how to repair corrupted files on external hard drive

[Solution] How to Fix Corrupted Files on External Hard Drive

If your external hard drive can be detected by the computer, but the saved files are corrupted, you can try below steps to repair corrupted files from it now:

1. Open Start and type: cmd, hit Enter to open Command Prompt Window;
2. Type: chkdsk g:/f (if the external hard drive is Driver g:), click Enter.

Full Answer

How do I fix a corrupt file?

• Fix 1. Corrupted File Repair Software Free Download1
• Fix 2. Perform a Check Disk on the Hard drive
• Fix 3. Use the CHKDSK/SFC Command
• Fix 4. Run CHKDSK Alternative
• Fix 5. Change the File Format
• Fix 6. Use an Online File Repair Tool

How do I fix corrupt files on Windows 10?

To repair damaged system files on Windows 10 manually, use these steps:

• Open Start.
• Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
• Type the following command to take ownership of the corrupted files and press Enter: takeown /f C:\PATH\TO\FILE In the command, replace C:\PATH\TO\FILE with the actual path to the file that ...

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How to fix broken files?

Overview:

• Method 1: Run Automatic Repair/Startup Repair via Settings
• Method 2: Use System Restore to Back to a Restore Point
• Method 3: Run System Files Checker in Command Prompt
• Method 4: Run the DISM Command in Command Prompt
• Method 5: Reset Windows System to Fix Broken Registry Items
• Recommendation: Clean Invalid Registries with System Genius

How to repair a corrupted hard drive in Windows 10?

Update the Disk Driver to Fix Corrupted Hard Drive Without Formatting

1. Right-click on This PC or My Computer and select Properties.
2. On the left panel, click Device Manager to open the Device Manager. ...
3. Right-click your drive and choose "Update driver".
4. Select "Search automatically for updated driver software..." Repairing a hard drive is a difficult task, even for the experts.

Can you recover corrupted files on external hard drive?

Yes, it's possible to recover an external hard drive. Even if you've formatted the hard drive or if it is damaged or corrupted, there is a high possibility of successfully restoring all of the missing files.

How do I recover a corrupted folder from an external hard drive?

To recover data from a formatted or damaged disk, perform the following steps:Start R-Studio and locate the damaged disk. ... Scan the damaged disk. ... View the search results. ... Double-click the partition to browse its contents. ... Mark the files and folders you want to recover. ... Preview the files by double-clicking them.More items...

How do I fix a corrupted external hard drive without formatting Mac?

How to Recover Files From an External Hard Drive Without FormattingDownload and install Disk Drill. ... Ensure your drive is plugged into the computer. ... When the scan has finished, click Review found items.Scan the recoverable data for any items you want to recover. ... Specify where you want to recover the files.More items...•

How can I recover files from an external hard drive without formatting?

Wrapping UpDownload and install Disk Drill for Windows.Connect the external drive and launch the program.Choose the external drive from the disk list.Click the Search for lost data button to scan the drive.Preview the recoverable data and select the files you want to restore.More items...•

How do I fix an external hard drive that is corrupted and unreadable?

5+ Fixes for "The Disk Structure Is Corrupted and Unreadable" Error#1. Unplug and Re-plug the Corrupted/Unreadable Device.#2. Check and Repair Disk Error via CHKDSK.#3. Reinstall Disk Drivers.#4. Format Drive.#5. Recover Data.

Why is my external hard drive corrupted?

A corrupted or damaged external hard drive can be caused by the following factors: interruption when transferring files, virus attack or malware infection, read-and-write head crash, corrupted file and file system, etc.

Can you reformat an external hard drive without losing data?

The short answer is, yes. It is possible to reformat the drive and keep your files by formatting your drive and then using a data recovery tool to restore your information.

Will formatting fix a corrupted hard drive?

While formatting can repair a damaged hard disk, there's no guarantee that your data can be recovered after the drive is formatted, especially if a Full Format is performed. Right-click Start and click Disk Management. Right-click the corrupted partition and click Format. Check Perform a quick format.

