Imagine having your hard disk corrupted that stores all the essential and confidential business information. This situation can trigger a sense of panic. The hard drive is a very important component of the system and hard drive corruption is a very common situation that many people experience. This corruption can happen due to multiple reasons like sudden power outages, malware and viruses, physical damages, ejection issues, etc. This article outlines these factors in detail and also answers the question of how to fix a corrupted hard drive without formatting. It also suggests ways to recover files from the external hard drive and tips to prevent hard drive issues in future.

What Causes Hard Drive Corruption?

There are several reasons that can cause hard drive corruption including:

• Viruses and Malware: Viruses and any malicious software can attack the data stored in an external hard drive connected to the system and get corrupted.

• Software Issues: Outdated software can interfere with the normal functioning of the external hard drive and can cause corruption.

• Power Outages: Sudden power surges or outages, when the hard drive is functioning, can cause data corruption.

• Bad Sectors on Hard Drive: With time bad sectors can develop or generate on the hard drive that can also cause the drive to get corrupted.

• Physical Damage: Mishandling a device, dropping, or scratching it can lead to hard drive corruption.

How to Repair External Hard Drive without Formatting?

How do you fix a corrupted external hard drive without formatting it? Is this the question you’re finding answers to? Worry no more. The following are the most effective methods for protecting your data and repair your external hard drive without formatting:

1. Scan For Viruses

If your drive is corrupted due to malware or any virus, remove the malware using antivirus software in your system.

• Press the Windows + I key and navigate to security settings.
• Click on ‘Virus and Threat Protection’.
• Under scan options, select ‘Customised Scan’ and click ‘Scan now’
• Select ‘External hard drive’ as the location.
• Any viruses, if present, will be identified and detected.
• Remove the virus

2. Use Check Disk Utility (CHKDSK)

Check for logical errors using the chkdsk utility.

• Open and run Command Prompt as administrator.
• In the elevated CMD window, type CHKDSK /f/r/D: and hit enter (Replace D: with your hard drive letter)
• The process for checking will initiate.
• Once it’s done, close the window and reboot the system.

3.Change Drive Letters

Changing the drive letter can resolve can resolve any access problems.

• Right-click on the Start button and select ‘Disk Management’
• Under Volume list, navigate to External drive. Right-click and select ‘Change Drive Letter and Paths…’.
• Click on Change and then select any new letter from the drop-down menu.
• Click on ‘OK’ and changes will automatically apply.

4.Update or Reinstall Drivers

Outdated drivers can also cause external drive corruption. To resolve this, follow these instructions to update or reinstall drivers:

• Right-click on the Start button and select ‘Device Manager’.
• Expand the ‘Disk drives’ section, navigate to the external drive, right-click on it, and choose ‘Update driver’.
• Choose ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ and follow the instructions in the prompts to install any found updates.

5.Run an SFC Scan

Computer Windows has a built-in utility called SFC. To use it:

• Search for CMD and click on it while holding the Shift + Enter key
• Enter the command- sfc /scannow command and press Enter.
• Wait for the scan to finish and then restart the computer.

Tips to Prevent Future External Hard Drive Issues

While there are methods available to repair external hard drives without formatting, it is important to stay proactive and take measures and prevent these issues from arising in the future. Following are some of the effective strategies and tips that can enhance the reliability of your hard drive:
– Regular Backups:

• Proper Ejection: It is important to safely eject your hard drive before disconnecting it from the computer system. If the hard drive is ejected during data running, it can lead to data corruption.

• Regular Backups: The most common and effective way to avoid data loss is to maintain regular backups. Ensure that the backup is stored online (cloud storage) or at a different physical storage.

• Power Supply Management: Hard drive issues can also happen due to power fluctuations. Use a stabiliser or power surge protector to safeguard your devices and hard drive against power outages.

• Maintain Drive Health: Use SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) diagnostics to monitor your drive health and identify any issues.

• Software Updates: Ensure that your computer system is duly updated with software and driver updates.

• Safe Environment: How and where you store your device also affects its health and efficiency. Store your devices in a cool and dry place to avoid damage from extreme temperature fluctuations and humidity.

Conclusion

Repairing a corrupted hard drive is crucial to prevent loss of important files and data. By using the above-mentioned methods, it is most likely that you can get your corrupted hard drive repaired without any formatting. External hard drive issues can be prevented by taking certain measures like safely ejecting the drive, creating regular backups, using reliable and reputable antivirus software, etc. In case, you’re not able to get solutions for how to fix corrupted hard drive, consider contacting a managed service provider like Tristar Tech Solutions for professional assistance.