if you are facing the same problem, this guide is intended to help you out. We are going to mention some working solutions that will enable you to fix the error. But before that, let us find out the reasons that cause this error.
What are the reasons for A required drive partition is missing error during Reset This PC?
There can be different reasons for individuals for encountering this error. Here are some of the possible reasons that might trigger this error:
- It can be a result of corrupted boot configurations.
- The error can be triggered due to bad sectors on your hard drive. Also, file system errors can also cause this error. If this scenario applies, you can try running the CHKDSK command to fix the error.
- Another reason for the same is that an incorrect system partition is set as active on your system You can try changing the active partition to resolve the problem in that case.
- The corrupted or damaged system files can also trigger this error. In that case, running an SFC scan should be able to fix the problem for you.
- A corrupted or damaged Master Boot Record (MBR) is another possible cause of this error. You can try rebuilding MBR if the scenario applies to you.
Now that you know the scenarios that trigger the A required drive partition is missing error, you can apply the suitable fix to get rid of the problem.
A required drive partition is missing error during Reset This PC
Here are the methods to use in order to fix the “A required drive partition is missing” error while resetting your PC:
- Run Automatic Startup Repair.
- Run CHKDSK to fix drive errors.
- Mark partition as active.
- Rebuild MBR.
- Run System File Checker scan.
- Perform a System Restore.
1] Run Automatic Startup Repair
The first thing you can do to resolve this error is try running Automatic Startup Repair to troubleshoot this problem. It will attempt to fix the hard drive and other errors and might enable you to get rid of this problem. Here are the main steps to run startup repair:
- First of all, boot your PC into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
- Now, click on the Troubleshoot option.
- Next, tap on Advanced options and then choose the Startup Repair option to start the repair process.
- After the repair process is completed, you can go back to the Troubleshoot option.
- Then, click on the Reset this PC optionand see if the drive partition error is fixed. If yes, you can follow the prompted instructions to reset your PC.
If this doesn’t fix the error for you, don’t worry. You can try some other solution to resolve the error.
2] Run CHKDSK to fix drive errors
To fix this error, you can try running the inbuilt disk error checker tool in WIndows 11/10 called CHKDSK. As this error is related to drive partition, it could be triggered due to file system errors, bad sectors, etc. So, in that case, you should try running CHKDSK to check and fix the drive error. Here are the steps to do that:
- Firstly, boot your PC into WinRE (refer to method 1).
- Next, click on the Troubleshoot option.
- Now, go to the Advanced options and then tap on the Command Prompt option.
- When the CMD is opened, enter the following command to run the CHKDSK tool to repair disk errors:
CHKDSK c: /f /r
In the above command, replace c with the driver letter of System Partition you intend to inspect and fix.
- After the command is successfully executed, reboot your PC and then see if the error is now fixed.
Read: Fix Select the driver to install error during Windows Installation
3] Mark partition as Active
This error can be caused if a wrong partition is set as Active. So, if the scenario is applicable, you can try changing the active system partition using the Command Prompt. To do that, you can use Windows built-in utility tool called DISKPART.
Do note that setting the wrong system partition as active may make your computer unbootable. So, use this method only if you know what you are doing. If the partition doesn’t contain BOOTMGR for your OS, do not set it as active.
Now, to change the active system partition, here are the steps you can follow:
Firstly, boot your PC into WinRE mode (see method (1)).
Now, go to the Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt option to open up the Command Prompt.
In the Command Prompt, type the following command in the given sequence:
diskpart list disk
Next, type the below command to select a disk from the listed ones:
select disk 0
0 represents the disk number that you can replace with the disk number.
After that, enter the below command to list available partitions on your hard disk:
list partition
Then, enter the below command replacing 0 with the partition number:
select partition 0
Finally, to set the partition as active, write the below command:
active
You can now type exit in the command prompt to exit CMD and then turn off your PC. Start the PC again and see if the problem is fixed now.
See: The directory name is invalid – CD/DVD drive error
4] Rebuild MBR
If the problem still persists, you can try rebuilding Master Boot Record (MBR). A damaged Master Boot Record (MBR) can very well facilitate this error. So, you can repair MBR using Windows inbuilt feature and see if that fixes the error for you. Here are the steps to do that:
- Firstly, open the Command Prompt in WinRE as we did in method (1).
- Next, enter the below command in the CMD:
bootrec /scanos
- After that, enter the below command one by one:
bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot bootrec /rebuildbcd
- Now, try restarting your PC and see if the error is now fixed.
Read: An error occurred while ejecting DVD RW Drive on Windows
5] Run System File Checker scan
This error can also occur if your PC is dealing with some kind of system file corruption. In that case, you should be able to repair corrupted system files using System File Checker i.e., SFC scan and that should also fix the “A required drive partition is missing” error while resetting the PC.
To do that, here are the steps to follow:
- Launch Command Prompt in WinRE as we did in the above methods.
- Enter the below command:
sfc /scannow
See if this fixes up the error for you. If not, move on to the next potential fix.
See: Windows cannot format this drive.
6] Perform a System Restore
If all the above solutions fail to fix the error for you, you can perform a system restore to an earlier point where you didn’t encounter such an error. To do that, boot into WinRE and then click on the Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore option. After that, follow the instructions in the opened System Restore wizard and complete the process. Restart your PC and check if the error is fixed now.
Read: USB Flash Drive Showing 0 Bytes in Windows 11/10.
How do I unlock a Windows installation drive?
To unlock a hard drive or Windows installation drive, you can run the CHKDSK command, use the SFC command, and try rebuilding MBR. We have mentioned the steps in this article that you can use. Other than that, you can also try resetting your PC to fix the problem.
How do I create a custom recovery partition?
To create a custom recovery drive, open the Recovery Media Creator wizard from the Start search. Then, follow this guide to create a System recovery drive on your PC.
How do I find a missing partition in Windows?
To recover a missing partition on Windows 11/10, you can use this Free Partition Recovery software called TestDisk. You can download and install it and then use it to automatically recover partitions on your system. Other than that, you can also use partition manager software to find a missing partition in Windows 11/10.
That’s it! Hope this helps!
Now read: Fix Hard Drive Not installed problem on Windows 11/10.
