What does crc error mean. Methods for correcting errors in CRC data. System utility for disk diagnostics

External hard Seagate Backup Plus 1TB USB Portable was purchased almost two years ago.
All this time it worked flawlessly, did not fall, there was no damage.
It may have been incorrectly disconnected from the computer several times by unsafe removal, but by simply pulling the cord out of the USB connector ...


Hard was used primarily for storage necessary information(software, sources of completed work, etc.), often not used, periodically filled with information and sent to a distant shelf (where it is dark and dry). Was a little more than half full.

Once again, when it became necessary to use it, an inscription appeared - " You need to format the disk in the drive before using it. Format?"After the appearance of this message, there was a growing sense of panic and the first thought - how to save data from external HDD?

I must say that the disk was defined as a regular removable disk and when you try to open it, it gives a message about the need for Formatting.


Always connected via usb 2.0 to the laptop.
After refusing to format the hard, I saw the message " CRC data error 23"

In "Disk Management" (For XP: Control Panel-Administrative Tools-Computer Management) it was also defined, but it had a file system RAW!

After a long reading of various resources, I found advice on how to save information using the program R-studio .

In the disks panel, select the device and click "Scan", the default settings, that is, we scan the entire disk for files of any type.

After scanning (it took me more than 4 hours), click "Show Disk Contents", mark the files for recovery and click "Restore Marked".


After that, in the next window, select the path where to restore files. Here we indicate another HDD installed in the system and click "Yes":


Everything worked out, R-Studio helped to solve the main task - to save (pull out) data from the HDD, while it was connected via USB. The panic began to recede, but there was a misunderstanding of what happened to the device.

Further, I read that there are often reading failures due to a malfunctioning SATA-USB adapter inside the HDD box. To eliminate this, I disconnected the adapter and connected the Seagate to the SATA connector in the system unit.


When turned on, the system launched Scandisk to check the newly connected HDD:

During the check, several messages of the form were received:
Deleting index entry...
And Inserting an index entry into...
After passing the test, the system booted up and Seagate became available for opening.


Miracle! The information on it before the glitch was available for viewing.
It also has a folder found.000
Such folders contain files or their recovered fragments.
The next step was to run a Seagate virus scan.
No viruses were found.

Next, you need to find out technical condition hard drive using S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T.- This is a self-testing and reporting technology that is present in all modern hard drives. S.M.A.R.T. data can be obtained using specialized software.

How to work with Victoria for Windows

To get started, in the "Standart" tab, click on the right on the required device:

Information about the hard drive appears on the left, the so-called device passport.

After that, next to the "GET SMART" button, the overall result of the HDD self-test will be displayed, in my case it says "GOOD". It's already good.

On the right, the self-diagnosis test is listed by indicators with their values ​​for the current HDD.

In the column "Health" (Level of health, if verbatim) the value of one or another parameter is visually displayed in the form of colored circles.
Green indicates an acceptable value, yellow indicates a value that needs to be addressed and, if possible, improved.
Red circles indicate that the value of the indicator does not correspond to the normal range.

The parameter " reallocated sector count" - The number of transferred sectors, that is, those that S.M.A.R.T. considered bad and from which information was transferred to the backup area. Accordingly, if the parameter value is more than 0, then there are "bad blocks" on the disk and its "aging" process has already started.

In general, if S.M.A.R.T. turned out to be GOOD, then go to the next tab "Test", where Victoria allows you to conduct a thorough analysis of the disk surface for the presence of (bad) clusters. This process took me 2 and a half hours.

Here we select the "Ignor" mode (ignore the found bad blocks, that is, do not take any action with them yet, but only show information about their presence or absence.)
Specify the information about which blocks we want to receive:


All blocks are marked with colors depending on the amount of reading time:

After that, press the "Start" button.
While the check is in progress, it can go about its own business, the main thing is not to work with the hard on which the check is running, otherwise it will noticeably increase the analysis time.

On the left in the window, the process of scanning the disk surface by blocks is clearly taking place, and opposite the colored blocks, the number of certain sectors is displayed.

If, upon completion of the check, there are red and blue sectors, this indicates that bad blocks have appeared on the hard and it is necessary to perform remapping, that is, replace the bad sector with a sector from the reserve area.
You can do this by turning on the "Remap" scanning mode and starting the process again.

In this mode, the scan will be even longer, because in addition to checking, bad sectors will be overwritten.

