While downloading files to a G-DRIVE Mobile USB 3.0, my Windows 10 laptop experienced a BSOD. Now the G-DRIVE shows up as E:\ on File Explorer, but when I try to open I get the error “E:\ Is not accessible. The disk structure is corrupted and unreadable.” Likewise, in MacOS Mojave MacBook Pro the drive shows up in Disk Utility, but the partition will not mount, and it does not show up on the MacOS desktop.
Will a Windows BSOD error cause a G-DRIVE to get corrupted? How can I salvage the data on this drive?
A Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error on Windows can potentially corrupt an external drive like a G-DRIVE if the drive was being accessed when the BSOD occurred. This could happen because the sudden system crash prevented the file operations from completing properly, leaving the drive’s file system in an inconsistent state.
However, there are steps you can take to try and recover the data from the corrupted G-DRIVE:
Do not write anything new to the drive, as this could potentially overwrite existing data and make recovery more difficult.
Try running CHKDSK (Check Disk) on Windows. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run: chkdsk e: /f /r. This will attempt to fix file system errors on the E: drive.
If CHKDSK doesn’t work, try using data recovery software like Recuva, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, or other reputable undelete utilities. These can scan the drive and attempt to recover files even with a corrupted file system.
As a last resort, you can try sending the drive to a professional data recovery service. They have specialized tools and expertise to handle severely corrupted drives and complex data recovery scenarios.
For your MacBook Pro:
Try running Disk Utility’s First Aid feature on the G-DRIVE partition to see if it can repair any directory issues.
If First Aid fails, you can try mounting the drive in Linux using a live USB/CD and see if the data is accessible there.
Data recovery software like Stellar or R-Studio for Mac can also be tried to scan and recover files from the unmountable G-DRIVE.
The key is to stop using the drive immediately after corruption is detected to prevent potential data overwriting. With care and the right recovery tools, you should be able to salvage at least some data from the G-DRIVE.