External hard drives provide a convenient way to expand your computer’s storage capacity or back up important files. However, like any storage device, external hard drives can develop problems over time that degrade performance or lead to data loss.
Running diagnostics on an external hard drive periodically is important to identify and troubleshoot any issues before they become severe. Diagnostics can detect bad sectors, filesystem errors, overheating problems, and more. Fixing these problems early on can help extend your external drive’s lifespan and prevent catastrophic failures.
In this guide, we will cover the main diagnostics tools available for external hard drives on Windows PCs. We’ll look at how to interpret diagnostic results to gauge drive health. We’ll also provide tips on fixing common errors, data recovery options, and deciding when an aging drive needs to be replaced.
Signs You May Need to Run Diagnostics
An external hard drive can start malfunctioning due to bad sectors, file system corruption, physical damage, or other issues. Here are some common signs that your external hard drive may need diagnostics and repairs:
The drive is running unusually slow when reading or writing data. Opening files takes much longer than normal. According to Wondershare, transfer speeds slowing down drastically is one of the most common signs of a failing external hard drive.
You experience frequent computer crashes, freezes, or blue screen errors, especially when the external drive is connected. As Bleuwire notes, if disconnecting the external drive fixes crashes, that indicates a problem with the drive.
Files become corrupted or go missing from the external drive. Data corruption tends to increase as a failing drive gets worse.
You hear strange noises like clicking, buzzing or grinding when the external drive is active. This could indicate a mechanical problem with the disk inside the enclosure.
The external drive is no longer recognized by your computer or you get I/O device errors. The USB connection may be damaged or the drive has failed completely.
Diagnosing these issues quickly with disk utilities can help recover data before failure and determine if repairs or replacement are needed.
Back Up Your Data First
Before running any diagnostics on an external hard drive, it is crucial to back up your data first. As this article explains, having a backup of your important files can prevent data loss in case there are any issues found during diagnostics. Backups provide you with a copy of your data that you can restore from if needed.
As this source points out, it’s not enough to just create a backup – you should also test your backups periodically to verify that the files can be successfully restored when needed. This is especially important before running diagnostics, as you may uncover problems with the drive and need to access your backup.
Overall, properly backing up your data is a critical first step before attempting any diagnostics on an external drive. This safeguards your files in case any issues arise.
Windows Built-in Tools
Windows comes with some handy built-in tools for diagnosing hard drive issues.
One of the most common is CHKDSK (Check Disk), which scans the hard drive for file system errors and bad sectors. To run CHKDSK, open the Command Prompt as Administrator and type “chkdsk C: /f” to scan drive C (replace C with the letter of your external drive). CHKDSK will fix common errors found on the disk [1].
SFC (System File Checker) scans Windows system files for corruption and replaces damaged files with a cached copy. To run SFC, open Command Prompt as Admin and type “sfc /scannow” [2].
Right-clicking your external hard drive in File Explorer and selecting “Properties” > “Tools” tab > “Check” button can also initiate basic error checking on the drive. This looks for file system errors and bad sectors [3].
Third Party Diagnostic Tools
In addition to the built-in Windows tools, there are several third party diagnostics tools that can provide more detailed information about your external hard drive.
Some popular and highly rated third party tools include:
- Recuva – This free tool from Piriform can diagnose bad sectors and recover lost or deleted files from your external drive.
- HDDscan – HDDscan is a free utility that provides extensive drive health information and diagnostics.
- Manufacturer tools – Most major hard drive manufacturers like Seagate, WD, and Toshiba provide their own diagnostics tools to test their hardware.
Third party tools like these often provide SMART drive monitoring, bad sector detection, read/write verifications, and benchmarking. They give you more options to thoroughly test your external hard drive.
Be aware that some third party tools may make changes to your drive, so it’s a good idea to back up your data first. Overall, these utilities provide powerful diagnostics to help determine if your external hard drive has problems.
Interpreting Diagnostic Results
Understanding the results of hard drive diagnostics requires knowledge of what the various measurements and values mean. S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a system built into hard drives that monitors and reports on various attributes related to drive health and reliability.
Some key S.M.A.R.T. values to pay attention to include:
- Read Error Rate – Measures rate of hardware read errors. Higher values may indicate drive failure is imminent.
- Reallocated Sectors Count – Counts sectors marked as bad and remapped to spare sectors. Higher values indicate drives is experiencing failure.
