I have a portable external hard drive (WD Element 1TB) and my PC says this drive is corrupted. Now, I can’t access any content from the drive and it asks me to format the drive. I don’t know why this happened? I have been using this external hard drive for backup in many years and no problem at all.
I suspect it is because I connected this drive to a new Mac and the macOS broke the file system. Is it possible to recover files from corrupted external hard drive? If yes, how can do it on my Windows 11.
Recovering files from a corrupted external hard drive can be a frustrating experience, but with the right approach, you can increase your chances of salvaging your data. When your drive starts acting up, the last thing you want to do is keep yanking it in and out of your computer. I did this once, and it only made the situation worse. One time, I nearly fried the USB port! Stick to a single, calm connection, and avoid unnecessary reconnections that could lead to more corruption.
Yes, it is possible to recover files from a corrupted external hard drive using various methods. One good try is using the data recovery software to scan and retrieve the deleted files from corrupted external hard drive.
These user-friendly software can help recover deleted files from damaged, formatted, or corrupted drives. Simply install it on your PC, select the corrupted external drive, and let it scan for recoverable files. Select the files you want to recover and follow the software’s instructions to restore them.
The Windows OS has a built-in tool called CHKDSK that can fix file system errors and may help recover some files.
Step 1: Connect your corrupted external hard drive to your PC. Open Command Prompt as an administrator:
Step 2: In the Command Prompt window, type the command and replace X: with the letter assigned to your external hard drive.:
chkdsk X: /f
Step 3: Press Enter and wait for the process to complete. CHKDSK will attempt to fix any file system errors and might recover some lost files in the process.
For me, this is very effective method to recover files from corrupted external hard drive. Also regularly back up your data to prevent loss in the future.
Yes, it’s possible to recover files from a corrupted external hard drive. First, avoid reconnecting the drive multiple times to prevent further damage. You can try using windows data recovery software which is designed to retrieve files from corrupted, formatted, or damaged drives. Simply install the software, select your corrupted drive, and scan for recoverable files. If the issue is related to file system errors, running CHKDSK can also help fix them. However, avoid formatting the drive before recovery as that could overwrite the data
