Problem with opening files

[personalcomputer]

Hi guys, i can't open up some files in my external hard disk.A box popped out written Data error(cyclic redundancy check). It also said that i need to format my external hard disk before i can use it. Any idea how to solve this?

Thanks.

[brightspark]

Hey PC - Could be that the external hard disk drive is on the way out. Or could be caused by corrupt data on the external HDD.....

Best way to resolve this issue would be to run 'chkdsk'. Go to Start>My Computer and right click on the entry for the external HDD. From the dropdown menu select Properties. Click on the Tools tab and then click on the Check now button. Make sure the options to "Automatically check for file system errors" and "Find and repair bad sectors" (or something very similar - depending on which OS you are using) are enabled; then click Start. (You may need to restart the computer).

[personalcomputer]

Thank you very much. i appreciate your help.
I'm doing as per what you said but it doesn't show any progress even after a few hours. Should i just leave it be and let it run until it complete?

[bogdan]

Your external HDD appears to be damaged. There is an excellent DOS-based software utility that can help with damaged disks, but unfortunately it is quite expensive (Spinrite). When chkdsk finishes you might want to copy all good files from your external HDD using, for example, [url=http://www.roadkil.net/program.php/P29/Unstoppable%20Copier]Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier. Make sure you check "Undamaged Files First" under the "Settings" tab. Unfortunately since it works at file level it might not be able to recover any of the damaged files.

[personalcomputer]

Thanks a lot, i'll post again if there's any problem.
Thank you.

[personalcomputer]

One more question, if i ever reformat my external HDD, will i encounter this similar problem again in near future? or should i forget about this and get myself a new external HDD?

[brightspark]

Hey PC - What Bogdan has said about backing up any data you can, while you can is excellent advice. It was remiss of me not to have mentioned that myself. What you are experiencing can be one of the symptoms of impending hard drive failure so you should always immediately backup any important data.

Did the chkdsk process finally complete successfully? If not then the external HDD is almost certainly damaged and on the way out.

if i ever reformat my external HDD, will i encounter this similar problem again in near future? or should i forget about this and get myself a new external HDD?

Depends on how successful chkdsk was. If chkdsk has completed okay, then subsequent formats should be fine. However, if the external HDD is near end of life; best way to proceed would be to get hold of a new external HDD and transfer all important personal data (documents, photos, music, videos, etc) as soon as possible. Then, yes, scrap the old drive and continue using the new one.

**You could try repairing the drive with software, as mentioned by Bogdan, but success cannot be guaranteed. And with external hard drives being so inexpensive these days, purchasing a replacement would seem to be the simplest, most cost effective way to go.

You could also use the Free version of HD Tune to check the condition of the external hard drive. Start HD Tune, select the external HDD and click on the Error Scan button. Then click on the Start button (do not enable the Quick Scan option). HD Tune will display any bad sectors in Red. Download HD Tune free HERE.


Cheers....Jim

[personalcomputer]

Thanks for the advice

[personalcomputer]

Thanks for the advice. Just for your information, i scanned it with HD scan and the result was ......... OMG!! 100% DAMAGED!!

[tangomouse]

You could try hard drive regenerator which attempts to fix bad sectors , theres a handful of apps that repair hdd's