Fixed: Unable Reset Your PC A Required Drive Partition Is Missing

User case – Unable to reset your PC on Windows 10

"I have a Dell laptop that is no longer configured for my work, so I'm going to reset it and sell it to someone else. However, when I did the reset from Windows 10, all I got was an error message: Unable to reset your PC. A required drive partition is missing. What does it mean? I don't know what's going on until now, it was working fine before. Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Thanks in advance."

That is an error could be found on laptops like Dell, HP or Toshiba etc. You may want to reset their computer to factory default settings for refreshing PC, remove installed software or other purposes. However, what should you do when it says unable to reset your PC and gives a partition missing prompt? Don’t worry, you may get answers from this passage.

Possible causes for PC reset error

Following are possible and common causes that explain why you would encounter “A required drive partition is missing” issue.

• The MBR (Master Boot Record) or BCD (Boot Configuration) is corrupted (most common)
• Hard drive error or bad sectors
• System files are lost or damaged
• Lack of required drive partitions

After learning the reasons of resetting error, let’s get to know how to fix it with different ways.

Easily fix unable to reset PC drive partition missing on Windows 10/11

Here are 7 commonly used solutions to help you troubleshooting Windows factory reset PC error. Find the most suitable one according to your situation.

Method 1. Fix with Bootrec.exe option (most commonly used)

Bootrec.exe is an application in the Windows 10 recovery environment that is mainly used to repair the MBR, boot sector, BCD and boot.ini. By using this way, you need to prepare an installation disc or Windows 10 bootable USB drive.

Follow these steps to fix the reset error.

1. Insert the CD-ROM or USB flash drive with Windows 10 into your computer. Reboot it.

2. While booting, press the F2 (or F10, F12, F1, Del) key to enter the BIOS boot menu. Set the CD-ROM or USB flash drive as the first boot device and press F10 to save and restart.

3. After entering the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.

4. In the command prompt window, type the following commands in order and press Enter in sequence to execute.

• bootrec /scanos
• bootrec /fixmbr
• bootrec /fixboot
• bootrec /rebuildbcd

5. Restart your computer to check if you could reset the PC now.

Method 2. Repair with System File Checker (SFC)

System File Checker (SFC) is a useful tool in Microsoft Windows that allows users to scan and check the integrity of all system files and repair corrupted system files. It is also a good way to solve the error: Unable to reset your PC. A required partition is missing.

1. Enter the Windows recovery environment as mentioned before, and select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

2. In the Command Prompt window, type sfc /scannow and press Enter to execute this command.

3. Wait it executes and fixes damaged files automatically. Then restart the computer again to check if you can reset.

Method 3. Set the system partition as active

Incorrect active partition may also be the reason of resetting error on Windows 11/10/8.1. The boot partition, i.e. system partition should be set as active.

1. Insert the CD-ROM or USB flash drive with Windows 10 into your computer. While rebooting, press F2 (or F10, F12, F1, Del) key to enter the BIOS boot menu.

2. Set the CD-ROM or USB flash drive to the first boot device, and press F10 to save changes and boot.

3. In Windows Recovery Environment, select Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

4. In the command prompt window, type the following commands in order and press Enter to execute the commands in order.

• start diskpart (opens the diskpart.exe window)
• list disk (list all disks)
• select disk 0 (replaces 0 with the disk containing the system partition)
• list partition
• select partition 1 (must contain system partition)
• active

5. Type exit twice and press Enter to exit the diskpart.exe and the command prompt.

Restart the computer again, click Reset this computer and see if the above error has been fixed.

Method 4. Check and repair the disk by CHKDSK

CHKDSK, known as Microsoft check disk, is a command program on Windows systems that allows you to use it to check and repair disks. It can be used to check and repair disks when you encounter the error "Unable to reset your computer, missing required drive partition".

1. Enter the Windows recovery environment and then select Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.

2. In the command prompt window, type CHKDSK c: /f /r and press Enter to execute this command.

Important: You can replace c with any system partition number that you want to check and repair.

3. Wait it completes. Restart the computer again to see if the above error has been fixed.

Method 5. Fix with Start-up Repair

Start-up Repair is one of the best features of Windows 10, it can help you not only to solve the problem of Windows 10 not starting, but also many other problems. You need a Windows 10 repair disc as well.

1. Enter the Windows recovery environment and select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair and wait for the process to complete.

2. Restart the computer again after it finishes. The reset error should be solved.

Method 6. Restore system to fix reset PC error

System restore would help you restore computer to a recorded point. It is commonly used to restore computer to previous state or fix boot issues. If you’ve created a system restore point before, you may use it to fix the error.

1. Also in Windows recovery environment, go Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.

2. Follow the system restore wizard to restore computer.

3. Restart your computer again and to Reset this PC.

Method 7. Clean install Windows 10/11

If none of the above options can help you fix the reset error, you can reinstall Windows 10, which is the last option and also the most effective one in many cases.

1. Reboot your computer, enter the BIOS. Set the CD-ROM or USB flash drive as the first boot device.

2. After restarting, press any key to proceed with the Windows 10 installer.

3. Set the language and input method > Install Now > Enter the product key (you can also skip it) > Select the version of Windows 10 you want to install > Accept the license terms > Select the Windows installation type, here it is recommended to select Custom: Install Windows Only (Advanced).

4. Select the disk you want to install Windows 10 on, click Next, wait for the installation process to complete. Finally follow the prompts to configure and wait for Windows 10 to start.

That’s all 7 ways to fix “Unable to reset your PC. A required drive partition is missing” error on Windows 11/10/8.1/7. Hope you’ve found the most helpful solution.

Remember to protect your computer after resetting

After resetting or installing Windows, it is highly recommended to protect your computer with regular backup. When disaster strikes, you could easily restore operating system or important files and projects to get life or work back to normal.

AOMEI Backupper Standard is free Windows backup software that earns good reputation around the world. Over 10 years of data protection experience, making it more professional and trustworthy. It is popular with user-friendly interface as well.

Backup features

It has would help you backup operating system, important personal files, partitions and the entire hard drive to local, external or cloud at a regular basis.

Cloning features

Also, it is a disk cloning tool would help you clone bootable USB drive or non-system disk from one to another easily. The advanced feature system clone could help you transfer OS from HDD to SSD in 1-Click.

Free useful tools

Except for backup and cloning, AOMEI Backupper also provides many helpful tools to assist managing computer. For example, you could use the Create Bootable Media tool to make a bootable flash drive. Boot up your computer while encountering system boot failure.

Such a useful free Windows backup software, why don’t you download it now and have a try.