Fix Data Error Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

Let's take a look at some user experiences with the cyclic redundancy check error first:

Case 1. Drive not accessible, data error (cyclic redundancy check):

"My 1TB Seagate Free agent GoFlex has some error in opening the disk. First, it asks me to format the drive before being able to use it. Of course, I won't format it because it's full of data. After canceling that dialog, an error message will appear saying: "Drive is Not Accessible: Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check)."

Case 2. Cannot initialize disk: cyclic redundancy check:

"How can you fix an external HDD that fails to initialize? It gives data error (cyclic redundancy check) each time I try to fix it."

Overview of Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) Error

What is a cyclic redundancy check?

The cyclic redundancy check, or CRC, is an error-detecting technology commonly used in digital networks and storage devices to detect accidental changes to raw data. It serves as a data verification method to check the accuracy of data on hard disk drives, CDs, DVDs, etc.

What is a cyclic redundancy check error?

When there's a bad spot on the media of your hard disk, a CRC error may occur. A cyclic redundancy check error can also be triggered by many other incidents that seem to be inevitable. For example, registry corruption, a cluttered hard disk, an unsuccessful program installation, or misconfigured files. Generally, when you receive the error message 'data error (cyclic redundancy check)', there is something wrong with the files or the hard drive.

Fixes for Data Error Cyclic Redundancy Check

Besides preventing us from copying files, accessing hard drive data, or initializing a hard disk, the data error detected by cyclic redundancy check will potentially cause system failure on the computer or data loss on the hard drive. Thus, it's necessary and urgent to fix the data error found by cyclic redundancy check. There are four ways you can apply to recover data from an inaccessible hard drive or remove the cyclic redundancy check data error from HDD, USB flash drive, SD card or other disk storage drive.

Method 1. Fix Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check) via CHKDSK

With the CHKDSK utility in Windows, you can scan for and repair a drive's errors or file corruptions that cause the cyclic redundancy check data error.

Run the chkdsk utility to remove cyclic redundancy check error:

Step 1. Open "Command Prompt" by typing it into the "Start" menu. You must run CHKDSK commands as an administrator to have the necessary privileges to execute the scan. So right-click "Command Prompt" and choose “Run as administrator”.

Step 2. Enter chkdsk X: /f in Command Prompt. Replace 'X:' with the drive you'd like to run the scan on. 

Step 3. Wait for the scan to complete. Once the disk is checked and repaired, restart your computer to see if it worked.

Method 2. Repair Missing/Corrupted System Files that Cause Data Error (CRC)

Windows system files generally include hardware drivers, configuration files, Windows DDL files, and other files that make up the Windows registry. As mentioned above, registry corruption may lead to a data error (cyclic redundancy check) on your computer. Thus, running the System File Checker tool to repair the missing or corrupted system files on your computer is helpful to fix the cyclic redundancy error resulted from system file corruptions.

Step 1. Click "Start" and type cmd.

Step 2. Right-click "Command Prompt" and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 3. If you are using Windows 10, you should first run DISM.exe to make a Windows image to protect your data:

Step 4. When the DISM command has completed, type the following command to start scanning and repairing your system files.

Method 3. Recover Data from Inaccessible Drive with Data Error (CRC)

If you find yourself in one of the following situations, you will need to perform data recovery to rescue your files either on your computer or external hard drives.

• Receive the error message 'Data error (cyclic redundancy check)' with the description 'F:\(the drive letter of your hard disk) is inaccessible' and the error remains after the fix
• After running CHKDSK for the 'cyclic redundancy check' error fix, the problem is solved but you find important data was cleaned along with the errors

To recover data from an inaccessible hard drive or retrieve files removed by the command lines, you can use the free data recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to get back your files. The free version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard allows you to recover up to 2GB files for free. To recover an unlimited amount of data, upgrade to the full version for even more features.

Follow the detail steps of recovering data from hard drive with cyclic redundancy error.

Step 1. Run hard drive data recovery software.

• Select the location of the hard drive on EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard main window.
• Let the program scan the whole hard drive by clicking Scan.

Step 2. Scan and find hard drive data.

Let EaseUS hard recovery software fully scan the drive and find all lost data. You can check and preview found files in the following tabs.

• Delete Files: All your deleted files are listed here.
• Drive (with your device name): It loads all found files here.
• Lost Partition Files: Check first if your hard drive is formatted or partition gets deleted.
• Extra Files: All files that lost names or paths on your drive can be found here.

Step 3. Restore data on the hard drive from Cyclic Redundancy error.

• Choose all found files on your hard drive and click "Recover".
• Specify an empty external storage device or a safe location on your PC for saving lost data.
• Click "OK" to start restoring your lost hard drive data from cyclic redundancy error now.

Method 4. Send for Manual Repair

DBR (DOS Boot Record) corruption on your hard disk can also result in 'data error (cyclic redundancy check)' on your drive. If none of the fixes works, you can send your hard drive for a repair.

Hope as least one of the solutions above can help you fix the cyclic redundancy check error.