I removed an old hard drive from a computer that had been in storage and connected it through an external enclosure. Windows prompted me to run a disk check, and after about 12 hours it was only around 15% complete. The drive is fairly full, has been used since the early 2010s, and previously contained Windows along with many other files. Could the long scan be caused by the amount of data, a slow USB connection, or a failing drive? Is it safe to cancel the check? After canceling, Windows also reported "Access denied" when I tried to open the drive or change its ownership from Windows 7.
2 Answers
A disk check on an older, large drive can take many hours, especially when it is connected through a slower USB enclosure. The amount of data and the drive’s condition both matter. If the scan is still making steady progress, that alone does not prove the drive is failing, but avoid writing anything to it until you know it is healthy.
Canceling the check is generally preferable to letting a questionable old drive undergo a lengthy repair before your files are backed up. The “Access denied” message may be a Windows permissions or ownership issue inherited from the original computer, rather than proof that the disk is empty or dead. You may need administrative privileges to take ownership, but do not format the drive or initialize it if you still need the data.
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