Written by
Wilsey YoungSummary: This post shows how to fix the external-hard-drive-related error message on Windows PC: The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable. iBoysoft Data Recovery for Windows helps repair RAW drive and restore lost data. -From m3datarecovery.com
An external hard drive is a portable storage device for your Windows PC, and it's primarily used for storage expansion, data backup, file sharing, data recovery, and more. However, some Windows users may come across error messages when using an external hard drive on the Windows PC.
This post guides you through solving the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message caused by an external hard drive on Windows 10/11, aiming to fix the corruption and make the drive reusable.
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Solutions to "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error on Windows 10/11
This part shows how to fix the error message about the external hard drive using the built-in tools on Windows 10/11.
Reboot PC and disable the antivirus application
Some Windows users had the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message solved by rebooting the PC and disabling the antivirus application. Here are the steps in order:
- Disconnect the external hard drive.
- Reboot the PC.
- Disable the antivirus software/app.
- Connect the external hard drive to the PC and see if the error is fixed.
Assign a new drive letter
The conflicts between the drives' letters may trigger the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message. Here's how to assign a new letter to the external hard drive.
- Right-click on the Start menu button or press the Windows+X keys to choose Disk Management.
- Right-click on the external hard drive and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths..."
- Tap on the Change button, choose Assign the following drive letter, and select a letter.
- Click OK to save and restart your PC.
Check disk errors through File Explorer
The "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message may be caused by file system errors. Follow the steps below to run built-in error checking tool in File Explorer.
- Double-click This PC or My Computer to open File Explorer.
- Right-click on the external hard drive and select Properties.
- Tap on the Tools tab and click the Check button.
- It scans for file system errors and helps fix them.
Run CHKDSK scan through Command Prompt
Running CHKDSK scan through Command Prompt helps check file system for errors and look for bad sectors on the disk, which could be to blame for the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message.
- Press the Windows+S keys and type cmd in the Windows search box.
- Choose "Run as administrator."
- Type the following command, replace X with the real external hard drive letter, and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
chkdsk X: /r
Run SFC scan through Command Prompt
When the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message appears, the corrupted system files on Windows may be the culprit, which could be fixed by the SFC (System File Checker) scan.
- Press the Windows+S keys and type cmd in the Windows search box.
- Choose "Run as administrator."
- Type the following command and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
sfc /scannow
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Scan for and remove malware through Settings
Malware may result in the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message. Here's how to scan for malware through Settings on Windows.
- Press the Windows+I keys on the keyboard to open Settings. Alternatively, click the gear icon in the Start menu.
- Choose Update & Security and tap on Windows Security on the left.
- Click Virus & threat protection on the right and scroll down to click Scan options.
- Choose Microsoft Defender Offline scan and tap on Scan now.
- Reboot your PC when the scanning is finished.
Fix RAW drive through iBoysoft Data Recovery for Windows
When you receive the "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" error message, it could be an indicator of the RAW external hard drive, meaning that the system cannot detect a usable file system of the drive and the drive becomes inaccessible.
Right-click on the Start menu button or press the Windows+X keys to choose Disk Management, where you can see if the external hard drive becomes RAW.
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Windows can work like a charm in this case. It is a professional data recovery tool excellent in repairing RAW drive without data loss. Most importantly, it boasts an extremely high success rate of restoring deleted or lost data from a wide range of storage devices, regardless of whether the devices are formatted or corrupted.
Here's how to fix the RAW external hard drive through iBoysoft Data Recovery for Windows:
- Connect the external hard drive to your Windows PC.
- Download, install, and launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Windows.
- Choose the "Partition recovery" module from the main interface.
- Select the RAW external hard drive from the list and click the Next button to continue.
- Preview the files found by this tool and tap on the Fix Drive button.
- The drive will be opened automatically once it is fixed successfully, and the file system of the drive will be restored to the original one, meaning that you can access and use the drive just like before.
Note: If the RAW external hard drive cannot be repaired, this tool will switch to the Data Recovery module to help you restore the data before you move on to formatting.
Format the external hard drive
Formatting is the last resort that can help you fix the RAW external hard drive as it removes corrupted file system and establishes a new one, making the drive usable again for accessing and storing data.
However, formatting involves the process of erasing any data stored on the drive. If data recovery is needed before formatting the drive, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Windows is strongly recommended!
Format the external hard drive through File Explorer:
- Double-click This PC or My Computer on the Desktop to open File Explorer.
- Right-click on the external hard drive and select Format.
- Choose the file system, allocation unit size, and input volume label.
- Tick Quick Format and click Start.
Format the external hard drive through Disk Management:
- Right-click on the Start menu button or press the Windows+X keys to choose Disk Management.
- Right-click on the external hard drive and choose Format.
- Input the information, tick "Perform a quick format", and tap on OK.
Format the external hard drive through Command Prompt:
- Press the Windows+S keys and type cmd in the Windows search box.
- Choose "Run as administrator."
- Input the following commands and hit the Enter key after each.
diskpart
list disk
select disk # Note: Replace # with the actual drive number list in command window.
clean
create partition primary
format fs=X quick Note: Replace X with the file system you want, such as NTFS, FAT32, exFAT.
exit
Conclusion
Suppose the external hard drive is physically damaged or you fail to fix the “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error message using the solutions above, you may need to seek help from the technical support or the professionals.
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