Free Hard Disk Repair Software for Hard Disk | Step-By-Step Guide

HDD Repair Solutions - Page Content

Part 1. Possible Causes of Hard Drive Disk Errors
Part 2. How to Perform Hard Disk Repair With Free Hard Drive Repair Software
Part 3. How to Prevent Hard Drive Corruption and Data Loss
Part 4. Hard Disk Repair FAQs

If your hard drive becomes corrupted due to a file system error or turns RAW, don't panic. You can repair a corrupt hard disk without losing data by first checking if the issue is a logical error preventing access, in which case you can perform hard disk repair. If it's a physical problem, you'll need to send your hard drive to a data recovery or repair service center.

Related reading: How to repair Windows 11 and fix corrupted files

Possible Causes of Hard Drive Disk Errors

Before you try to repair the hard disk, you should know the reasons that cause hard drive corruption. Here is the list of top reasons for hard disk failure:

Virus attack
Bad sectors
Sudden system shutdown or crash
Human errors
Power supply and overheating problem

Knowing the causes of hard drive failure is the first step to repairing it and solving your problem. By understanding what leads to this issue, you can take necessary steps to prevent it or fix it when it happens.

 Warning: When you connect a RAW hard disk to your computer, Windows may prompt you to format the drive, but clicking "Format" will result in permanent data loss. Instead, click "Cancel" to prevent accidental data deletion.

How to Perform Hard Disk Repair With Free HDD Repair Software

Before attempting to repair your HDD, ensure that your power supply and fan are functioning properly. Once you've verified this, you can proceed with the following solutions.

1. Run Antivirus

Connect the hard drive to another Windows PC, and use a reliable antivirus to scan the drive, as viruses and malware can sometimes cause errors, potentially repairing the corrupted hard drive and making it accessible.

2. Check and Repair Hard Disk Error in Windows 10/8/7

Try a Windows built-To check and repair hard disk errors in Windows 10, 8, or 7, follow these steps:

Step 1. To check the properties of a hard disk or partition, open "This PC/Computer", right-click the hard disk or partition you want to check, and click "Properties".

Step 2. Select "Tools" and click "Check now" under Error-checking.

Step 3. When the Check Disk Options dialog appears, select any of the options to check and repair the hard disk. This will initiate the disk checking process, which may take some time, depending on the size of the disk and the number of issues to be resolved. Once the process is complete, the dialog will close, and the disk should be in a healthy state, with any errors or issues resolved.

Step 4. Select both "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" and click "Start".

Run windows check now to repair hdd

To run this tool in read-only mode, click "Start".
To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, select the "Automatically fix file system errors" checkbox and click "Start".
To repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information, click "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" and then click "Start".

After the full repair process, your hard disk or hard drive partition should work normally. You can then try to access the saved data on the hard drive.

3. Run SFC Scan

The SFC /Scannow option is used to scan and repair corrupted or missing Windows system files that may cause drive corruption. It helps to fix damaged system files.

Step 1. Open a command prompt window.

Step 2. 1. Type `sfc /scannow` in the command prompt window and press "Enter" on the keyboard.

If the drive is a portable drive, type SFC /SCANNOW /OFFBOOTDIR = letter of your hard drive /OFFWINDIR = letter of your Windows directory. For example, if your hard drive is D: and your Windows directory is also D:, type SFC /SCANNOW /OFFBOOTDIR = D: /OFFWINDIR = D:.

Wait for the scan to finish and then restart the system. Try and see if you can access your hard drive.

How to Recover Deleted Files from Laptop/PC?

Data recovery is no longer a challenge with Qiling, a reliable application that can restore lost data with just a few simple clicks.

4. Turn to Hard Disk Repair Experts (Recommended)

If your hard drive is making a clicking or grinding noise, it might be due to a head crash or motor failure, and a manual disk repair service like Qiling, which is authorized by major hard drive manufacturers, can be a reliable way to repair hard disk errors without voiding the warranty.

Consult with Qiling data recovery experts for a one-on-one manual recovery service, which includes a free diagnosis and the following services offered after that.

To fix errors and restore data from various storage devices, including HDD, SSD, external hard drives, and USB flash drives, as well as recover data from all RAID levels, you can use specialized software and tools. These programs can help diagnose and repair issues such as bad sectors, corrupted files, and disk failures, and also recover data from failed or damaged storage devices.
If a partition cannot be restored using data recovery software, it may be due to the partition being severely damaged or corrupted. In such cases, a more advanced approach is required.
Bad sectors on a disk can be repaired using a tool like chkdsk on Windows or fsck on Linux. These tools scan the disk for errors and attempt to repair them by moving data from bad sectors to good ones.
Fix disks that become GPT protected partitions
Wipe data, unformat hard drive, Install/uninstall software or driver, etc.

