Summary: ‘The parameter is incorrect’, is probably the most common issue that’s associated with external storage drives. This could be occurred due to logical or physical damage of the external hard drive and makes the external hard drive inaccessible. Here are the solutions to fix the parameter is incorrect error and moreover, download the Stellar Data Recovery software for all your data recovery needs in such a situation.
Contents
If you have a backup, you can use that to restore your files after formatting the faulty hard drive. However, in the absence of any backup you still have few options with which you can try to repair the external hard drive and fix parameter is incorrect error.
If none of these solutions work, please refer to ‘Optimal Solution’ given at the end of this post which works in most cases and can help you successfully recover your important data.
Solution 1: Run Chkdsk
Chkdsk is an inbuilt hard drive error checking and repair utility in Windows, which is used to scan hard drive (& its partitions) for logical file system error, bad sectors, & file system metadata, due to which hard drive becomes inaccessible, and fixes these errors in the hard drive simultaneously.
You can follow these steps to repair your inaccessible external hard drive:
TIP: Alternatively, you can type chkdsk X: /F /X /R for rigorous scanning and repair.
Hit the ‘Enter’ button and wait until ‘Chkdsk’ utility repairs the disk errors.
After the disk checking process, re-connect your external hard drive to the system and then try accessing your hard drive partition from the File Explorer. If you are able to access your external drive, immediately copy data from it to a safe location on your system and format the external hard drive via Disk Management tool or DiskPart.
NOTE: Chkdsk can only repair soft bad sectors. While repairing soft bad sectors, Chkdsk can damage the files and the data residing on those soft bad sectors. If you don’t want to risk damaging or corrupting your data, skip to the final ‘Optimal Solution’.
Solution 2: Run SFC Scan
Sometimes the error arises within your computer system due to some missing or corrupt system files. If Chkdsk fails to repair your external hard drive, you can try running System File Checker (SFC) scan on your system to repair missing and corrupted system files by following these steps:
If SFC scan finds any problem with system files, it can ask for Windows installation DVD or USB installation media to repair corrupt and damaged system files.
When finished, restart your system and try connecting your external hard drive to the PC.
Solution 3: Use an Antivirus Program
Virus infection can cause a lot of trouble; ‘The parameter is incorrect’ error is one of them. If a virus-infected file resides on your external hard disk, it can make your hard disk inaccessible. You can use a good antivirus software to try scanning your external hard disk for any viral infection and quarantine the virus to fix parameter is an incorrect error.
Solution 4: Format External Hard Drive
If none of the above solutions work, formatting external hard drive is the only solution that can fix parameter is incorrect issue. Please note that formatting will also erase all the data from your external hard drive.
You can use a professional Data recovery tool like Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows to recover data from your inaccessible hard drive. Once Data is safely recovered, open Disk management tool to format your hard drive.
Optimal Solution
The Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool is capable of recovering data from a severely corrupt, inaccessible, formatted hard drive (internal or external) and even from deleted or missing hard drive partition. With this solution, you can recover your data from an inaccessible external hard drive with just a few clicks and later fix parameter is incorrect error by formatting the drive.
It supports FAT (FAT16, FAT32), NTFS, and exFAT formatted hard drives. Moreover, it can also help you recover data from a severely corrupted hard drive with a lot of bad sectors.
Start creating backups of your system and other storage devices. Backup makes restoration and recovery process easier and quicker. Run ‘Chkdsk’ weekly or monthly to avoid hard drive logical failure. However, the Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows tool is always there to help you recover your data from any storage media, be it a USB stick, memory cards, or CD-DVD.
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.
Hello Satyeshu Kumar!
I ran into this comment and I’m experiencing the same problem almost. Mine is a 1tb WD external and I did a command prompt chkdsk /F /X /R. 12 hours has passed and it is still at 0%, I’m now leaning on to trying your software, but should I stop the chkdsk procedure first before doing so?
There is always a risk of permanent data loss if we run chkdsk. Recommend you to try data recovery software in this scenario after stopping the chkdsk.
Hello Satyeshu, Seriously hoping you can assist me. My external hard drive suddenly stopped being visible. When I tried to use option 1, it said that the file system is RAW. Does this mean that my data is hone forever?
Many thanks.
No, our software can recover data from a raw drive also. Please download the trial version of the software from the download button to see if you can preview your lost files. If yes, go ahead and purchase the software to recover the data.
Hi I am trying chkdsk.. it is scanning for quite a long time..some outcomes read that the “segment is unreadable” and some indicate that it is deleting “corrupt attribute record”… is this fine what do all these comments mean?
This indicates a problem with the drive. Install Stellar Data Recovery Premium software. It comes with Drive Monitor tool, open it, and check the SMART and health status. It’s possible that your drive is failing and need replacement.
The chkdsk option worked wonderfully. Thank you, you saved my files 🙂
Thank you so much!!! The first solution worked perfectly!
Hi Jeppy,
Pleased to know this blog helped you to solve your problem. Keep reading for more. Thanks