Encountering bad sectors on your external hard drive can be a frustrating experience. Bad sectors are damaged areas on the hard drive that can cause data loss or prevent you from accessing your files. In this article, we will explore how to repair bad sectors on an external hard drive on a Mac without losing any valuable data.
Having an external hard drive is a convenient way to store and access data on your Mac. However, encountering bad sectors on your external hard drive can be a frustrating experience.
If you have encountered bad sectors on your external hard drive, you might have hundreds of questions in your mind. The questions begin with “What are these bad sectors?” “How can you repair them without losing data?” And they end with “How to recover data from an external hard drive with bad sectors on a Mac?”
Well, you can take a chill pill as we have answers to all your questions. So let's start with what these bad sectors are.
Imagine you have a computer with a hard drive, which is like a storage space for all your files. Over time, parts of the hard drive can get damaged, just like how a scratch can appear on a DVD.
Now, when you try to save a file on your computer, the damaged part of the hard drive cannot hold the data properly. It's like trying to write on a broken part of paper where the ink smears or fades away.
Bad sectors are nothing but physical or logical errors on a hard drive that make it difficult or impossible to read or write data in specific areas. Physical bad sectors are caused by physical damage to the hard disk, while logical bad sectors occur due to software or file system issues.
Now you might be wondering how to detect bad sectors on your Mac computer. Well, well, don't worry. How do we know if we have a fever? Or let's consider another example: how do we know when our car needs servicing? It's the symptoms, right?
When I have a fever, my body temperature increases, and similarly, when my car needs servicing, it may make strange noises or exhibit other issues. In the same way, to detect bad sectors on your external hard drive, you need to look out for symptoms.
Detecting bad sectors early can help prevent further data loss or drive failure. Here are some common symptoms that may indicate the presence of bad sectors on your external hard drive:
Now, you know the symptoms of bad sectors but hold on. Sometimes, when our body temperature increases, is it always a fever? No, right?
Similarly, when it comes to detecting bad sectors, the presence of symptoms is not always definitive proof. While the mentioned signs may suggest the presence of bad sectors, they can also be caused by other reasons such as hard drive corruption or failure.
Additionally, the absence of symptoms does not necessarily mean that there are no bad sectors.
So, is there any other way to detect bad sectors on an external hard drive? The answer is yes. You can perform a disk scan using Disk Utility or other specialized tools to identify bad sectors on your external hard drive.
Several factors can contribute to the occurrence of bad sectors on an external hard drive. Here are some common causes:
Don't we have thousands of problems to solve in our daily lives? So, is fixing bad sectors on an external hard drive really such a big problem that it needs to be prioritized?
Let's take the example of fever again. What happens when you ignore a fever?
Ignoring a fever is like ignoring your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. When you have a fever, it usually means you're sick or fighting off an infection. It's important to pay attention to it and take appropriate measures, like resting and taking medication if needed, to help your body recover.
In a similar way, bad sectors on a hard drive are like warning signs that something may be wrong with your files. Ignoring these bad sectors can lead to data loss or other problems with your computer.
It's important to address the issue by running a disk scan or seeking help from a professional to repair the bad sectors and ensure the health of your data.
Below we have mentioned 3 effective methods to repair bad sectors from external hard drives on Mac:
Alert: Before attempting any repair methods, it is highly recommended to back up your data from the external hard drive. This precautionary step ensures that your important files and documents are safe in case of any unforeseen complications during the repair process.
You can back up your Mac computer by simply copying the files to another storage device, using cloud storage services like Remo Backup, or creating a disk image.
Disk Utility is a built-in tool on Mac that allows you to manage and repair disks. Follow these steps to repair bad sectors on your external hard drive using Disk Utility:
If Disk Utility successfully repairs the bad sectors, you should be able to access your files without any issues. However, if the repair process fails or the bad sectors persist, you can try alternative methods.
The fsck command is a powerful tool for checking and repairing file systems on macOS. Here's how you can use it to repair bad sectors on your external hard drive:
After the repair process is complete, check if the bad sectors have been resolved. If not, proceed to the next method.
If the built-in methods do not resolve the bad sector issue, you can consider using third-party software specifically designed for repairing hard drives. There are several reliable options available, such as DiskWarrior, Drive Genius, and TechTool Pro.
We don't want to promote any third-party tool so it is important that you do your own research and choose a reputable software tool that suits your needs and follow the instructions provided by the software to repair bad sectors on your external hard drive.
After performing the repairing process you may find yourself in the following situations.
No matter what situation you are in, we will help you retrieve your precious data quickly. But how?
To recover data from a hard drive with bad sectors on your macOS computer you need a professional hard drive data recovery software like Remo Recover Mac.
Remo Recover Mac software is a reliable data recovery application that can effectively retrieve lost or deleted data on Macintosh computers. It features an advanced drive scanning mechanism, ensuring fast, easy, and secure data recovery. The software is compatible with all versions of macOS, including the latest Ventura, and supports recovery for over 500 file formats.
Here are the simple steps to recover data from an external hard drive with bad sectors on your Mac computer:
Repairing bad sectors on your external hard drive is essential to maintain data integrity and ensure smooth performance. By following the methods outlined in this article, you can repair bad sectors on a Mac without losing any valuable data.
Remember to back up your files before attempting any repairs and take necessary precautions to prevent future occurrences of bad sectors.