Free drive repair tools to fix HDD errors & avoid data loss
In case you are experiencing hard disk logic errors in your Windows PC and need hard disk repair software, this page shows six disk repair solutions to save you from data loss, including free hard disk repair tools.
In addition, we also explain the common causes of hard disk errors and how you can avoid the inconvenience of a corrupted disk at work or in life in the future – scroll down for more details.
Common Hard Disk Issues
Before learning how to repair a hard disk that doesn’t work properly, you should figure out the condition of your disk – is it physically damaged, a logical error, or a firmware fault? Below are common disk errors and how they manifest themselves:
Logical Errors
Problems occur in the software or data on the hard disk, not the hardware itself, such as virus infections, malware, corrupted system files, bad sectors, etc., leading to data loss, file system corruption, performance degradation, or boot failure.
Firmware Issues
When firmware gets corrupted, it is usually accompanied by obvious telltale signs, such as the drive slowing down in reading and writing data, the clicking noise happening when the read head is seeking the right sector, the operation system can’t recognizing the hard disk and showing “Disk Unknown/Not Intialized” message, etc.
Physical Damage
Physical damage is also a common cause of hard disk failure, including high temperature, water ingress, falling from a height, extrusion, etc. Unfortunately, if a hard disk has suffered severe physical damage, especially to the components but not appearance, it is virtually impossible to recover stored data.
Important: Rescue Data from the Corrupted Hard Disk Before Repair
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a powerful hard disk repair tool with a user-friendly interface. It helps you recover data from a hard disk that is corrupted, formatted, or not working on a Windows PC.
Before repairing your problematic hard drive, install the EaseUS hard disk repair tool on your computer and follow the three steps below to perform hard disk data recovery:
Step 1. Install and launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and select the hard disk from the “Hardware Disk” tab.
Step 2. Click the “Search for Lost Data” button, and use “Path” or “Type” to find the lost files you want to recover.
Step 3. “Preview” to see file content, click “Recover” to get the lost files back and save them in a safe storage location on your PC.
Use Hard Disk Repair Tools to Fix Hard Disk Errors
After successful lost data recovery from the corrupt hard disk via the EaseUS hard disk repair tool, check out the 6 methods below to repair your hard disk without losing data!
1. Run Disk Checking in Windows File Explorer
Hard disk errors can be checked and repaired by a built-in hard disk repair tool on a Windows PC; here’s how to run disk checking process on a Windows PC:
Step 1. Launch File Explorer, and choose “This PC” to see all hard drives connected to your computer.
Step 2. Right-click the hard disk that needs to be checked and repaired, and choose “Properties > Tools > Check.”
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2. Update Hard Disk Drivers
Updating the disk drivers can solve the disk errors caused by firmware faults. Here are the steps:
Step 1. Launch Device Manager by pressing “Win + X” or typing device manager in the taskbar search box.
Step 2. Locate your hard disk in the Disk Drives section, and choose the “Update Driver” option.
Suppose updating the hard disk driver does not fix the problem; try the “Uninstall device” option below the “Update driver’ and Windows will automatically reinstall the latest version of hard disk drivers.
3. Use CMD Hard Disk Repair Tool (CHKDKS)
Many file systems are not completely immune to various errors that can cause access problems on a hard disk. The good news is that most of these errors can be solved using the built-in hard disk repair tool – CHKDKS. Here’s how to run CHKDKS to repair a hard disk:
Step 1. Type cmd in the search box on the taskbar to launch a Command Prompt window.
Step 2. Enter this command and press “Enter”:
chkdsk N: /f
Note: The “N” should be replaced with with the drive letter for your hard disk. e.g. chkdsk D: /f. Then, wait for the CHKDSK command to finish.CHKDSK can be one of the top 6 command prompt commands that greatly improve your efficiency.
4. Check Bad Sector via Hard Disk Repair Tool
Bad sectors can be repaired using the “Check File System” feature provided by a free hard disk repair tool, EaseUS Partition Master. It enables you to check and repair bad sectors and prevent data corruption.
Open the EaseUS hard disk repair tool, right-click the disk you want to check, then click “Advanced > Check File System.” The operation will be performed immediately, and all bad sectors will be marked red.
5. Format the Hard Disk [No Data Loss]
Formatting a non-functioning hard disk is an extreme practice, yet its effectiveness is undeniable. Formatting the drive will recreate the entire file system and start from scratch, repairing all bad sectors and data corruption issues in the process.
However, don’t forget to save the recovered files from the hard disk using EaseUS data recovery software. Then, format the Hard Disk without data loss by clicking the “Quick Format > Start” button.
6. Turn to Hard Disk Repair Experts
If none of the above methods solves the problem, and the data stored on the disk is particularly important, you can contact Data Recovery Services to save all the data on the disk first. Then, you can send the hard disk to repair experts without worrying about losing data.
How to Prevent Data Loss on a Hard Disk
As we mentioned earlier, disk problems can be categorized into three dimensions: physical damage, logical errors, and firmware issues. So we can also think of some preventive measures as follows:
Keep your hard disk in a safe place: Make sure your hard disk stays at a secure physical location, which is far away from high temperatures, your drinking cup, high places where it can be easily dropped, etc.
Periodically back up your important files: Backing up your data frequently can help prevent data loss, such as backing up once a week or uploading important files to the cloud drive. Even if you have a hard disk failure, backups will minimize the impact on your workflow.
Choose a trustworthy hard disk: Hard drives vary in quality, so choosing a well-known and trustworthy brand may reduce the risk of firmware issues. Seagate, WD, and Toshiba may be trusted companies.
Conclusion
This post discusses free hard drive repair tools with step-by-step tutorials to help users repair their corrupted hard disk quickly and safely. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard supports data recovery from a corrupted or formatted hard disk; even if the files were deleted, the EaseUS disk recovery tool can help retrieve them. So, even if you can’t access your stored data after a disk error, you can save your important files first with this powerful disk data recovery tool, and then you can send your disk for repair without worrying about data modification or just format it before putting it back into use.
