Pc win 10 external drive causing windows explorer issues

Question

I am using win 10. External drive is recognized, but files in folders can’t be opened. Also Windows explorer freezes

Answer 1

Hello, I’m Henry, and I’d like to share my insights on this issue.

It sounds like your external drive is recognized but freezes Windows Explorer when you try to access files. This behavior suggests corruption on the drive itself.

Before taking any steps, make sure your data is backed up or recover it first. Once that’s done, follow these steps:

Step 1: Basic Hardware Check Before attempting software repairs:

Try plugging the drive into a different USB port on your computer.

If you have another USB cable, test with it.

Step 2: Run Check Disk (chkdsk) via Command Prompt Use the following command: chkdsk E: /f /r

• chkdsk = The Check Disk command.
• E: = The target drive. Change this to your drive's letter.
• /f = Fixes errors on the disk.
• /r = Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information (this is the part that usually fixes the freezing).

This process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the size and condition of the drive. At times, it may seem stuck, but it is still working—do not interrupt it.

Step 3: Check the Results Once the chkdsk scan is complete, a summary will display any errors found and fixed. Try accessing your external drive again. The freezing issue and inability to open files should now be resolved.

Hope this points you in the right direction for troubleshooting!