- Seek Error Rate – Reports issues with drive heads properly seeking tracks. Higher values can predict drive failure.
- Spin Retry Count – Counts incidents when hard drive had trouble spinning up. Can predict mechanical problems.
In addition to S.M.A.R.T. data, diagnostic utilities may also report detected bad sectors, crashed heads, motor or controller issues, and temperature problems. Use all available information to assess drive health.
While higher raw values often do indicate a problem, you must interpret results in context. Compare values to thresholds and watch for rapid changes. Consult the drive manufacturer’s documentation for specific metrics and acceptable ranges.
Fixing Errors
If the diagnostics tool detects any errors on the external hard drive, there are several ways to try fixing them before replacing the drive.
For drives formatted with NTFS, the CHKDSK tool in Windows can help fix many issues like bad sectors, cross-linked files, directory errors, lost clusters, and more. To run CHKDSK, open the Command Prompt as administrator and type “chkdsk /f /r X:” where “X” is the drive letter of the external drive. The /f switch fixes errors and the /r switch locates bad sectors and recovers readable data [1].
For file system errors, using the “chkdsk /f X:” command without /r may be enough to fix issues [2]. File system errors can occur from improper shut downs or disconnecting the external drive without ejecting it first.
If CHKDSK is unable to fix the errors, third party tools like DiskGenius, EaseUS Partition Master, and Active@ Partition Recovery provide more advanced repair capabilities than the built-in Windows tools [3].
When to Replace a Hard Drive
External hard drives fail over time due to mechanical and electronic breakdown. Signs that your drive is beyond repair and needs to be replaced include:
- Frequent bad sector warnings – If your drive is reporting an increasing number of bad sectors that cannot be reallocated, it likely has serious degradation and is at high risk of failure. (https://reddit.com/vnxwbi)
- Strange noises – Clicking, beeping, grinding or other odd sounds indicate a mechanical problem.
- Very slow performance – If your drive is constantly lagging even though it is not full, the internal components may be failing.
- Not being recognized – If your computer no longer detects the hard drive at all, the electronics have likely completely malfunctioned.
- Failed diagnostics – If you run hard drive diagnostics like chkdsk in Windows or DriveDx and major problems are reported, it may be beyond repair.
If your external hard drive is exhibiting one or more of these major warning signs, it’s time to replace it. Attempting DIY repairs on modern external drives rarely works and puts your data at further risk.
Data Recovery Options
If diagnostics reveal irreparable damage or errors on your external hard drive, you may need to recover critical data before replacing the drive. You have two main options for data recovery:
Send to a Professional Data Recovery Service
For the best chance of recovering lost data, consider sending your drive to a reputable professional data recovery service like Secure Data Recovery or DriveSavers. These services use specialized tools and techniques in a cleanroom environment to recover data from severely damaged drives.
Professional recovery has the highest success rates, but costs several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the extent of drive damage. It’s worth the investment if your data is mission critical.
DIY Data Recovery
If you want to attempt recovering data yourself, you can try DIY software tools like Recuva, Disk Drill, or Stellar Data Recovery. This is more affordable but has lower success rates. You must be extremely careful not to further damage the drive during DIY recovery attempts.
DIY recovery works best for minor logical errors, not severe physical damage. Be prepared that you still may need to send your drive to a professional service if DIY options fail.
Conclusion
Running diagnostics on an external hard drive is an important step to ensure your data remains accessible and intact. By paying attention to signs of potential problems, creating backups, and using the right diagnostic tools, you can quickly determine the health of your drive.
The key steps covered here include:
- Watching for signs like slow performance and file errors that indicate diagnostics are needed.
- Backing up your data first before running diagnostics.
- Using Windows built-in error checking and chkdsk to scan for and repair basic drive errors.
- Running more advanced third party diagnostics tools like SeaTools or DiskCheckup for comprehensive testing.
- Understanding how to interpret diagnostic results to determine the drive’s status.
- Running data recovery software if files have become corrupted or inaccessible.
- Replacing the external hard drive if errors persist and cannot be repaired.
Following these guidelines will help ensure your external drive’s data stays intact and accessible. Be proactive about monitoring drive health, back up your data, utilize diagnostic tools, and you can avoid unexpected data loss or lengthy recovery efforts.