Ensure the Drive comes on. You would be surprised how easy it is to miss this obvious step. If you look the free disk space from finder it will not include the backups on space used. That is because backups will be deleted if more space is needed by other apps. What I do to keep the mobile backups working without taking much space, is disabling and enabling the time machine once per week (from TM prefs). In addition to what just mentioned, we list other common causes to help you understand why your (external) hard drive is showing the wrong capacity or free space. The hard drive driver is out of date. In this case, the hard drive might show the wrong capacity in the Windows computer.

1. External Drive Not Showing As Drive Bootcamp
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3. External Hard Drive Not Showing Correct Free Space Mac Download

Summary :

Have you come across this problem? Your hard drive shows wrong free space. Do you know why? How to fix this annoying problem? If you want to get the answers, come to this post.

Hard Drive Showing Wrong Free Space Windows 10

Can you imagine this situation? When you want to install a new application, the disk in your system shows there is high space utilization. But after checking the actual volume occupied by the apps and files inside the hard drive, you find there are not much-used space.

It is reported that a majority of users have discovered wrong hard disk free space. And the size reported by some built-in utilities like Windows Explorer, CHKDSK or Disk Cleanup is also incorrect. This issue has been found in Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

Tip: Hidden files and folders could be taking up hard drive space since these files are associated with system applications. Perhaps you never realize this problem until you actually check the properties of the folder in depth.

The Possible Causes of Hard Drive Free Space Incorrect Windows 10

Based on the investigations, we summarize several possible causes that can be responsible for hard drive showing wrong free space Windows 10. Here is a list of the potential causes as follow:

• Previous System Restore Points are occupying too much hard drive space: Windows built-in utility System Restore tool provides you with a failure recovery mechanism, but it is allowed to use a huge chunk of your free space, creating lots of different restore points, instead of deleting previous points as new ones are created.
• System maintenance bug: This is a possible reason that may cause the available space to be incorrectly estimated.
• File system errors in hard disk: The corrupted file system in the hard disk may cause hard drive showing wrong free space in Windows 10.
• Rogued trash-bin folders: As reported by many users, hard drive free space incorrect Windows 10 can also result from a rouged trash folder. The trash folders also affect Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 and are related to file corruption.
• Windows Explorer bug with Version 1803: Unknowingly, Microsoft introduced an Explorer.exe bug with version 1803 that brings inconsistencies with regard to metadata file types, leading to hard disk reporting wrong free space Windows 10.

Well, if you are struggling to resolve the wrong hard disk free space, this post shares you with all possible solutions with detailed steps. Many users have used these potential fixes below to fix this problem successfully.

Let’s begin!

Solution 1. Delete Previous System Restore Points

System Restore Point, a feature in Windows, enables users to revert their computer state to a previous point in time, which can be used to recover from system malfunctions or other problems. However, this utility also takes up large size of your hard disk when you inspect the usage of System Restore.

If this scenario is applicable, one way to fix this problem is to delete all restore points in your OS drive. This process will free up space previously blocked by System Restore Point.

Tip: System Restore Point is a useful feature, so here it’s not recommended you disable it completely. A better solution is to limit the Max Usage of the tool for the future.

Here is a full guide on this method.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open up a Run dialog box. Then input control in the box and hit Enter to open up the classic Control Panel interface.

Step 2. There are so many control panel items, so you can type System in the top-right corner of the screen to find it quickly. Then double click on System from the list of results.

Step 3.Inside the System menu, click on System Protection from the vertical menu on the left Panel.

Step 4. In the pop-up System Properties window, make sure that the System Protection tab is enabled. Then scroll down to Protection Settings, find your Windows System drive and click on Configure button below.

Step 5. In the new pop-up window, scroll down to Disk Space Usage. Then drag the blue handle rightward to set the Max Usage but not more than 10%. If you have a 1 TB HDD, that’s more than enough.

Step 6. After that, click on Apply button for the system drive to save the current configuration and click on Delete button.

Step 7. Then you will receive a reminder saying this will delete all restore points including older system image backups. Just click on Continue.

