{"id":115310,"date":"2022-12-16T10:22:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T10:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?p=115310"},"modified":"2025-05-08T05:06:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T05:06:21","slug":"what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p>Your computer&rsquo;s internal or external hard disk may become corrupted, unreadable, or unavailable. Hard drive corruption is typically caused by sudden PC shutdown and connectivity issues, viruses, file system errors, or bad sectors. There are ways to fix a corrupted hard disk, whether an internal or external hard drive. The simplest technique to repair a corrupt hard disk is to format it, which will result in data loss.<\/p><p>If you prefer not to lose your data after formatting your drive, we will discuss a way to recover lost data. Let&rsquo;s begin with the fundamentals without further ado: what is data corruption?<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-data-corruption?\">What is data corruption?<\/h2><p>Hard drives serve as storage devices, with file information stored in them. Every operation or utility has a folder containing all the information required to perform a process effectively. Each folder has a specified location in the storage that covers utilities in a specific range.<\/p><p>Because your hard drives are extremely busy, folders are constantly opened and closed, and data is extracted and put back. You can see how information can be corrupted in this process.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-can-i-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive?\">How can I fix a Corrupted Hard Drive?<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-format-the-hard-drive\">1. Format the hard drive<\/h3><p>Formatting your hard drive is the first thing that might come to you might first and foremost, followed by the sudden realization of inevitable data loss. <\/p><p>While you may want to back up your files before formatting, there are ways to bring back your files after the format process is done. You might need to download a safe and secure <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/windows-data-recovery-professional.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">professional data recovery software<\/a><\/strong> called Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows.<\/p><p>Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows is an effective answer to all of your data recovery needs. Apart from drive formatting, the software can successfully recover data in various loss scenarios.<\/p><p>Let&rsquo;s first explain how you can format your hard disk, and then we can guide you through using the Stellar Data Recovery professional software.<\/p><p><strong>To format your disk:<\/strong><\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>This PC<\/strong> or <strong>My Computer<\/strong> and right-click on the corrupted drive, and select<strong> Format<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/format-disk-option-1024x756.png\" alt=\"Perform format disk option to fix corrupted hard drive\" class=\"wp-image-115322 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/format-disk-option-1024x756.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/format-disk-option-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/format-disk-option-768x567.png 768w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/format-disk-option.png 1027w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You&rsquo;ll need to select the <strong>File system<\/strong> (Choose <strong>NTFS<\/strong> if the drive is internal and you only plan to use it with a Windows computer. Choose between <strong>FAT32<\/strong> or <strong>exFAT<\/strong> if the drive is external.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Uncheck the <strong>Quick Format<\/strong> option and click <strong>Start<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"253\" height=\"458\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/the-file-system-and-quick-format.png\" alt=\"the file system and quick format\" class=\"wp-image-115323 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/the-file-system-and-quick-format.png 253w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/the-file-system-and-quick-format-166x300.png 166w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 253px) 100vw, 253px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><p><strong>To utilize Stellar Data Recovery Professional:<\/strong><\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Install the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/windows-data-recovery-professional.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Stellar Data Recovery Software Professional<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open the application, select the file types you want the software to recover, and click&nbsp;<strong>Next<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"apply-gradient-on-post-images\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/public\/image\/catalog\/screenshot\/data-recovery-pro-win\/wdr-pro1.png\" alt=\"\"><\/figure><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select the formatted drive and click&nbsp;<strong>Scan<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"apply-gradient-on-post-images\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/public\/image\/catalog\/screenshot\/data-recovery-pro-win\/wdr-pro2.png\" alt=\"\"><\/figure><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click&nbsp;<strong>Recover&nbsp;<\/strong>to save recovered data.<\/li>\n<\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"apply-gradient-on-post-images\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/public\/image\/catalog\/screenshot\/data-recovery-pro-win\/wdr-pro3.png\" alt=\"\"><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-run-the-chkdsk-scan\">2. Run the CHKDSK scan<\/h3><p>Windows has a command called Check Disk (CHKDSK) that may scan your hard drive and fix any issues it finds. You can use various options to modify it based on what you want the command to perform.