Windows 10: System Drive Hidden - Unable to Unhide - Can't Boot PC - Help Please?

** You only replace the Windows partition from your image- no others.

N.B. you probably need to consider how to reduce the size of what's on C: a bit. (that red bar).

I'm most familiar now with Macrium Reflect - I used to use Easeus Todo...

The key is to maintain a backup of the set of Windows partitions, and of any other data partitions. MR makes this easy, as its 'Windows Backup' outs checkmarks on all the relevant partitions. Maybe Easeus Todo can do that too.

MR keeps a set of backups - base image + differential images only in the free edition- you can set how many you want to keep.

I keep a simple log of program changes on my PC, plus note when I create images. Thus if I need to restore an image, I look at my log and redo changes subsequent to that point.

I keep personal data off my OS as far as practicable and don't use the default library folders, which I don't relocate either.

Thus restoring my OS doesn't affect my data in general.

7 hours is a long long time - is that over USB 0.5 ? *Biggrin

A differential image of my SSD takes about 12-15 mins over USB3.

 

Oh, to answer you I tried the boot repair in Macrium. It said something like operation completed (can't remember) and literally only took two seconds.

However the issue itself remained as it was. Whatever Macrium did to the HD in two seconds didn't fix anything.

I'm not positive, but pretty sure the previous installation was legacy.

So I'm thinking if this doesn't work in UEFI I'll try it in legacy, and if that doesn't work just do everything manually.

Don't remember the ACHI setting but that doesn't mean it wasn't present. Would I find that setting in the Boot area? If it's disabled for whatever reason after I complete this restoration and I enable it I'm not going to risk anything am I?

Thanks again for everything.

It's Memorial Day weekend coming up in the US this weekend, so I have a three day weekend. I wasn't planning on spending those three days getting this PC back to "normal" but it looks like those are my plans.

Thanks for all your help. I was so comfortable in Windows 7. I actually made Windows 10 look like it the best I could.

One thing I did was get rid of those tiles. I couldn't stand them. What a bunch of rubbish whose idea was that?

I thought all that assorted nonsense was too "cute" it made the OS seem more like a game. I loved DOS for that reason, haha. Plain, no nonsense, and WYSIWYG.

 

I'm going to use Acronis True Image (I'm leaning towards that idea, anyway) as my back up software once I put this mess behind me. And yes, as you suggested, I'm going to do the back up plus differential thing. Daily, most likely.

Every two weeks or so the OCD in me would find the need to start over with a fresh full back up and rinse and repeat.

The reason the drive was almost full was that I had a bunch of podcasts I was about to move to an external drive like the next day after this little problem happened. There was about 100 gb worth or so.

I'm going to automate the back ups and set and forget essentially. That is my plan as of this second at least.

 

Hi all. Here's an update on this. It didn't work. I'm not surprised. I had to install Windows fresh, which I did with no issues. I also have it in UEFI mode. Now I am in the process of fixing everything as it was.

One thing is driving me crazy and I can't figure out. On my previous Windows install on the right side of this desktop was this sidebar that had like the weather on it, a calendar, etc. It could hide all the way to the right of the desktop, like "off" of it so to speak.

I don't remember how I made it appear on my last install or what its proper name is called. But it's not here on this new install and I can't figure out how to make it appear.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Thank you!!