5. Check File System With Free Hard Disk Repair Software

To fix file system errors that cause hard disk corruption, use Qiling Partition Master, a free software that checks bad sectors and fixes file system errors with its Check File System feature.

This software offers additional features beyond HDD repair, including useful partition management functions such as resizing/moving partitions, cloning, merging, creating, formatting, and deleting partitions, as well as converting MBR to GPT, converting logical to primary or primary to logical partitions, and converting FAT to NTFS partitions.

5. Use a Data Recovery Tool and then Format Hard Disk

If the previous methods fail to repair the corrupt hard drive and it's still in RAW, you may need to format the hard drive. In this case, you can use powerful data recovery software like Deep Data Recovery to quickly restore files from the corrupted hard disk before formatting it. This software can also recover data from a deleted partition. Even if Windows can't recognize the hard drive, this software may still be able to recover data.

Download a hard drive recovery software and follow the guides to restore lost data or recover deleted files in Windows 10/8/7.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 1. Launch Deep data recovery software on your PC, choose the file types you want to recover, and click "Next" to initiate the recovery process.

Select file types that you want to recover

Step 2. Select the drive where you lost your data and click "Scan".

Step 3. When the scan is complete, you can use the "Filter" or "Search" feature to locate the lost files. This allows you to quickly find the files you're looking for, even if they're buried among many other files.

Step 4. Select all the files you want and click "Recover". Then, browse another secure location to save them.

How to format a hard drive for hard disk repair

After recovering data from the corrupted hard drive, format the drive in Disk Management to repair it, and then transfer the recovered data to the hard drive.

Step 1. Right-click "This PC" and choose "Manage".

Step 2. Go to "Disk Management".

Step 3. Right-click the target hard drive partition and choose "Format".

Step 4. Set the volume label, file system, and click "OK" to start formatting the drive.

hard disk repair - format hard drive

How to Prevent Hard Drive Corruption and Data Loss

To avoid hard disk corruption and data loss issues on your PC in Windows 10/8/7, regularly back up your important files and folders to an external drive or cloud storage service, and keep your operating system and software up to date with the latest security patches and updates. Additionally, use a reliable antivirus program to protect against malware, and avoid sudden shutdowns or power outages by using a power backup or surge protector. You can also use the built-in Windows feature called System Restore to create a restore point and revert to a previous state if needed.

Run the CHKDSK command to check and repair hard disk errors regularly to maintain the health and performance of your computer's hard drive. This can help prevent data loss and ensure that your system runs smoothly.
Clean up viruses with antivirus software in time.
Frequently defragment the drive
Do not force the shutdown using the power button
Back up important data on HDD regularly. (External storage devices are recommended.)
Use Qiling hard disk repair software to recover HDD lost data in time when data loss happens.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Hard Disk Repair Frequently Asked Questions

Read more about HDD repair and hard drive repair software.

Can a hard disk be repaired?

Hard drive errors can be categorized into logic and physical errors. Logic errors, which are usually software-related, can often be repaired by Windows and can be fixed by formatting the drive. However, physical errors, which are caused by damage to the hard drive itself, cannot be repaired and require a replacement with a new drive.

How do you fix a corrupted hard drive?

You can use Qiling's free hard disk repair tool to perform HDD repair.

1. Download and install Qiling, a free hard drive repair tool, on your Windows computer.
2. Find your hard disk, right-click it, and choose Check File System.
3. The disk repair tool will scan your hard disk and fix any errors or issues found on the HDD.

How to repair damaged external hard drive?

To repair an external hard drive without incurring any cost, you can use a free external hard drive repair software. One such software is EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, which can help recover data from a damaged or corrupted external hard drive.

1. Connect your external hard drive to the computer.
2. Download Qiling external hard disk repair software for free.
3. Right-click the external hard disk and choose Check File System.
4. Qiling hard drive repair tool will scan and correct hard drive errors it discovers.

Hard disk repair software free download full version?

You can download Qiling, a free hard disk repair tool, to check and repair the health of your hard disk or external hard drive if it's corrupted.

What's the best free hard drive repair software Windows 10?

1. Windows built-in hard disk error checking tool
2. Qiling free hard drive repair software
3. Qiling data recovery tool

How can I repair my hard disk with bootable hard disk repair tool?

If your hard drive is damaged and your computer won't boot, you can try to repair it using the professional version of Qiling Partition Master. This tool allows you to create a bootable drive to fix the damaged hard drive.

1. Prepare a storage media, like a USB drive, flash drive, or a CD/DVD disc.
2. Launch Qiling Partition Master and click the WinPE Creator feature on the top.
3. To create a bootable drive for Qiling Partition Master, follow the on-screen instructions.
4. To fix a corrupted hard drive, start your computer from a USB bootable drive, then right-click the corrupted hard disk and choose the option to check the file system, which can repair the HDD.