In my case, when the disk check was completed, 1 blue sector was found.


Where it came from is not clear, either due to a logical failure, or physical damage.
In any case, almost every case of hard failure has individual characteristics. A lot of different factors can affect from power outages to system glitches.

As it became clear to me from a hundred or two read articles on information recovery and bad block detection, some hard drives continue to fail with increasing frequency, and some work flawlessly over the next years.
But in any case, you should not rely 100% on the device and especially important information if possible, it is necessary to duplicate on another medium.
And if you already found bad sectors, then periodically check the S.M.A.R.T. and once every six months, test the hard surface to avoid unpleasant surprises.

I hope the note will be useful to someone and many thanks to the developers R-studio God bless you!

When installing programs or games, it gives an error " Error in CRC data file cannot be copied". The same happens when copying some files from a disk or flash drive to a computer.

Most often, this error occurs for one of three reasons:

  1. The file you are trying to open or copy is corrupted.
  2. Damaged media, flash drive, portable external HDD etc.
  3. Damaged computer memory.

File corrupted

If you downloaded from a torrent, then delete the files related to this distribution and the torrent file. Then download again and try to run again. If the error repeats, then the problem is possible with the distribution and you need to find another distributor and download a new torrent file.

If you are downloading from a flash drive or external hard drive and get given error, most likely the file needs to be copied to the media again, since it will no longer be possible to restore it.

Damaged media, flash drive or external hard drive

Right click on it -> Properties -> Tools -> Check for Errors. If you're lucky, you might be able to fix the bugs in automatic mode, after which everything will work fine. If the check does not help, then the file can no longer be restored, and the media will have to be changed.

Checking RAM

To test the RAM, download the MemTest program or equivalent. It will help confirm the memory problem and then you will need to replace this module with RAM. You can find the MemTest program or an analogue in Google or Yandex in a couple of minutes on the request "Diagnostics of RAM".

If this article helped you, please write in the comments about it. If something does not work out, write, I will try to help.

Back in the days when CDs were the main temporary storage for files, this error occurred when reading mostly scratched and pirated discs. Today, there are much more reasons for its appearance (since there are also more ways to transfer files to the "screw"), although the error itself has become less common. We list the factors leading to failure:

  • Damaged optical disc surface;
  • Unstable network operation when transferring files over the Internet;
  • An attempt to download or use a known "broken" file;
  • Damaged hard drive surface;
  • Violations in the structure file system(for example, in the file system of a USB stick).

In all these situations, the file will either not be used at all, or it can be done only after restoration work. The OS recognizes the problem by the mismatch of the so-called file checksum (or CRC), which is calculated in the process of writing it to the media or trying to read from the media. The user is presented with a window with a diagnostic message: "Error in data (CRC)".

How to treat CRC data error?

If the checksum of the file did not match before it was transferred to disk, then only searching for its analogue will help correct the situation. For example, after downloading a broken torrent, it is useless to mess with it. It is much easier to look for the same distribution elsewhere.

Or if this is a file downloaded from the Internet or it was copied to you on a USB flash drive, the easiest way is to re-download the file.

If the problem occurs systematically, then you should look for it under your nose. First, it follows.

Options hard checks disk on BAD sector in Victoria

As for the flash drive, you can try to run a check for the presence and fix errors on it. For this:

  • Select the flash drive icon in the "My Computer" window.
  • Click on the icon with the right mouse button.
  • In the opened context menu select "Properties".
  • In the window that appears, go to the "Service" tab.
  • Click on the "Run a check" button from the "Check disk" group.

Checking for errors with built-in windows tools

If this does not help, and the disk check does not show the presence of serious problems with the media, then you should refer to the network quality testing tool. A file downloaded in pieces can become “broken” due to a network break during the download process. There are many tools available for this verification. Even built into Windows utility ping.

As you can see, the crc hdd data error is related to the integrity of the file, when reading which it occurs. This may be due to problems with the file itself, and with the surface of the medium on which it is located.

A data error (CRC) occurs not only with the built-in hard drive, but also with other drives: usb flash, external HDD. This usually happens in the following cases: when downloading files via torrent, installing games and programs, copying and writing files.

A CRC error means that the checksum of the file is not what it should be. In other words, this file has been corrupted or changed, so the program cannot process it.

Depending on the conditions under which this error occurred, a solution to the problem is formed.

