Windows 10: Repairing external hard drive

Hi all I store all of my photos and music on an external hard drive. Recently some photos didn't copy across properly - I deleted them but the hard drive is stuck cancelling the action and Windows is asking me to repair the drive with the message below: "We have found errors on this drive. To prevent data loss, repair this drive now." At the moment I can still use the drive without issues, but obviously I'd like to fix the errors if possible. My question is, will repairing the drive risk losing the rest of my data? Will Windows ask me before deleting corrupting files? I have 16 years worth of photos and videos on there, far too much to copy across to my main computer to save - I think I'd need to get a whole new hard drive to back it all up. I am using Windows 10.

:)

 

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.

 

External hard drive not recognised

Thanks for this. I've done what you suggested and been through all the steps mentioned in the article. The hard drive works fine on a Mac computer, and I've managed to copy the information on it. It must be a Surface issue so I'll try to get a chat line tomorrow.

 

Repair an external hard drive connected to Windows 10

Hello Jeff,

You may try running Disk Error Checking and the CHKDISK tool to help you repair your external hard disk. Both tools are designed to fix errors on your disk. Make sure that you're signed in as administrator before performing
these steps:

Run Disk Error Checking

• Plug in your external hard disk.
• Open File Explorer by pressing the
  Windows keys button + E.
  
• Go to This PC.
• Right-click your external hard disk under Devices and drives.
• Select Properties
• Go to Tools tab.
• Under Error checking, click Check.
• If prompted, click Yes or enter the administrator password.
• Click Scan drive > Repair drive.
• Wait for the process to finish.
• The scanning process may take a while depending on the size of your external hard disk and the specifications of your PC.

Run the CHKDSK tool

• Plug in your external hard disk.
• Click the Start button.
• Type Command Prompt.
• Right-click Command Prompt and then select Run as administrator.
• On the Command Prompt screen, type the command below:
  • chkdsk <drive letter>: /f
• <driver letter> would be the letter assigned to your external hard disk.
  • For example: chkdsk E: /f
• Do take note of the spaces between the command.
• Again, the scanning process duration depends on the size of the external hard disk and your PC's specifications.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

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