Windows 10: Deleted external drive files

I tried posting in the technical community but no one replied. Windows 10 was updating and seemed to add my external WD drive to a Storage Spaces. When I tried to recover it using a restore tool it turned the files into something it doesn't recognize when I try to open them. My entire life of 20 yrs is on that drive. I hate to think what it would cost to have them professionally restored. Please someone help me either recover to original or a tool I can recover my files.


Thank you,


Heidi

:)

 

CANNOT DELETE A CORRUPTED FILE ON MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE ON WINDOWS 10

Hi Leenus,

Hard drive and other external memory storage can be corrupted on account of bad sectors which are no longer accessible or writable due to permanent damage. Your device or hard drive could also be infected by some type of malware. These are some of the possible
causes why you are experiencing the error "ERROR 0x80070570: The file or directory is corrupted or unreadable". To address this concern, we suggest performing the following troubleshooting methods:

Method 1

Check and repair disk errors or corrupted file system. This process can fix "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error caused by bad sectors, virus infection or file system corruption. To do so, follow these steps:

• Back up all of the files on the hard drive (except for the corrupted file).
• Using Search, type CMD.
• From the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and then choose Run as administrator.
• On the Command Prompt window, type chkdsk /f h: (h stands for your hard drive) and then hit the Enter key.
• Delete the corrupted file and check if you'll experience the same error.

Method 2

Format the hard drive. You can manually format the hard drive to permanently remove "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error. These are the steps on how to format an external drive:

• Plug the hard drive into your computer.
• Back up all of the files on the hard drive (except for the corrupted file).
• Open File Explorer and then click This PC.
• Click the external hard drive's name, click on Manage tab and then click on Format.
  
• Click Start and then click OK.

Keep us updated with the result.

 

External Hard Drive

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.

 

Deleting Files from external Seagate backup drive.

Open the External drive by opening File Explorer on the Taskbar, open This PC

Browse to the location of the files on the drive

Select the file, press Delete on your keyboard

Repeat this step for each file