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With the advent of technology, external Hard Disks are becoming faster, larger, and more affordable day by day, which makes them ideal for storing data. External hard disks are the preferred choice for storing photos, videos, documents, backups, and important business data. While external hard drives are considered reliable storage devices, there are still situations when users lose their important data stored on them. Various reasons are responsible for data loss, such as accidental deletion, corruption, formatting, virus attacks, physical damage, or improper removal of the hard drive. The other common risks for data loss in external hard drives are physical damage, exposure to extreme heat for a long time, etc.
Improper removal, power failure, virus attacks, interruptions during data transfers, or physical damage lead to a damaged file system. Data recovery from external hard drive with a damaged file system, but with the right approach, you may succeed. There are some good data recovery software programs as well that can help users to recover data. We will discuss various reasons for damaged file systems, some manual methods for data recovery, and also share a professional tool that can make the task a lot easier.
Why Do File Systems Get Damaged on External Hard Disks?
The file system is responsible for managing and organizing data stored on a storage device. It saves file names, storage locations, various user permissions, and directory structure. When the file system on any storage device is damaged or corrupted, it is impossible to locate the data stored. The various reasons responsible for damaging the file system are as follows:
- Improper External Hard Drive Removal: One of the most common reasons why the file system gets damaged is improper removal of the drive. It is always recommended to use the “Safely Remove Hardware” option for the safety of data.
- Physical Damage: Not taking proper care of an external hard disk, such as keeping the hard disk in extreme heat, exposing it to a humid environment, or dropping the disk sometimes damage the file system, making data inaccessible.
- Bad Sectors: With time, the external hard disks might develop bad sectors due to aging or physical wear. If the bad sectors are formed in the area where the file system information is stored, the operating system might find it difficult to recognize the drive.
- Abrupt Shutdown: A sudden power failure while the data is being transferred may lead to an incomplete or damaged file system, making the data inaccessible.
- Interruptions during File Transfer: If any interruptions, such as system crashes, USB port failure, or cable disconnections, occur during transferring the file, it can lead to corruption in the file system.
- Malware or Virus Attacks: Viruses and Malware might alter, corrupt, or encrypt the file system. Some viruses are meant only to damage the file system, making the drive unreadable.
Repair a Damaged File System with CHKDSK
To repair a damaged or corrupt file system, the Windows operating system has a built-in utility called CHKDSK that is used to scan the drive for errors and repair it. The process to repair file system with CHKDSK is as follows:
- Connect the external hard drive to your computer.
- Run Command Prompt as Administrator.
- Type the following command: chkdsk X: /f /r and replace “X” with the drive letter.
- Click Enter and wait for the scan to complete.
The CHKDSK command repairs file system errors, detects the bad sectors, and fixes directory structure issues,
Data Recovery from External Hard Drive with BLR Tools
When the file system is damaged, the data is there, but the system is not able to locate it, thus making it inaccessible. To recover data loss due to a damaged file system, one can take the help of a professional data recovery solution like BLR Data Recovery Toolkit. It is an advanced software designed to recover lost or inaccessible data from different types of storage devices, such as external hard disks, USB drives, memory cards, and other storage devices. It allows users to preview recoverable data to check the results. The software has two different modes for recovery available. The Quick mode is used when you want to recover recently lost data, and the Deep scan mode is used when you can’t find the data with the Quick mode.
Conclusion
Data loss in an external hard disk can occur due to any reason, such as accidental deletion, formatting, or a damaged file system. In most of the cases, the data is recoverable if the right steps are taken before it’s too late. With the help of a professional data recovery solution like BLR Data Recovery Toolkit, users can recover lost data from SSD, USB, memory cards etc. The tool comes with a free trial version that helps users to check the functionality of the software and recover up to a few GB of data for free.
