How to Fix Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check) on Windows?

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) is a verification method used by Windows to check data accuracy on the disk drives. This check detects accidental changes to raw data residing in the storage media. Although rare, users typically encounter the Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check) message while transferring files to or from a disk drive. Here’s an instance:

As shown above, the cyclic redundancy check error often makes your internal or external storage drives inaccessible. Microsoft defines the Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check) or CRC error as an issue the system encounters due to bad sectors or a recurring problem with the drive.

What is Cyclic Redundancy Check?

While transferring data from a PC to a disk drive, the system runs a series of computation algorithms based on cyclic codes. These codes generate a fixed-length number known as Cyclic Redundancy Check Value or simply CRC.

This CRC is appended to the transferring data and shared with the destination drive. The destination drive runs the same cyclic code and compares the CRC value against the appended data.

If the values match, the destination device assumes the data to be in a healthy state. Otherwise, it is assumed to have been corrupted during transfer, and hence, discarded.

Causes Behind Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check)

The cyclic redundancy check data error results in inaccessible storage drive leading to data loss. In some cases, if the internal drive shows this error message then the system could possible become unbootable.

Here is a diagrammatic representation of the various causes behind the CRC data error –

How to Solve the Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check) Issue?

As the cyclic redundancy check data error is a serious issue that can make your drive inaccessible, you must resolve it at the earliest using the methods explained below. However, before fixing the error, you should prioritize safely retrieving the data present on the inaccessible disk drive.

Therefore, we advise using professional data recovery software beforehand. This will allow safe retrieval of data and files from your error-riddled disk drive.

Method 1: Recover Files Using a Professional Data Recovery Software

Professional data recovery software, like Stellar Data Recovery Professional, can help recover data from severely corrupt, formatted, re-formatted, or inaccessible disk drives.

Thanks to its powerful algorithms, this software can recover lost partitions and data from an unbootable system. No matter the storage drive or the file system, Stellar Data Recovery Professional can handle any data loss scenario with ease.

Watch this video to fix the cyclic redundancy check data error.

You may also follow the step-by-step software tutorial below to recover data from a disk drive affected by the cyclic redundancy check data error.

• Download and Install the Stellar Data Recovery Professional on your PC.
• Connect the storage drive to the PC.
• Launch the software.
• On the Select What To Recover screen, select the type of data to recover. By default, All Data is selected. Click Next.

• Select the problematic drive and click Scan.

• The software will scan the drive and populate the left pane with recoverable files.
• Preview the recoverable files to check them.
• If satisfied with the results, click Recover. Follow the on-screen options to select the destination drive.

• The selected recovered files and folders are saved at the desired location.

Note – If the normal scan doesn’t show the required files, click Deep Scan at the bottom. It is a time-consuming process that will thoroughly search for missing data using file signatures.

Method 2: Perform Error Checking

There is another method that can help you fix the Data Error (cyclic redundancy check) issue. You can perform Error checking to find and repair various disk errors that might be causing the above error. It is a safe method that doesn’t affect the data on the disk. Here’s what to do –

• Open This PC and select the problematic disk drive.
• Right-click on the drive and click Properties.

• In the Properties window, click on the Tools tab.
• In the Error checking section, click the Check button.
• Now, select Check disk options and click Start.

The error checking will check the problematic disk drive for any issues and fix them.

Method 3: Use CHKDSK Command

Bad sectors on the drive tend to generate errors like the Cyclic Redundancy Check Data error. If this is the case with your disk drive, you must repair it by running the CHKDSK command.

Note – The CHKDSK utility will mark bad sectors on the drive, rendering the data in it inaccessible. Hence, recover important files from the problematic drive using a professional Windows data recovery software before running the CHKDSK command.

CHKDSK checks the integrity of your hard drive and fixes logical file system errors, bad sectors & file system metadata. Run CHKDSK by following these steps –

• Connect the storage device to your PC.
• Press WIN + Q and type CMD in the search bar.
• Right-click on the Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
• A command prompt window appears. Type chkdsk X: /f. Replace X: with the external drive’s alphabet. Alternatively, you can also run chkdsk X: /F /X /R for a rigorous scan & repair process.
• Hit Enter.
• Wait until the CHKDSK repairs the disk errors.

After CHKDSK completes error checking, reconnect storage media to the system and try to access it from File Explorer. If you’re able to access the data without any error, immediately copy it to a safe location, preferably an external drive.

Method 4: Run SFC Scan

If you encounter the cyclic redundancy check data error on the internal storage drive, it could happen due to system file corruption. In that case, use SFC or System File Checker to repair corrupted system files, DLL files, registry files, etc. To run an SFC scan –

• Press WIN + R and type CMD.
• Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to launch it as administrator.

• Type sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
• Wait for the scan to complete.

Once the scanning is over, exit the CMD and restart the system. Now, try to access the files from the storage media.

If using the above methods did not help in resolving the data error (cyclic redundancy check), consider formatting the drive as the last resort. However, make sure you perform quick formatting, as full formatting will lead to permanent data loss.

Don’t use the drive after formatting it. Use a professional data recovery software to recover data from a formatted drive.

EndNote

To avoid errors like the Cyclic Redundancy Check Data error, monitor your drive’s health using a drive monitor and always maintain regular backups of your data to prevent unwanted data loss.

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About The Author

Satyeshu Kumar

Satyeshu is a Windows blogger and data recovery expert. He is having good technical knowledge and experience in Windows data recovery. He writes about latest technical tips, Windows issues and tutorials.