How do I fix my NTFS partition if chkdsk keeps aborting before concluding?

Question

When running chkdsk /f from the Windows 7 installation DVD, it quits in the second stage (of three) saying it "failed to transfer logged messages."

Normally it would say this after finishing, but it doesn't get to the end. I first tried running chkdsk from xp, but it also stops midway.

I ran chkdsk in a loop until dir runs successfully, but since chkdsk never gets to fix anything (which I suppose it does at the end), dir always returns "data error (crc)" so the loop never finishes.

This drive (WD My Passport, a terrible quality drive) works poorly, but I don't have enough space on another drive to clone it, so I'm trying to get the filesystem working so I can copy the important files off it.

How can I fix the filesystem?

Update:

chkdsk did finish, but almost immediately the disk became corrupted again. Rather than run chkdsk again, I used TestDisk to copy the files.

Answer 1

Take a look at the free-for-personal-use tool called "Active Hard Disk Monitor." Some features that it boasts which could be of benefit to you (taken from product website):

• Able to scan and display bad sectors on a disk’s surface.
• Displays current S.M.A.R.T. attributes
• The software has an easy to use user interface

You'll get a better idea of how thrashed your file system / sectors are. You'll also be able to find out SMART information to see if the physical drive itself is failing. The product does attempt to fix any errors, however I have no idea if it does a better job than chkdsk itself.

If the drive has failed to the extent that it is impossible to recover the filesystem, you may need to look into products that can recover individual files from a failing hard drive. At the moment, your best bet might be to slave the drive to a functioning computer and then run robocopy to retrieve as many files as it can and skip ones that throw errors.