Hard Drive getting corrupted is a very normal thing and almost everyone who owns a computer knows this. It can happen due to a lot of issues like hardware or software failure, virus attack, or power failures. In the case of an external hard drive, physical damage also leads to creating a bad sector on the disk which can corrupt the hard drive.
And not just the old HDD but even the new SSD can get corrupted, even the SSDs are at more risk of corruption than the old mechanical drives. So no matter what type of hard disk you are using you are not safe from the data corruption issue. But don’t worry hard drive corruption does not mean that your data is lost permanently, as you can still recover your data and can even repair your hard disk back to normal.
In this article, we teach you how you can repair your corrupted hard drive at home. But before that let’s check some tips to detect a corrupted drive so you can create a backup in time.
Quick Links To The Specific Parts Of The Article:
- How To Detect A Corrupted Hard Drive
- How to Fix A Corrupted Internal Or External Hard Drive
- Final Thoughts
- FAQs
How To Detect A Corrupted Hard Drive
There are many symptoms of a corrupted hard drive that you can notice in order to protect your data before the hard drive entirely fails. Here are some symptoms you can look for in order to detect whether your hard drive is working fine or not.
1. In the case of the externally connected hard drive, if it won’t mount or the computer doesn’t recognize it then most probably it’s corrupted.
2. You hear a loud clicking noise or grounding sound in your mechanical hard drive is also a symptom of a corrupted hard drive.
3. Files or folders suddenly missing from the system also indicate a corrupted hard drive.
4. You get errors and file corruption messages on your PC is also a sign of a hard drive not working at its optimal health.
If you see any one of these symptoms in your hard drive you should immediately backup data from it or stop using the drive so that you don’t overwrite the existing data. Recovering data once overwritten is not possible, so be aware.
However, if your drive is already corrupted and is not usable then you can follow these steps to fix it.
How To Fix/Repair Corrupted Internal Or External Hard Drive
There two ways to repair your RAW hard drive that won’t read/write. The first method is to fix the drive by keeping your data safe. It is advisable to go with this method because this way you won’t lose your important data, which is stored in the drive.
However, the first method doesn’t work always so you have to go towards the second method which is completely formatting the drive. This method always works but you will lose all your data at once. So, let’s have a look at both methods.
Repair Corrupted Hard Drive Without Formatting
1. Using An Antivirus Software
Sometimes due to a virus attack, the hard drive may get corrupted and a simple antivirus scan may repair your hard drive. It’s the easiest way possible which can fix your hard drive.
However, this method only works sometimes. If you are lucky you will be able to fix your drive by only doing this much. But if you can’t then follow the methods mentioned below.
2. Using CMD
The first step to repair your hard drive is to note the disk letter of your corrupted hard drive. For example, if the E partition of your hard drive is corrupted you can note the letter E.
Now right click on CMD and select Run as administrator.
Once CMD is open, type CHKDSK :X /r /f, where X is the latter of the drive. You can change it with your drive letter. For example, if your disk latter is E your command will be CHKDSK :E /R /F and so on. After entering the command hit ‘ENTER‘ and it shall start looking for bad sectors in your drive and try to repair them.
It may take some time depending on the size and complexity of your drive. If this can’t do the job for you then you can move to the next part which using data recovery software.
3. Using Stellar Data Recovery Software
Sometimes the CMD may not work to repair your disk. In this circumstance, you can use data recovery software that supports corrupted drives and recovering data from the corrupted hard drive using it. Once you have recovered all your valuable data you can simply format the drive and reuse it as usual.
You can use any data recovery software to recover data from a corrupted hard drive but we would recommend the Stellar Data Recovery Software. It can easily recover files from a RAW and corrupted hard drive. Here’s how you can use this software to recover data from your corrupted disk.
1. Launch the software and select the file type(s) you want to recover first. If you want to recover all types of files then select everything and then select Next.
2. Now select the drive that you want to scan for recovering your lost data. Don’t forget to turn on the deep scan mode. After that hit the SCAN button.
3. The scan may take some time, but as the scan is completed you can preview and recover all the important data from it.
Now as you have recovered the files from a corrupted hard drive, you can format it and reuse it by creating a new volume. Once the drive comes in reuse you can paste all the recovered data there and use it as your primary data carrier.
Click Here to Try Stellar Windows Data Recovery
You can also check our detailed review of Stellar Windows Data Recovery.
Repair A Corrupted Hard Drive By Formatting
If you don’t have any valuable data in the hard drive or you want to repair it at any cost then you can simply format it by wiping out all the data from it. Here’s how you can format a corrupted drive using CMD.
Run CMD as an administrator. Type Diskpart and hit Enter.
After that, type list disk and press Enter.
With this, a list of all the disks on your computer will be shown on the screen with their storage capacity. Confirm the disk you want to format and note it’s disk letter or number.
4. Now select the disk you want to format by typing Select disk X (replace X with disk letter of your corrupted hard drive).
5. Next, type clean and press Enter, and the selected disk will be wiped with all your data in it.
So, with this, you have successfully formatted the corrupted hard drive and you can now use it as a new drive by creating a new volume.
How To Fix Corrupted Hard Drive: Final Thoughts
Fixing your corrupted hard drive is not as hard as you may have thought it is. However, if your data is very crucial and you don’t want to take the risk of losing it then you can talk to an expert. Once you recover your data make a habit of keeping a backup of it so that you don’t go through the same trouble again.
FAQs
Can A Corrupted Hard Drive Be Fixed?
Yes, you can easily repair a corrupted hard drive given that it is not physically damaged.
What Causes A Hard Drive To Be Corrupt?
There can be many reasons but the most prevalent ones are virus attacks, software and hardware failure, abrupt shutting down of the PC, or power failure.
What Are The Signs Of Hard Disk Failure?
If you notice your drive is making a strange noise or is overheating or some of your files are suddenly disappeared then it means that there's something wrong with your drive.
What Is A Lifespan Of A Hard Drive?
It depends on brand to brand but mostly they last up to 4 to 5 years