How do I fix a corrupted folder?

Use chkdsk tool According to users, one way to fix problems with corrupted directory is to use chkdsk tool. Chkdsk is a command line tool that scans the specific hard drive partition and fixes corrupted files or folders. After the scan completes, the issue should be completely resolved.

Why folder is corrupted and unreadable?

Here are a few possible reasons for the “ File or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error: Physical damage. If the storage device is permanently damaged, you can't access the stored information. Also, check the integrity of the hardware connection.

Why is my portable hard drive prone to damage?

As mentioned earlier, your portable hard drive is prone to damage daily since it is used with such doggedness that one can forget how delicate the gadget is . Because of this scenario, many problems may occur with the drive, and the standard most error that typically happens is the "External Drive or its directory becoming corrupt or unreadable.".

What happens if you accidentally drop a USB drive?

Physical damages to the external hard drive should also be considered because the external drive is becoming unreadable. If you have accidentally dropped the device, it may cause some internal damage ...

Why is my computer infected with viruses?

Virus infection: Virus infection or malware attack occurs due to casual and unsafe browsing on the internet. If you happen to download a suspicious or pirated file from a shady website and open through the file explorer, it might infect your computer and all the devices connected to it, as well.

Can you use command prompt to scan disk?

The command will take some time to scan the disk and fix the detected issue immediately. It would be best if you were careful while using "Command Prompt" as it can get pretty technical; entering a wrong command could lead to severe damage to the computer. 2.

Can you recover data from an unreadable hard drive?

Data from an unreadable hard disk is recoverable with the help of a third-party data recovery application. Recoverit - Data Recovery will help you recover items that are under threat of getting deleted. Before performing the recovery operation, it is best to understand the features of the program, which are mentioned below:

How to Repair Corrupt External Drives?

You can try fixing corruption on external hard disk using 2 methods: CHKDSK in Command Prompt and Formatting the drive.

How to Recover Data from Corrupt External Hard Drive?

To recover data from corrupt external drives, download and install the application on your Windows or Mac systems. Connect the external hard drive to your computer and launch SFWare External Hard Drive Recovery tool.

How to recover data from corrupted external hard drive?

When the external hard disk partition is corrupted, the file cannot be accessed. However, this does not mean that files will disappear forever. The first thing you need to do is to recover the data from the corrupted hard disk. You can use DiskGenius to recover the lost data.

How to fix a corrupted external hard drive?

There are many ways to repair a corrupted and unreadable external hard drive. Next, we will mainly introduce three tested methods.

How to maintain external hard drive?

1. Purchase high quality external hard disk. We should not be greedy for cheap and buy too cheap hard disk, because cheap hard disk is made of low-cost materials, such a disk is not only unstable, but also easy to bring security risks. Therefore, it is suggested that users should choose hard disk with good quality and excellent workmanship.

Conclusion

By using methods above, you can fix a corrupted and unreadable external hard drive without losing data. Corrupted hard drives can be a real headache, especially if there is important data in them. If you are unable to repair your hard drive using these steps, please try to consult a professional technician at DiskGenius for a satisfactory solution.

How to repair a corrupted external hard drive?

If you still cannot repair your corrupted external hard drive, let's think from another angle about recovering data from the corrupted disk using Tenorshare 4DDiG. It is a professional and easy to use tool and able to recover all kinds of data from not only corrupted external hard drive, but also raw/formatted/corrupted partition from laptop/PC. Here're how to do use it: 1 Install and launch the Tenorshare 4DDiG software. 2 On the main interface, you will see all the data types that you can recover. In this case, choose "All Data". 3 Choose your corrupted external hard drive in the "Connected Drives" section. 4 Click on the "Scan" button and Tenorshare 4DDiG will find back all the data on your corrupted external hard drive. 5 After the scan, preview and select your wanted files, click on the "Recover" to proceed. 6 Click "Browse" to define a location. Then Click the "Start Saving" button to save the recovered data.

How to fix a corrupted hard drive?

