Cannot access data from Corrupt external hard drives on Windows? Then this article is a one-stop solution to fix damaged external hard drives on Windows and recover data from it. Also, find easy ways to recover data from corrupted external hard drives using Remo Recover. It is built with a deep scan engine that scans every sector of the drive to get back the data with ease even in severe data loss scenarios.
Corruption is an unfortunate catastrophic situation that can occur without any prior notice. This makes the data on the drive inaccessible. In some unfortunate situations due to severe corruption, data might be lost from the external hard drive permanently. In this article, we will discuss how to fix and recover the damaged external hard drive without formatting.
What are the Reasons for Corrupt External HDD?
Here are a few causes for the corruption on the external hard drive:
- Ejecting an external hard drive improperly will lead to corruption, this will in turn result in data loss.
- A virus attack might result in corrupting the external hard drive.
- External hard drives with an excessive number of bad sectors will result in data loss.
- Interruptions while transferring the data might result in a corrupted external HDD.
- File system corruption.
How to Fix and Recover Files from Corrupted External HDD Without Formatting?
- Recover files from Damaged External HDD
- Fix external hard drive not detected using CMD (by fixing file system)
- Repair corrupted SSD external hard drive by installing device drivers
- Fix a corrupted external hard drive without formatting (chkdsk)
Before we look at possibilities for repairing your damaged external hard disc, we’ll go through what you can do to recover your data first. The below-mentioned methods for fixing a corrupted external hard disk might involve erasing your data from it. Hence restore the data from the corrupted external hard drive, to minimize any further loss.
To recover data from a damaged external HDD without any hassle utilize Remo Recover, a professional tool for hard drive recovery. This tool is built with easy to use interface which makes the recovery process simple. It can recover files from more than 300 file types and the tool is compatible with all the Windows versions like Windows 11, 10, 8, and earlier version.
Method 1: Recover files from Damaged External HDD?
Step 1. Download and install Remo Recover on your computer and connect your corrupted external HDD to it.
Step 2. From the main screen select the external HDD from where you want to recover data.
Note: You can click on the Can’t find the drive option if your drive is severely corrupted.
Step 3. Click on the Scan option to initiate the scanning process.
Note: Once the Quick Scan is completed it directly starts Deep Scan. Once the scanning is completed, you can go to the Lost Partition folder. You can now Preview the recovered files for free, to verify the success rate of the software.
Step 4. Finally, select the files which you want to get back and click on the Recover option.
Method 2: Fix External Hard Drive not Detected using CMD (by Fixing File System)
A corrupted file system on the external hard drive might prevent you to access the data from it. Follow the steps below to repair the not detected external HDD by fixing the file system.
- In the search bar type cmd and select the Command Prompt and Run as Administrator.
- Type chkdsk x: /f (where x represents the external hard drive’s letter) and hit Enter.
- Now type sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
Wait for the process to complete. You will receive a notification pop up “Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations”, if there were no issues on the drive. Else, it will fix automatically. If the problem still persists, then move to the next section of the article.
Method 3: Repair Corrupted External SSD by Installing Device Drivers
If your external hard drive is corrupted, then the other possible reasons might be corrupted/ errors on USB external HDD device drivers. In order to fix the issue, follow the steps below to reinstall the device drivers on your Windows computer.
- Connect your external hard drive to the Windows computer.
- In the search bar type Device Manager and hit Enter.
- Now select the disk drivers and right-click on the hard drive with disk driver error and click on Uninstall device.
Once you have uninstalled the device drivers your computer will automatically install it. Now, wait for the process to complete and restart your computer again.
Check whether your computer can detect an external hard drive or not. If this solution did not help you fix the issue then move to the next section of the article.
Method 4: Fix a Corrupted External Hard Drive Without Formatting (Using chkdsk)
Chkdsk is a command-line interface, which can detect any disk errors on the drive. This utility helps you to fix any minor corruptions issues on the drive. Follow the steps below to fix a corrupted external hard drive using cmd
- Connect your external hard drive to the Windows computer.
- In the search bar type Cmd and select Command prompt and Run as Administrator.
- Now in the command window type chkdsk x: /f /c (where x is the external drive letter) and hit Enter.
- Finally, type Exit.
Wait for the process to complete. Now you will be able to access your data from the damaged external HDD. Else, the only option left is to reformat it.
How to Repair Corrupted External Hard Drive With Formatting?
You can quickly fix the external hard drive by reformatting it. Follow the below steps to format the external hard drive.
- Connect your corrupted external hard drive to the Windows computer.
- Open the Disk Management.
- Check if your drive is showing unallocated, right-click on an unallocated external hard drive and select the New Simple Volume
- Click on the Next option and click on the radio button Assign the following drive letter and choose the appropriate drive letter and click on the Next
If still, you are unable to access your data from the external hard drive, then the only option left is to format the drive. However, formatting the drive will result in data loss. It is recommended to backup your data regularly, in order to dodge any data loss scenarios. Else, you can make use of effective data recovery software like Remo Recover.
Note: if your external hard drive is not showing up on Windows then first, check by connecting your external hard drive to another Windows computer or try connecting the external hard drive with another USB cable and check if it gets detected
Final Words:
The corruption on an external HDD can occur due to a variety of reasons as discussed above. You can repair a corrupted external hard drive by using the methods described above. The above-mentioned methods should be carried out with caution. Any interruptions while performing the above fixes, might corrupt the drive further which will, in turn, result in data loss. As a result, it is recommended that you first rescue your data before proceeding with the troubleshooting solutions outlined.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I Fix a Corrupted External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
You can try the following steps to fix a corrupted external HDD without formatting
- On the desktop, open This PC and select the desired external hard drive.
- Right-click it and select Properties > then click on the Tools tab > click on Check
- The scan will start, which should fix the external hard drive errors.
2. How do I Recover Data from an External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
To recover data from an external HDD download and install Remo Recover on your Windows computer and follow the steps below to restore data from a corrupted external HDD without formatting.
- Connect your external HDD on Windows and from the main screen select the Recover Partition.
- Now select the drive which represents your external hard drive and click on the Scan
- Once the scanning process is completed a list of recovered files is displayed in File Type View and Data View.
- Note: Click on the Preview option to judge the success rate of the software.
- Finally, click on the Save option to get back the recovered files to the desired location.
3. What to do if my External HDD is Not Getting Detected on Windows 10?
Try the following methods if your external HDD is not getting detected on Windows 10/11.
Method 1: Try connecting your external HDD to the other port
Method 2: Connect your external HDD to the other computer.
Method 3: Make use of different USB cable to connect your external HDD to the computer.
Method 4: See if you can find your external HDD on Disk Management.
Method 5: If your HDD is getting detected in Disk Management then make use of Chkdsk to fix issues with your undetected HDD.
Method 6: If you are not able to fix undetected HDD issues then make use of Remo Recover to safely recover your data. After recovering your data using Remo Recover you can format the HDD using Disk Management.
