How to Fix Cyclic Redundancy Check Data Error

Theo Lucia

Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

A while back, while working on my Windows PC, I got the CRC failed error prompt on the screen. This got me panicked as after getting the Cyclic Redundancy Check error, I was unable to access the stored data on my computer. The good news is that after some research, I was able to come up with a CRC that failed to fix. Therefore, to help you, I will let you know what is a CRC error with different ways to fix it in this post.

What is a CRC Error?

Before we provide different ways to fix the Cyclic Redundancy Check error, let’s cover some basics. Ideally, CRC is an error-detection code that takes place in computers due to a network or storage issue. In this, the system detects accidental changes to meta or raw data.

You might already know that every block of data in the system is allocated a check value that is used for its storage management. Now, after processing the file, a new check value is calculated and when it is not matched with the existing one, it results in a Cyclic Redundancy Check error.

What Causes the Cyclic Redundancy Check Data Error?

As you can see, the CRC failed error is a packet-data issue that can take place due to storage or network-related problems. Here are some of the common reasons for getting the Cyclic Redundancy Check data error:

• The file you are working on might be corrupt or unavailable.
• Your system could be connected to a bad or an unstable network.
• The partition or storage where the file is saved could be corrupted.
• There can be an unwanted change in the file’s meta or raw data.
• The application you are working on might be unstable or corrupt as well.
• The hard drive might not be connected properly to the system.
• You could have made logical changes to your system while a process was still running.
• The file size could have crossed the respective size limit.
• The name of the file could be changed, or it can be moved while it was still being processed.
• Change in the Registry file or any other background process in the system.
• You could have turned off or restarted your system abruptly.

How to Solve the CRC Data Error on your Computer?

Ideally, there could be plenty of reasons for getting the CRC failed issue on your computer. Though, if you want to fix the Cyclic Redundancy Check error, then I would recommend the following solutions:

Fix 1: Restart your computer in Safe Mode

Ideally, if a third-party application has caused the CRC error on your computer, then a safe restart would be able to fix it. For this, you can just go to the Advanced Boot Settings on your computer to boot it in the Safe Mode.

Alternatively, you can just restart your computer and keep pressing the Advanced Boot key (like F8 or F10). From the available options, just select “Safe Mode” and wait as your system would be restarted.

Fix 2: Scan the Corrupt Partition for any Logical Error

Windows also has an inbuilt option that you can use to check a corrupt disk and repair any logical error in it. To do a quick Cyclic Redundancy Check fix, you can just launch Windows Explorer and go to My Computer/This PC.

Now, right-click the partition for which you are getting the error and go to its Properties. Once the Properties window is launched, go to the Tools tab and click on the “Check Now” button under the Error Checking section.

From here, you can choose to scan the drive and fix any unwanted error related to it automatically. Simply wait for a while and let Windows fix the CRC failed issue on the system.

Fix 3: Use the CHKDSK Command to fix the CRC Error

Apart from the user-interface of Windows, you can also fix the Cyclic Redundancy Check error via Command Prompt. Here, we will use the Check Disk (CHKDSK command) that would scan the drive and fix any logical issues in it (like the CRC error).

You can just go to the Start Menu and launch Command Prompt on your computer as an Administrator. Once the Command Prompt is opened, you can simply enter the CHKDSK command followed by the “/f” parameters and the drive letter to fix. For instance, to fix the CRC error on the D: drive, you can type and enter the chkdsk /f d: command.

Afterward, you can sit back and wait for a while as Windows would scan the partition and fix the CRC failed error on it.

Fix 4: Use the Windows System File Check Utility

Apart from Check Disk, Windows also has an inbuilt System File Check utility that you can access from the command prompt. If there is a logical issue with the file system or the connected drive, then this can fix the Cyclic Redundancy Check problem.

To fix the Cyclic Redundancy Check data error, you can simply launch Command Prompt as an administrator on your computer. Now, you can type the “sfc /scannow” command and wait for a while as Windows would automatically fix the CRC error on the system.

Fix 5: Format the Drive with CRC Failed Error

Lastly, if nothing else seems to work, then you can simply format the hard drive with the CRC failed error. You can format the partition via Windows Explorer or launch the Disk Management application by visiting Control Panel > Computer Management.

Once the Disk Management application would be launched, just select the drive that you wish to format from the bottom. Now, right-click the drive, and select the “Format” option in Disk Management. This will now load a dedicated wizard, letting you select a file system for formatting and to make other choices for the relevant operation.

You can also go through this step-by-step video guide to fix the CRC error on your Windows computer easily.

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Bonus Preventive Tips: How to Avoid CRC Error?

By now, you would be able to fix the Cyclic Redundancy Check error on your computer. Though, to avoid the CRC error on your system from happening again, you can follow these preventive measures:

• Always shut down or restart your system properly and not when an application is still running in the background.
• Enable the real-time scanning of Windows Defender on your system and keep it up to date.
• You can also use any other third-party anti-malware application to protect your system.
• Try not to change the Windows Registry or any other meta component of the computer.
• Avoid connecting your system to public networks as they are not considered secure.
• Only install a genuine copy of Windows OS on your system and upgrade it regularly.
• Keep at least 20% of the system’s storage free for other background files to run properly.

Pro Tip: Use Wondershare Recoverit to Get Back your Lost/Deleted Data

While working on the Cyclic Redundancy Check fix, you might have to format a drive. Since it can lead to an unwanted loss of your data, you can use a recovery tool like Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery. The recovery application can help you get back all kinds of lost or deleted files from the selected location.

• Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery is one of the most reliable recovery tools with a high success rate and a user-friendly interface.
• It can retrieve all the major formats of data such as your photos, videos, audios, documents, etc.
• Also, it supports data recovery under different scenarios like accidental deletion, corrupt partition, formatted drive, and more.
• Users can preview their recovered data on the native interface of Recoverit Data Recovery and even access its inbuilt filters.
• You can select any internal partition/folder to scan and also pick a connected source (like an external hard drive or a USB drive) to scan.

As you can see, the CRC error is pretty common, but it can also be resolved by following the right approach. Therefore, in this guide, I have covered topics like What is a CRC error and the steps you should take to do the CRC failed error fix. Besides that, if you have lost your data while resolving the Cyclic Redundancy Check error, then you can just use Recoverit Data Recovery to restore your deleted/lost files instantly.