<\/p><p>We&rsquo;ll employ the \/r parameter. This will correct any disk issues and look for bad sectors, marking them as unusable for storage.<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Right-click the <strong>Start menu<\/strong> and, in the <strong>Quick menu<\/strong>, select <strong>Windows PowerShell (Admin)<\/strong> or <strong>Terminal (Admin)<\/strong>. If UAC prompts you to give access, click <strong>Yes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"797\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Quick-menu-Terminal-or-powershell.png\" alt=\"Quick menu Terminal or powershell\" class=\"wp-image-115327 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Quick-menu-Terminal-or-powershell.png 797w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Quick-menu-Terminal-or-powershell-300x256.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Quick-menu-Terminal-or-powershell-768x656.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Type the following command and press <strong>Enter<\/strong>. Note that <strong>E:<\/strong> should be replaced with the drive letter of your hard disk.<br><strong>chkdsk E: \/r<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/chkdsk-in-Powershell-1024x577.png\" alt=\"to fix corrupted hard drive run chkdsk in Powershell\" class=\"wp-image-115328 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/chkdsk-in-Powershell-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/chkdsk-in-Powershell-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/chkdsk-in-Powershell-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/chkdsk-in-Powershell.png 1115w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your hard drive is over one terabyte, this command may take some time to complete.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-scan-for-viruses\">3. Scan for Viruses<\/h3><p>A virus infection can cause a corrupted hard drive. Running a scan with your antivirus software is an easy approach to see if this is the source of the problem. This will effectively resolve the issue and prevent additional corruption.<\/p><p>Scanning for viruses using Windows Defender:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Search <strong>Windows Security<\/strong> in the <strong>Search box<\/strong> and select the best result.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"753\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Windows-Security-in-search-result.png\" alt=\" Windows Security in search result\" class=\"wp-image-115329 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Windows-Security-in-search-result.png 753w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Windows-Security-in-search-result-300x273.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 753px) 100vw, 753px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the <strong>Virus and Threat Protection<\/strong> button on the left pane of the newly opened window.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the <strong>Quick Scan<\/strong> option.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Virus-and-threat-protection-tab-in-Windows-Security-1024x795.png\" alt=\"Virus and threat protection tab in Windows Security to fix corrupted hard drive\" class=\"wp-image-115330 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Virus-and-threat-protection-tab-in-Windows-Security-1024x795.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Virus-and-threat-protection-tab-in-Windows-Security-300x233.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Virus-and-threat-protection-tab-in-Windows-Security-768x596.png 768w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Virus-and-threat-protection-tab-in-Windows-Security.png 1202w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Windows Defender examines your computer and reports any issues it discovers.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-assign-or-change-the-drive-letter\">4. Assign or change the Drive Letter<\/h3><p>Without a drive letter, your operating system may have difficulty locating and accessing the hard drive. So, you can fix a corrupted hard drive resulting from this issue by assigning a new drive letter or modifying the existing one.<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Right-click the <strong>Start menu<\/strong> (the Windows logo) and select <strong>Disk Management<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"792\" height=\"669\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/disk-management.png\" alt=\"disk management\" class=\"wp-image-115331 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/disk-management.png 792w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/disk-management-300x253.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/disk-management-768x649.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Choose <strong>Change Drive Letter and<\/strong> <strong>Paths<\/strong> after right-clicking the damaged partition.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"754\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/change-drive-letter-and-path-option.png\" alt=\"change drive letter and path option\" class=\"wp-image-115332 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/change-drive-letter-and-path-option.png 754w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/change-drive-letter-and-path-option-300x238.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the <strong>Change <\/strong>button. If no drive letter is present, select <strong>Add<\/strong> instead.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"380\" height=\"256\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/add-or-change-letter-option.png\" alt=\" add or change letter option to fix corrupted hard drive\" class=\"wp-image-115333 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/add-or-change-letter-option.png 380w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/add-or-change-letter-option-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From the selection menu, select a drive letter. Select <strong>OK<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>OK<\/strong> once more.