I've got a failing external hard drive that holds a ton of important files I need to save and restore. I've already purchased a new drive and have another one on the way. I did some research but I'm still confused about the safest way to transfer my data. How can I effectively move everything from the failing drive to the new one? Additionally, I'm worried about some corrupted data; I ran CHKDSK /f, but now I see some folders with '.chk' files. What are the best steps to take in this situation? Thanks for any help!
2 Answers
The main reason to create a disk image is that the failing drive might get worse with each read attempt. By imaging the drive first (using a tool that can handle bad sectors without getting stuck), you can have a stable copy of the data to work with. Tools like ddrescue for Linux or Clonezilla with its rescue mode are great options for this. What you want is a byte-for-byte clone, especially if your new drives are the same size or larger. You can play around with recovery methods afterward without risking further damage to the original disk.
Before you start trying to recover data, it's crucial to create an image of your failing drive. This can help prevent further degradation of the disk while you try to recover your important files. If the data is critical, consider getting in touch with a data recovery professional for assistance.
After reading your reply, I found those tools you mentioned, but I'm unsure which one to pick. I see ddrescue is free, and I usually follow instructions well. Do you think that’s a better option than Clonezilla?