4 Ways to Fix the Parameter is Incorrect in External Hard Drive
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- Solution #1. Run CHKDSK to Repair Disk Errors
- Solution #2. Run SFC Scan
- Solution #3. Make use of Anti-virus Software
- Solution #4. Format External Hard Drive
"How do I fix the incorrect parameter on my external hard drive? Every time when I try to access the hard drive, it always tells me the parameter is incorrect. There are so many important files in the external hard drive. I really need to make it work urgently."
When you search for with the keyword "external hard drive not accessible the parameter is incorrect" you can see other people have the same problem as well. It will result in 2 problems: drive is inaccessible and you can't view and copy files from the external hard drive at all. To fix the problem, you need to learn the possible reasons that caused the parameter is incorrect on external hard drive.
- There are bad sectors.
- Virus attack or malware causes the external hard drive not accessible the parameter is incorrect.
- The file system is corrupted.
- You ejected the external hard drive improperly or you removed the external hard drive without ejecting it.
- Your computer powered off before ejecting the external hard drive.
If you're experiencing the "Parameter is Incorrect" error, don't worry! This issue can be caused by various factors, and there are several ways to resolve it.
Solution #1. Run CHKDSK to Repair Disk Errors
CHKDSK is a built-in Windows tool for checking and repairing file system errors and bad sectors on a hard drive. The parameter is incorrect to issue generally is caused by logical errors. Here are the steps for how to fix parameter is incorrect on external hard drive with CHKDSK.
- 1. Connect your external hard drive, the one you can't access with the "the parameter is incorrect" error.
- 2. To open the Command Prompt in Windows, follow these steps:
- 3. Next, in the Command Prompt window, type "chkdsk F:/f /x /r" (please note that the F means the driver letter of your external hard drive. It is not F, replace it with the right one). After then, click Enter.
Once you've run the Chkdsk command with the "/f /x /r" options, the repair process will begin. This may take some time, depending on the size of your external hard drive and the number of errors it finds.
Solution #2. Run SFC Scan
If the Chkdsk command was unable to repair your external hard drive, you can try using the System File Checker (SFC) tool to scan and repair any corrupted system files.
- 1. To start the search bar, press the "Windows and Q" button on your keyboard. This will open the search bar, allowing you to quickly find and access various features, settings, and applications on your computer.
- 2. Type in "cmd" and right-click on "Command Prompt", selecting "Run as Administrator".
- 3. Type "SFC/scannow" in the window and click "Enter" to repair the parameter is incorrect external hard drive.
If the SFC scan finds problems with the system files, it will ask for Windows installation DVD or USB installation media to fix it. You just need to follow the wizard to fix it. When it finished, restart your computer and connect the external hard drive again.
Solution #3. Make use of Anti-virus Software
If the system file checker (SFC) scan and disk check do not resolve the issue, it's possible that your external hard drive has been infected with a virus or malware. In this case, you can try using security software, specifically anti-virus software, to scan and fix the issue.
Solution #4. Format External Hard Drive
If the above mentioned solutions can't solve the problem of the parameter is incorrect on external hard drive, the last resort is formatting the external hard drive to fix the error, making it work again. However, the formatting will erase all files from the external hard drive. It means you will lose the files. In this case, you need to do the formatting carefully and use Deep Data Recovery to get back the files before the external hard drive formatting. Here are the steps.
Step 1. Click the DOWNLOAD button to get the external data recovery software on your computer. Install it and run it. There are Windows and Mac data recovery version. Please select the right version for your computer.
Step 2. From the start-up window, please select the file types you want to recover from the fixed parameter is the incorrect external hard drive. You can also deselect the unwanted ones and click "Next" to recover files from external hard drive on Mac or Windows PC.
Step 3. In the next new window, please select the fixed external hard drive as the target hard drive to scan. And then, click "Scan" to do external hard drive data recovery. It starts to scan the external hard drive right away. And there is a progress bar telling you how it goes on with the scanning process. Be patient and wait for it to finish.
Step 4. When the scanning process is finished, you can see all found files are put into the file categories on the left side. You can select the file type on the left side, and preview the found files on the right side. When finding the files lost due to the external hard drive not accessible the parameter is incorrect, selecting them and click "Recover" to save them on your computer.
To ensure that you find all the files you're looking for, you can choose between two scanning modes: Quick Scan and Deep Scan.
Once you've recovered the data you needed, it's time to format the external hard drive. Formatting will erase all the data on the drive, so make sure you've transferred any remaining files to a safe location.
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