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-update-or-reinstall-drivers\">5. Update or reinstall drivers<\/h3><p>The OS and the hardware you use must establish and continue communicating, which is the responsibility of drivers. Your computer might not read the hard drive correctly if your drivers are corrupted or out-of-date. A damaged hard drive may only need to be updated or reinstalled.<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Right-click the <strong>Start menu<\/strong> (the Windows logo) and select <strong>Device Manager<\/strong> from the <strong>Quick menu<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"798\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Device-manager-in-Quick-menu-3.png\" alt=\" Device manager in Quick menu\" class=\"wp-image-115334 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Device-manager-in-Quick-menu-3.png 798w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Device-manager-in-Quick-menu-3-300x253.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Device-manager-in-Quick-menu-3-768x647.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expand the <strong>Disk drives<\/strong> menu and select your hard drive. Depending on your hard disk, the name will most likely be different. Select<strong> Update Driver.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"781\" height=\"572\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/update-driver-in-device-manager.png\" alt=\"update driver in device manager\" class=\"wp-image-115335 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/update-driver-in-device-manager.png 781w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/update-driver-in-device-manager-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/update-driver-in-device-manager-768x562.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 781px) 100vw, 781px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select <strong>Search for drivers automatically<\/strong>. Otherwise, if you have the latest drivers, you can do this manually by clicking <strong>Browse my computer for drivers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"614\" height=\"454\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/driver-update-two-options.png\" alt=\"to fix corrupted hard drive driver update two options\" class=\"wp-image-115336 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/driver-update-two-options.png 614w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/driver-update-two-options-300x222.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you don&rsquo;t see driver updates, click <strong>Uninstall Device<\/strong> now. Once again, select <strong>Uninstall<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Restart your computer, so the drivers are reinstalled automatically.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-run-sfc-dism\">6. Run SFC &amp; DISM<\/h3><p>System File Check and DISM are two Windows features used in this method. To check for system file corruption and replace damaged system files with functional ones, use System File Check. This is what DISM also does, and it checks the file system&rsquo;s integrity to ensure there is no leftover corruption.<\/p><p>So to fix a corrupted hard drive, follow the steps below:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Right-click the <strong>Start menu<\/strong> and select <strong>Windows PowerShell (Admin)<\/strong> or <strong>Windows Terminal (Admin)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Type <strong>sfc \/scannow<\/strong> and press <strong>Enter<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/sfc-scan-in-powershell-1024x577.png\" alt=\" sfc scan in powershell\" class=\"wp-image-115337 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/sfc-scan-in-powershell-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/sfc-scan-in-powershell-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/sfc-scan-in-powershell-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/sfc-scan-in-powershell.png 1115w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After that, type<strong> <\/strong>the following command and press <strong>Enter<\/strong>:<br><strong>dism.exe \/online \/cleanup-image \/restorehealth<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/dism-scan-in-powershell-1024x577.png\" alt=\"dism scan in powershell to fix corrupted hard drive\" class=\"wp-image-115338 apply-gradient-on-post-images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/dism-scan-in-powershell-1024x577.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/dism-scan-in-powershell-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/dism-scan-in-powershell-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/dism-scan-in-powershell.png 1115w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"fix-your-corrupted-hard-disk-without-professional-help!\">Fix your corrupted hard disk without professional help!<\/h2><p>When you hear the term &ldquo;formatting,&rdquo; you probably think of the negative effects that follow, such as having to start from scratch and dealing with data loss. However, this is not the case. Formatting your hard drive can be a solution rather than a disaster. This becomes clearer with Stellar Data Recovery Professional.<\/p><p>However, it is preferable to make a backup of your data for two reasons. First, you would be much more confident while trying the methods when fixing a corrupted hard drive because you know your data is safe if something goes wrong. Second, recovering from backups is significantly simpler than recovering from Data Recovery programs.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq:\"><strong>FAQ:<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your computer&rsquo;s internal or external hard disk may become corrupted, unreadable, or&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":123333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[701],"tags":[140,207],"class_list":["post-115310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-windows-data-recovery-professional","tag-corrupt","tag-data-recovery-software","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Corruption is an unexpected problem that occurs in hard drives. Here are some methods to fix a corrupted Hard Drive.