If this method hasn’t solved hard drive showing wrong free space Windows 10 or it wasn’t applicable in your particular situation, move on to the next solution below.

Solution 2. Run the System Maintenance Troubleshooter in Windows 10

It is known that Windows 10 sometimes may report inconsistencies related to your available free space. According to the report of several affected users, this issue can be resolved by running the System Maintenance Troubleshooter and restarting their Windows.

If hard drive free space incorrect Windows 10 results from a Windows failure, this troubleshooter should identify the inconsistencies and fix the issue automatically. Here is full guidance you can follow:

Step 1. Open up the classic Control Panel interface by typing Control Panel in the Windows search box.

Step 2. Search for Troubleshooter in the top-right corner of the screen and double click it.

Step 3. Navigate to System & Security on the right and double click it.

Step 4. From the System and Security menu, double click System Maintenance to select Run as administrator. This will allow you to fix more issues that require admin access.

Step 5. In the pop-up window, start from clicking on Advanced to check Apply repairs automatically. Then click Next to move on the next section.

Step 6. You need to wait until this utility finishes the analysis for the inconsistencies related to your available free space. If there is a fix recommended, click on Apply at the next prompt and wait until the repair strategy is performed.

Step 7. When this process is finished, restart your Windows and check whether this issue is resolved.

If hard disk reporting wrong free space Windows 10 still exists, you can try the next method.

Solution 3. Check Hard Drive and Fix the Error

As you know, the hard disk stores important data and once it gets corrupted, some data stored in it will be lost. However, the condition of the hard disk will deteriorate gradually and you may encounter this issue like the wrong hard disk free space.

To some extent, the errors of the hard disk can be detected and repaired by running CHKDSK scan or other professional software.

How to Run CHKDSK Scan in Windows 10?

Step 1. Right-click Windows Start Menu and select Disk Management to open it.

Step 2. In the main interface of Disk management, select a target hard drive that shows the wrong free space and right-clicks it to choose Properties.

Step 3. In the new window, scroll down to Tools tab and click on Check to continue.

Step 4. If there are errors exactly in the hard drive, you will be asked to check the disk. Well, if no error is found, you will see a message to ask you whether you still scan the drive for error. If you want to, just click on the Scan drive.

Step 5. After waiting a little time, Windows will show you a message saying your drive was successfully scanned if there are no found errors. Then click on Close. If there are some errors on the hard drive, you will be asked to restart your Windows to fix the errors.

In addition, it is highly recommended that you choose powerful software MiniTool Partition Wizard. Just 2 simple steps you can check the hard drive and fix errors. Let’s see how to use this free software.

Step 1. After installing this software, open its main interface. Then select a target hard drive and click on Check File System feature from the left Check Partition group.

Step 2. There are two options, here select Check & fix detected errors. After that, click Start. Then MiniTool will check hard drive and fix errors at once.

This page shows that MiniTool has found no errors. If there are any errors, juts let this program fix them.

Solution 4. Delete the Rogued Trash-bin folders

Wrong hard disk free space also can be caused by a rouged trash bin folder. To solve this problem, you can restore your missing free space by deleting the trash bin folders, which will enforce your Windows OS to create a new and healthy folder that won’t occupy much space.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the dialog box. Then type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open up an Elevated Command prompt to run as administrator.

Step 2. In the elevated Command Prompt, type rd /S '$RECYCLE.BIN command and hit Enter to apply the deletion of the trash bin folders.

Step 4. After finishing these steps, you can exit the elevated command prompt. Then restart your computer to execute the changes, your missing free space should become available.

If this way still cannot help you get rid of the wrong hard disk free space, turn to the next method.

Solution 5. Update Windows 10 to the Latest Version

As it’s mentioned above, the Windows Explorer bug with Version 1803 is responsible for this problem. So, it would be better to update your Windows 10 to fix this issue.

Step 1. Type Windows Update Settings in the search box and double click it.

Step 2. Inside the Windows Update tab, click on Check for updates to start an update scan.

Then you need to install all pending Windows update until your system is up-to-date via the on-screen prompts. This process will take you some time, just wait patiently.

