The same is true if the total allocated space for the volume shows zero bytes. If the drive shows up but is asking to be initialized, that typically points to hardware failure. On Windows, go into Disk Management and find the external drive. Trying to repair filesystem errors will be fruitless if the underlying storage media is physically malfunctioning.

First steps when external hard drive corruption occursīefore attempting any fixes, the first step is to determine if the disk’s hardware itself is still fully functional. This understandably causes panic in someone who has important or irreplaceable data stored only on that external drive.

The disk may fail to mount entirely when connected to a computer, or certain files may disappear or be unopenable. The end result is the same – important files on the external drive suddenly become inaccessible.

Filesystem errors – The filesystem keeping track of files on the drive may become damaged, leading to corruption.

Virus or malware infection – Malicious software can intentionally corrupt files and filesystem structures.

Bad sectors – If part of the drive’s physical storage media becomes damaged, data in that area can be corrupted.

Power outage or sudden computer shutdown – Any unexpected loss of power while files are being written to or read from the drive puts it at risk.

Improper ejection – If the drive is disconnected from the computer without properly ejecting it first, corruption can occur.

What causes external hard drive corruption?Įxternal hard drives can become corrupted for a number of reasons:

How to repair a corrupted drive without formatting.

First steps when external hard drive corruption occurs.

What causes external hard drive corruption?.

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