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Corruption is an unexpected problem that occurs in hard drives. Here are some methods to fix a corrupted Hard Drive.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stellar Data Recovery Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-16T10:22:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-08T05:06:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Farhad Pashaei\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/FarhadPashaei\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Farhad Pashaei\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Farhad Pashaei\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b5fdfcc5c013d8621ed70b7c54a4cf6\"},\"headline\":\"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-16T10:22:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-08T05:06:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\"},\"wordCount\":1115,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"corrupt\",\"Data Recovery Software\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Windows Data Recovery- Professional\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\",\"name\":\"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-16T10:22:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-08T05:06:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b5fdfcc5c013d8621ed70b7c54a4cf6\"},\"description\":\"Corruption is an unexpected problem that occurs in hard drives. Here are some methods to fix a corrupted Hard Drive.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"What is Data Corruption\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Stellar Data Recovery Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b5fdfcc5c013d8621ed70b7c54a4cf6\",\"name\":\"Farhad Pashaei\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c7cf255ef79f3c93e99c1a84dafc5cb5c4dbf3a80a955622b865d40fd1b26aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c7cf255ef79f3c93e99c1a84dafc5cb5c4dbf3a80a955622b865d40fd1b26aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Farhad Pashaei\"},\"description\":\"As a technophile, Farhad has spent the last decade getting hands-on experience with a variety of electronic devices, including smartphones, accessories, laptops, wearables, printers, and so on. When he isn't writing, you can bet he's devouring information on products making their market foray, demonstrating his unquenchable thirst for technology.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/farhadpashaei\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/farhad-pashaei-54944682\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/FarhadPashaei\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/author\/farhad\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive","description":"Corruption is an unexpected problem that occurs in hard drives. Here are some methods to fix a corrupted Hard Drive.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive","og_description":"Corruption is an unexpected problem that occurs in hard drives. Here are some methods to fix a corrupted Hard Drive.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/","og_site_name":"Stellar Data Recovery Blog","article_published_time":"2022-12-16T10:22:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-08T05:06:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Farhad Pashaei","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/FarhadPashaei","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Farhad Pashaei","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/"},"author":{"name":"Farhad Pashaei","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b5fdfcc5c013d8621ed70b7c54a4cf6"},"headline":"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive","datePublished":"2022-12-16T10:22:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-08T05:06:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/"},"wordCount":1115,"commentCount":4,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg","keywords":["corrupt","Data Recovery Software"],"articleSection":["Windows Data Recovery- Professional"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/","name":"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-16T10:22:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-08T05:06:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b5fdfcc5c013d8621ed70b7c54a4cf6"},"description":"Corruption is an unexpected problem that occurs in hard drives. Here are some methods to fix a corrupted Hard Drive.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/What-Is-Data-Corruption.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"What is Data Corruption"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/what-is-data-corruption-how-to-fix-a-corrupted-hard-drive\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is Data Corruption? How to Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/","name":"Stellar Data Recovery Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b5fdfcc5c013d8621ed70b7c54a4cf6","name":"Farhad Pashaei","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c7cf255ef79f3c93e99c1a84dafc5cb5c4dbf3a80a955622b865d40fd1b26aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c7cf255ef79f3c93e99c1a84dafc5cb5c4dbf3a80a955622b865d40fd1b26aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Farhad Pashaei"},"description":"As a technophile, Farhad has spent the last decade getting hands-on experience with a variety of electronic devices, including smartphones, accessories, laptops, wearables, printers, and so on. When he isn't writing, you can bet he's devouring information on products making their market foray, demonstrating his unquenchable thirst for technology.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/farhadpashaei\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/farhad-pashaei-54944682\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/FarhadPashaei"],"url":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/author\/farhad\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115310"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182031,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115310\/revisions\/182031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}