Bottom Line

In a word, 5 accessible methods to solve wrong hard disk free space are told to you. Now, it’s your turn to make a try.

If you have any questions or good ideas about this problem, please leave comments below or email us via [email protected]. Much appreciated!

'How to fix a corrupted hard drive? I try to plug an external hard drive to PC, but it prompts 'You need to format the disk in drive Z: before you can use it'.

'How to repair corrupted internal hard disk? it says 'X: is not accessible' on computer'.

The hard drive may be attacked by the virus or physical damage due to power failure or unsafe ejection and so on. That makes it corrupts easily, no matter an internal hard disk or external hard drive.

Formatting will erase your important data. You may have stored a lot of files there. Any choices rather than formatting?

Fortunately, this post has listed a set of solutions on how to repair and fix a corrupted hard disk/drive. So, let's see how to achieve it!

Part 1. Check If Hard Drive is Corrupted

When your hard drive corrupted, there are some symptoms that you can detect. If you have come across the following situations, you need to be cautious:

1. When you access the hard drive in 'My Computer', receive a warning: 'You need to format the disk in the drive before you can use it.'

2. A message of 'H: is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable'. prompts up when you intend to open your hard drive.

3. You will hear strange sounds when using your hard drive.

4. Your external hard drive is unreadable.

5. A prompt shows up to ask you to format your hard drive.

6. The property of your hard drive displays 0 bytes.

7. Other symptoms.

Part 2. Before Fixing, Recover Data from a Corrupted Hard Drive

It is a high risk of losing data when you fix a corrupted hard drive. Whether you want to restore a corrupted internal hard drive or external hard drive, it's recommended to apply a professional tool. FoneCope AnyRecover is an excellent recovery tool, targeting at recovering all kinds of data, even recover data from crashed hard disk.

5 Steps to Recover Data before Fixing A Corrupted Hard Drive:

Step 1. Download, install and launch AnyRecover on your PC. There are two versions of different OSs.

Step 2. Choose All-Round Recovery mode for thorough recovery progress.

Step 3. Tick the name of your corrupted hard drive and click on 'Next' button to move on.

Step 4. Then you will be asked to choose the file types that you want to recover. You can click on the 'All File Types' button to make a one-click selection.

Step 5. Once the scan finishes, you will have a list of scanned files from your corrupted hard drive. Try the Preview service where you can check the lost files. Select the files you prefer and click on the 'Recover' button for final recovery!

Part 3. Five Ways to Fix a Corrupted Hard Disk or Drive

There are also some other approaches on how to repair corrupted hard disk/drive. We will introduce in order from general ways to advanced ones.

#1 Try CMD to Fix Corrupted Drive

As mentioned above, the CMD Line is a built-in mechanism for deeper operations on a PC. You can fix the corrupted hard drive using CMD.

1. Press on Win + R to open the command prompt, and type cmd into the box.

2. Then type chkdsk F: /F and tap Enter.

(The first letter F represents the name of your hard drive and the latter indicates the fixing errors progress on your hard drive.)

It's recommended to use it to fix format disk error without formatting.

Notes: You can try more orders to make additional check, for example, type chkdsk F: /F /X /R.

Tips: In this case, the former two letters F represent the same meaning as described above, while the letter X means volume dismount before scanning and letter R will lead to locate the bad sectors and then to recover the readable information.

#2 Check Drive for File System Errors

Hopefully, there is a systematic channel for error checking when you try to repair the corrupted internal or external hard drive, even storage media.

1. Navigate to My PC/Computer.

2. Open it and right click on the name of the targeted hard drive and choose Properties.

3. Find the Tools section and click on the Check button as shown in the picture.

In addition, due to lack of hard drive monitor in Windows system, we have to try CMD Line to check the condition of the hard drive.

1. Tap Win + R and type cmd into the order box to open CMD window.

2. Type wmic and tap on entering to move on.

3. Type disk drive gets status and Enter again.

However, this channel has a limitation that it will not show any name of your hard drive, so it's hard to make sure the condition of every hard drive.

