- Video Recovery
- SD Card Recovery
- Recycle Bin Recovery
- Recover Data from USB
- Recover Deleted Emails
- Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Windows
- Recover Unsaved Word Documents
- Recover Deleted Files in Windows 10/11
- Recover Files from Virus Infected Hard Drive
- Best Free Photo Recovery Software
- Recover Files from Formatted Hard Drive
Error Message: Can't read from the source file or disk
"My internal hard drive is full and it dramatically slows down my Windows 10 laptop. Then, I bought a new external hard drive and wanted to transfer some data from the PC to the new drive. So, I could free up more space. But when it gets to a certain point, it always says "Can't read from the source file or disk" and name a certain file that can't be read. Is there any way to fix the issue?"
Many users have reported that they got "Can't read from the source file or disk" error message while copying, deleting or moving files from one location to another. For example from a PC to an external hard drive/SD card, USB flash drive, etc or vice verse in Windows 10/8/7. If you happened to be annoyed by this issue, please don't worry! The solution below may help you.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Method 1. Recover Data from the Hard Disk | Select and scan hard drive > Preview found files > Recover lost hard drive data...Full steps |
Method 2. Format the Disk | Connect to the PC > Click Control Panel > Click Administrative Tools...Full steps |
Firstly, recover data from the hard disk
Your Reliable Choice - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
- Recover deleted, formatted, and inaccessible data in different data loss situations.
- Recover photos, audio, music, and emails from any storage effectively, safely and completely.
- Recover data from the recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorder.
Step 1. Select the drive where you lose your data and click "Scan".

Step 2. Use "Filter" or "Search" to find the lost files when the scan completes.

Step 3. Select all the files you want and click "Recover". Then, browse another secure location to save them.

Secondly, format the disk to permanently remove "Can't read from the source file or disk" error message
After retrieving all your files, you can try disk management tool to format your external hard drive, SD card or USB flash drive to permanently remove "Can't read from the source file or disk" error message. It easy and just takes simple steps!
- 1. Connect the device to the PC.
- 2. Type Control Panel in the search box. Click "Control Panel".
- 3. Click "Administrative Tools".
- 4. Click "Computer Management".
- 5. Click "Disk Management".
- 6. Right-click on the drive or device to format and click on "Format".
- 7. Select the file system and set the cluster size.
- 8. Click "OK" to format the disk.
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Brithny is a technology enthusiast, aiming to make readers' tech life easy and enjoyable. She loves exploring new technologies and writing technical how-to tips. On her spare time, she loves sharing things about her favorite singer - Taylor Swift on her Facebook or Twitter.

Roxanne is one of the main contributors to EaseUS and has created multiple posts on digital devices like PCs, Mobile phones, tablets, Mac, etc. She loves to share ideas with people of the same interest.
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EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a powerful system recovery software, designed to enable you to recover files you’ve deleted accidentally, potentially lost to malware or an entire hard drive partition.
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EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the best we have seen. It's far from perfect, partly because today's advanced disk technology makes data-recovery more difficult than it was with the simpler technology of the past.
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EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro has a reputation as one of the best data recovery software programs on the market. It comes with a selection of advanced features, including partition recovery, formatted drive restoration, and corrupted file repair.
Read More
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