“Drive is not accessible. Data error (Cyclic redundancy check)”
It is probably the worst error message you would want to read while accessing or using a hard drive. Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error can prevent you from accessing files or data from your hard disk or interfere with basic tasks like cut, copy, and paste the files and folders. With the cyclic redundancy check error, you can neither access your files nor the hard disk of your computer or laptop.
You must know how to fix cyclic redundancy check error in order to use your hard disk again and access your data. Before moving to the solution, let us first understand – what are cyclic redundancy check and cyclic redundancy check error?
What is Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)?
A cyclic redundancy check is a data verification method that your computer or laptop use to check data on your hard disks, CDs, DVDs and more. CRC also detects errors or accidental changes to the raw data in your storage devices. CRC acts as a data verification system and verifies the accuracy of data on storage devices.
What is the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error?
A cyclic redundancy check error shows the corruption of data on your storage devices. The error can be caused by different reasons: a cluttered hard disk, registry corruption, an unsuccessful program installation, or misconfigured files. The CRC error message appears when a system tries to read data on the hard disk or any other external storage device like a pen drive, CD, and DVD etc. and corruption or suspicious change is detected. Many times, the CRC error interferes with simple commands, like copying and pasting files from the storage device.
When the CRC error occurs, you may see the following error messages on your device:
- E:/F:/G:\ is not accessible. Data error (cyclic redundancy check)
- Cannot initialize disk. Data error (cyclic redundancy check)
- File _could not be accessed. Data error (cyclic redundancy check)
- Data error (cyclic redundancy check).
How to fix cyclic redundancy check error?
Fixing the CRC error could be easy and difficult depending on the severity of the error. Some easy ways to fix the CRC error are provided below.
- Restart the device – Restarting the device in most cases can fix the issue if there is no severe damage has occurred to your storage device. Once the device is rebooted, you may access your files and data again.
- Reconnect the external storage device – If you face CRC error while accessing files from an external device like a portable hard disk or a pen drive, you can try removing the device and connecting it again. Reconnecting the device may fix the CRC issue.
- Update Windows – Check for any latest updates available for your device. Updating Windows to the latest version may also fix various issues on your system, including the CRC error. Update your Windows and try to access the files again.
- Download or get the file again – If the CRC error has occurred on your device while downloading a file or opening an email attachment, you can try to download the file again and check if the issue persists. There are chances that the CRC error has occurred due to a server error and re-downloading the file may fix it.
If nothing works, you can also try to fix cyclic redundancy error by using CHKDSK utility. CHKDSK (or “check disk”) is a built-in Windows function that can scan and repair your drive’s errors. The steps are provided below.
- Right-click the drive you want to check, then click on Properties and then Tools. Under ‘Error Checking’ click on ‘Check Now’.
- A dialog box will appear with two options – ‘Automatically fix file system errors’ or ‘Scan for an attempted recovery of bad sectors’. By default, the first option will be selected. You can choose the other option but it may take hours to complete.
- Click on ‘Start’ to start the scan.
- The scan will start and try to fix the CRC error.
Note: If the scan does not start by itself, you can also try to restart the device. This may start the scan.
If none of the above methods works, and you are still looking for a way to fix cyclic redundancy check error, you should seek professional data recovery services near you.
Choose HRC to fix cyclic redundancy check error
HRC is one of the professional and affordable data recovery companies in Mumbai that can help you fix cyclic redundancy check error on your device. We have a qualified team of expert professionals that are certified to fix such issues while keeping your device and data secure. If you are facing such an issue, you can call at +91 9323287758. Reach us today and enjoy your free consultation!