For contain details, you can download CrystalDiskInfo to check the comprehensive information, but this requires you to download extra software, so make sure that you get the software from an official and safe source.

#3 Control Panel

Moreover, the Control Panel is an effective path for repairing corrupted external drives and internal hard disk.

Step 1. Tap on Start key and navigate to Control Panel from the right column.

Step 2. Open it and find System and Security and then choose Action Center.

Step 3. Click on Maintenance and choose Run Scan under this section and click on Restart.

#4 File Manager

For the approach of File Manager for external hard drive repair, you just need to:

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1. Open 'File Manager' and choose the name of your hard drive.

2. Right click on it and choose Properties.

3. Navigate to Tools section and choose 'Check' under Error Checking option.

4. Click on Repair This Drive upon the finish of error fix on this drive.

#5 Make Sure USB Ports are Available

Poor contact will cause HDD corrupted. If you fail to read hard drive, for an external hard drive, try to plug hard drive into another USB port and open your hard drive again.

As for the power check of the internal hard disk, there may be challenges. But if the PC can detect the internal drive, repairing the damaged internal hard drive is independent of the power supply.

Part 4. Two More Tips for Repairing Corrupted External Hard Drive

Here are 2 more ways for how to fix a corrupted external hard drive without formatting.

#1 Try on Another PC

Sometimes it's your PC gets trouble rather than your hard drive. So, in this case, you can try to open your hard drive on another PC.

Then you can try to reinstall your hard drive on the original PC. To do so, you can：

Step 1. Navigate to My PC, right click on it to find Manage and then click on Device Manager.

Step 2. An interface will show up displaying all of the devices installed on your PC. Right click on the name of the preferred hard drive and choose Uninstall.

Step 3. Plug out your hard drive and restart your PC. When PC turns on again, plug into the hard drive again and it will be detected and installed on PC automatically.

#2 Change the Disk Name

This method can have your portable hard drive repair.

Step 1. Try the same path to go to My PC and right click on it to choose Manage.

Step 2. At this time, choose Disk Management.

Step 3. Right click on the name of your hard drive from a prompted window and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths…from the options.

Step 4. Finally, select the letter and choose Change button and click on Yes to confirm.

Part 5. Fix a Corrupted Hard Drive by Formatting

#1 Format with CMD

The above methods do not require formatting to fix the corrupted hard drive. But if these methods fail to achieve the task, formatting is the final method you can consider. External and internal drives can be fixed with Cmd format, but their steps are different.

Ready to Work：

• Open CMD, the steps can refer to #4.

• Show all storage media: Type (diskpart) and press Enter, type (list disk).

For Flash Drive and SD Card:

1. Select the external disk to format: Type (select disk X), where X is the disk number.

2. Format the drive: Type (clean) and press Enter.

3. Create a new partition on the disk: Type (create partition primary) and press Enter.

4. Clear all data for the newly created partition: Type (format fs = ntfs).

5. After formatting is done, assign a letter to the external drive: Type (assign letter = G).

For Internal Drive

1. Select internal hard drive: type (select disk X)

2. Display all partitions: type (list partition)

3. Select the desired partition: type (select partition X)

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4. Format the partition: type (format) and press Enter

#2 Format Internal Drive through Disk Management

There is another simpler way to format the internal hard drive, as shown below. It can also selectively clean up different partitions to repair the corrupted internal hard drive.

1. Double-click 'My Computer/This PC' and then click 'Manage'.

2. Click 'Disk Management' in the list on the left.

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3. Right-click on the local hard drive you want to format and select 'Format'.

4. In the window that appears, make a selection that matches the image below, check the 'Perform a quick format', and click 'OK'.

The Bottom Line

The hard drive is corrupted is an upset thing, but this post shows you how to fix a corrupted hard drive, including internal hard disk as well as external hard drive. And to keep your data safe, you can recover data before repairing. Hope you can totally handle this corrupted hard drive issue.

In the end, if you have other better solution on disk corruption repair or hard drive recovery, please leave your words on the below comment box, we will greatly appreciate it.