Method 1: Using a working installation file/image

Problem: When installing a game or program on a computer, or when trying to write an image, a CRC error occurs.

Solution: This usually happens because the download was corrupted. This could happen, for example, with an unstable Internet connection. In this case, you need to download the installer again. If necessary, you can use a download manager or a torrent program so that there are no disconnections when downloading.

In addition, the downloaded file itself can be corrupted, so if a problem occurs after re-downloading, you need to find an alternative download source (mirror or torrent).

Method 2: Checking the disk for errors

Problem: The entire disk cannot be accessed, or installers stored on the hard disk that worked without problems before do not work.

Solution: This problem can occur if the file hard disk is broken or has bad sectors(physical or logical). If bad physical sectors cannot be repaired, then other situations can be resolved using error correction programs on the hard drive.

In one of our articles, we already talked about how to fix file system and sector problems on the HDD.

Method 3: Finding the correct distribution on the torrent

Problem: downloaded via torrent setup file does not work.

Solution: Most likely, you downloaded the so-called "broken distribution". In this case, you need to find the same file on one of the torrent sites and download it again. The damaged file can be deleted from the hard drive.

Method 4: Check CD/DVD

Problem: When trying to copy files from a CD / DVD disc, a CRC error pops up.

Solution: Most likely, the disk surface is damaged. Check it for dust, dirt, scratches. With a pronounced physical defect, most likely, nothing will be done. If the information is really needed, you can try using utilities to recover data from damaged disks.

In almost all cases, one of the listed methods is sufficient to eliminate the error that has appeared.

Yes - life consists not only of white stripes. There are also troubles in it - small, medium, large .. and a CRC error. What type can this disgrace be attributed to, which can increase the level of adrenaline in the blood of a user who decides to have a good time at his PC and download something extremely interesting to his hard drive, but is not able to complete this extremely necessary process?

There are two options for this problem:

  • Acceptable - which is associated with a mismatch of checksums.
  • More serious - which is caused by problems with the hard drive.

Do you think everything is bad? Oh, come on - Dr. Ai-Tupit will come to your rescue here too!

Solving the CRC error in the first case

So, first of all, you need to think - after what does a CRC error occur? Believe it or not, in the vast majority of cases, its root cause is the use of torrents.

Yes, of course, torrent is our everything. However, even this technology sometimes creates some annoyances. What is most offensive is that they can show up much later, for example, at the installation stage (about forty minutes after the start of the installation of the interactive novelty), the message “CRC data error when installing the game” appears. And even if you bang your head against the wall, even bite off the floor of the keyboard, or feed a computer mouse to your beloved cat ten times, nothing will help.

Is there a way out? Eat! It consists of just a few steps, although they will require the user to waste time again:

  • Launch torrent client.
  • Delete previously completed downloads from it (specifically, the one that always ends with the inscription “CRC error” during installation).
  • Do the same with the recorded information on the hard drive of your favorite computer.
  • Find a better distribution and, of course, put it in the download order.

By the way, a good distributor always reports the checksum of the size of the downloaded file. Therefore, the user, who has already been burned once, has the opportunity to check the theoretical and real dimensional characteristics so as not to get into the same trouble twice.

CRC error - fixing the second option

So, there was a CRC data error on an external hard drive or traditional equipment that is gathering dust in the computer case. Solving this problem will require a lot of effort from the user, however, nothing is more difficult than homegrown Bill Gates can handle.

The first stage is a banal check that can tell you how to fix an error in the CRC data.

Everything is done easily and simply:

  • Choose exactly the disk that, when trying to write information, leads to a similar situation.
  • Go to "properties" - "service" - "check". Right button mice to help you.
  • Try to digest the information that will be displayed on the monitor screen when it is completed.

In principle, do not bother - go straight to disk defragmentation. Moreover, the start button for this process is located very conveniently - in the same menu from which the check was performed.

Here you can smoke, cook borscht, cook herring under a fur coat, chat with your favorite hamster, learn how to make paper airplanes - defragmentation is a very long and boring process.

Completed, checked .. did not help. What to do? How to treat HDD CRC data error? The main thing is not ... well, you understand - not to do what is forbidden to do in the tank, but to calmly continue the treatment procedures. We don’t panic, but download one of the special programs, for example Victoria or HDD Regenerator. The main thing is not to poke, but immediately change the settings of the programs so that they begin to fulfill their useful work before starting the operating system.