Here are the few steps you can do to format your external hard drive: Step 1: Connect the corrupted hard drive to the computer. Step 2: Right-click on the device and select the "Format" option from the context menu.

How to repair a hard drive?

Here are the stepwise guide: Step 1: Head to the Windows search bar and type "CMD" to open it. Right-click on CMD and select the "Run as administrator" option from the context menu. Step 2. Now in the cmd, input chkdsk *:/h/r (where * points to the specific drive you want to repair) and hit "Enter".

How to fix external hard drive not readable?

If your external hard drive is not readable on your PC, try to connect it with another computer to check if the drive is working fine. If it is working on the other PC, then you need to repair the external hard drive by reinstalling the device drivers on your PC. To do so, follow the detailed steps below:

Why is my hard drive corrupted?

It can happen because of multiple reasons. Out of the many, there can be malware infection, an increasing number of bad sectors on the hard disk, or errors in system files.

How to stop a computer from being slow?

To prevent it, use a small piece of cloth and a dip of spirit cleaner to clean your PC.

How to uninstall a device driver?

Step 3: You will be able to see all disks on your PC listed here. Right-click on the hard disk with the errors and click on the "Uninstall device" to uninstall the device drivers. Step 4: After doing so, restart your computer and connect the hard drive again.

How to repair a corrupted hard drive?

It can also selectively clean up different partitions to repair the corrupted internal hard drive. 1. Double-click "My Computer/This PC" and then click "Manage". 2. Click "Disk Management" in the list on the left. 3. Right-click on the local hard drive you want to format and select "Format".

Why is my hard drive corrupted?

The hard drive may be attacked by the virus or physical damage due to power failure or unsafe ejection and so on. That makes it corrupts easily, no matter an internal hard disk or external hard drive. Formatting will erase your important data. You may have stored a lot of files there.

What to do if you can't read your hard drive?

If you fail to read hard drive, for an external hard drive, try to plug hard drive into another USB port and open your hard drive again. As for the power check of the internal hard disk, there may be challenges. But if the PC can detect the internal drive, repairing the damaged internal hard drive is independent of the power supply.

How to open a hard drive on another PC?

To do so, you can：. Step 1. Navigate to My PC, right click on it to find Manage and then click on Device Manager. Step 2.

What does it mean when you get a warning when you open a hard drive?

1. When you access the hard drive in "My Computer", receive a warning: "You need to format the disk in the drive before you can use it .". 2. A message of "H: is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable". prompts up when you intend to open your hard drive. 3.

What to do if you can't access external hard drive?

First, you need to check the external hard drive itself; perhaps it is not damaged at all. There are several ways to do this: Check the power supply.

How to check if external hard drive is active?

Try to check the external hard drive using Disk Management. On the desktop, right-click on This PC (My Computer) -> Management -> Disk Management. Select an external disk among the volumes, then right-click on it and select “Mark partition as active”. All these methods can be useful if your external hard drive is not detected by the computer.

How to repair an unreadable external hard drive?

The process does not require any third-party software and uses the built-in error-checking tool from Windows. It will search the disk for bad sectors and helps in repairing them without the need for format. After completing the process, you can safe ly remove the external drive , reconnect, and see if you can access the contents. If you can access, then copy all the contents to a new folder on the local hard drive. The steps are:

Does iBeesoft have a recovery tool?

Before proceeding with the steps mentioned, ensure to install the software. iBeesoft provides the recovery tool as a trial, where you will enjoy all the features without any limitation. Additionally, connect the external disk that you want to recover files from with the computer .

How to Fix Corrupted Files on External Hard Drive?

Using external hard drive to backup important computer data is very common these days. These devices allow users to store huge amount of important files like documents (PSD, PPT, DOC), video (MOV, MP4, AVI, XVID, DIVX), compressed files (ZIP, RAR) and many others.

Way to fix corrupted files on portable hard drive

Fixing corrupted files on external drive using Remo Repair software is very easy all you need to do is connect the external drive to a healthy Windows / Mac computer.