How To Resolve “The File Or Directory Is Corrupted And Unreadable” For Free

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  • Published on
    November 3rd, 2017
  • Updated on
    March 8, 2021
  • Read Time
    4 minutes

Today we will be discussing an error which most of us face when we plug in a pen drive or a USB drive and that is “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.”

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I guess we all use Pen drives or USB drives in our daily life to store data, to share information and so on. And that is why USB drive is one of the most crucial inventions of this 21st century.

But have you encountered this error “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.” When you try to open your pen drive or USB drive??

If you face something like this, then there are great chances that your device will become inaccessible and you will not be able to access your important data saved in your USB device. And if you cannot resolve this error “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.” then the direct result will be file loss.

So what are those reason which leads to this “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error? And how to resolve this error?

Reasons/Causes For “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” Error

Drive H is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable

There are many reasons due to which this issue happens and some of the well-known are:

Corruption In MFT or FAT

MFT is basically Master File Table And it is a part of NTFS File systems It stores all information like file size, permissions, creation time and so on. And that is why plays an important role in NTFS file system. So if your MFT file is damaged then you won’t be able to access data stored in NTFS partition

In laymen terms, the main function of FAT partition (FAT 32/16/12) is to tell operating system where the file is stored in the USB drive. So any error or damage in the FAT partition will automatically lead to partition corruption.

Virus Infection

We surf various websites every day for our daily work and news such as getting our daily entertainment dose, current happenings/news, study materials, booking tickets and so on. And among these, there are websites which contain  malwares or even viruses. By downloading or installing something from the same website may infect your system with that virus too.

And if your system is infected with virus there will be consequences too. The virus can delete your important files, corrupt partitions, damage your OS or even can infect your other devices which are connected with it.

Improper Removal Of USB Drives From Your System

If you unplug your USB drive when it is still transferring data then there is a great chance of losing your data. Most of the times we tend to forget or ignore this for convenience. But if you want to keep your data safe, then will have to make sure that your external hard drive has completed transferring your data. And post completion, click on “Safely Remove Hardware” icon on the notification area of the screen and then unplug your device.

So here are some of the major reasons for “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error.

How To Resolve: “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable ” Error

the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable

Being an analyst, I would suggest you to choose a good Windows Data Recovery Software. One of the best tool/software that I know is SysInfoTools Windows Data Recovery Software.

I have reviewed this tool earlier and really liked it: its user-interface, features and recovery algorithm and so on.

Pros

  • Can restore maximum possible data
  • Support both master boot record and GUID partition table
  • Can repair volume & drives containing FAT and NTFS file systems
  • Support data recovery from accidental formation
  • Let users to preview recovered data
  • Compatible with all version of MS Windows

Cons

  • Doesn’t run on Linux operating system
  • Doesn’t support MAC

Note: They have a free version too which you can download it from here.

Download Now

It would help you out in evaluating the software.
So this is how you can resolve: “Drive H:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error. Best Free Online Data Recovery Software For Windows
Hope you liked this article.

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