Fix File or Directory Is Corrupted And Unreadable Error On Windows 10

Are you the one looking for the fixes to get rid of the error message “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” in Windows 10 computer that pop-up while using the USB drive, hard drive or other file storage?

If yes, then I am here to help you out to fix this corrupted and unreadable file or directory error. Simply follow this article to find out the best solutions you can try to fix this error.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable error message is one of the errors that appear due to hard drive corruption and other file storage also such as USB thumb drives, removable hard disks, and flash memory cards.

The error is very irritating as this prevents the users from accessing, copying, renaming, and other files stored. Well, this is a very miserable situation as you may lose the data stored on your hard drive or other file storage in your PC.

However, there are ways that will help you to fix the file or directory is corrupt or unreadable Windows 10 error message. So, follow the given fixes one by one to fix corrupted files on Windows 10, recovers your lost data, and also prevent the error from happening again.

But before moving towards the fixes it is important to check out what causes the error so that you can prevent it in the future.

Causes of File or Directory is Corrupted and Unreadable Error?

The error message is a result of file corruption or damage to the external devices where the files are stored. And due to this, you are unable to access the files or other things you want to do.

Here check out the common reasons for the corruption of the hard drive.

• MFT or FAT corruption of partition
• Due to virus infection
• External drives physical damage
• Abruptly removing the external drives

So, these are the common reasons for the “file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error in Windows 10. Now, try the given fixes to resolve this issue on your Windows computer.

How to Fix File or Directory is Corrupted and Unreadable Error in Windows 10

Solution 1 – Use CHKDSK Command to Repair Corrupted File and Directory

It is recommended to make use of the Chkdsk command line in CMD to clean the hard drive disk. This may help you to fix the error and also recover lost data.

Follow these steps to use it:

• Press Win + X key and choose the Command Prompt (Admin) from the list.
• Now a User Account Control will pop-up for permission to make changes to your PC. So, click on the Yes button.
• In the Command Prompt type chkdsk H: /f and hit Enter (H represents affected drive partition).

• Wait till the whole repair process is finished.
• Make sure to do this with every hard drive partition that generates ‘The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable’ error message.

If this won’t work for you then follow the second solution.

Solution 2 – Format the Flash Drive

If the above solution won’t work for you, then try formatting the hard drive, this will erase entire files stored on hard drives and also whatever had corrupted the files and directories.

This practical solution had helped many users to fix the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable error.

Follow the steps to format the disk:

• Locate the affected disk partition and right-click on the affected drive

• Select the format option on the drop-down menu

• Then on new window click on the Start button. This will start the formatting process.

Wait for the whole formatting process to complete and check if the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable error is resolved or not. If not, then try out the next solution.

Solution 3 – Reinstall Windows

There are many cases when the local drive C is the one that generates this error message. And if drive C is corrupted, then your PC will stop working and will not boot using the Windows startup.

So, here, in this case, try reinstalling the Windows 10 operating system. This will help you to fix the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable Windows 10 error.

Hope the above-given solutions work for you to fix the file or directory is corrupt and unreadable error and recovers the lost data.

 But if you are still unable to recover the lost data from the hard drive and other file storage then make there are many third-party tools that help you to recover your data.

Among them, you can use the most trusted Data Recovery Tool, this helps you to recover lost data easily without overwriting or any modification.

Tips To Prevent The File or Directory is Corrupted and Unreadable Error From Occurring in Future:

• Make sure to take good care of your USB drives, hard drives, and other file storage. Also, make sure to protect them from getting damaged or destroyed.
• Scan for virus infection, as it corrupt or damage the hard drive and other external storage media
• Safely remove the hardware, before unplugging from USB port make sure to eject the USB drives from safely remove hardware icon in the notification bar.
• Also most importantly make sure to back up the data regularly to overcome the data loss situation
• If you fail to access the drive than avoid storing more data on it and also never format the hard drive before recovering data stored on it.

Corrupted File or Directory: FAQs

How do I fix a corrupted folder on an external hard drive?

There are two ways to fix the corrupted folder on an external hard drive. The first one is without formatting the drive. For this, you can use the chkdsk command line. The second way is to format the hard drive. You can use the diskpart or Disk Management to format the external hard drive.

How do I force a corrupted file to delete?

These are some ways to delete the corrupted files on the computer:

• Reboot the computer and delete the file that has been corrupted.
• Delete the corrupted files in the Safe mode.
• Use DEL /F /Q /A command in the Command Prompt to delete the corrupted file.

How can I fix the unreadable USB flash drive?

To fix the unreadable USB flash drive, you can follow these methods:

• Repair logical errors on USB flash drive using the Windows inbuilt error checking tool.
• Use Disk Management to format the corrupted USB flash drive.
• Delete and create a new partition on the corrupted USB drive

Best & Easy Way to Fix File or Directory Corruption Error in Windows 10

Are you getting the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable error on your Windows PC and have tried out all the manual solutions but still receiving this error? Here it is suggested to make use of the PC Repair Tool.

Because this tool helps you to fix the common errors like files corruption, malware, or virus infection, protect you from file loss,  registry corruption, and other Windows errors.

This also helps you to optimize the Windows PC/laptop performance and makes the PC error-free just by scanning once. So, indeed it is worth using it to fix the file/directory corruption error or other Windows common issues.

Get PC Repair Tool to Fix the Windows 10 File or Directory is Corrupted or Unreadable Error

Conclusion: 

Hope the given fixes helped you to fix the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable Windows 10 error.

So, try the given fixes to resolve the file system corruption in Windows 10 and recovers data from the external hard drive and other file storage. Also, follow the given tips to prevent the hard drive and other file storage corruption in the future.

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