How to Fix “The Parameter is Incorrect” Error on External Hard Drive in Windows 10/8/7?

This video will introduce 3 practical methods on how to fix “The Parameter is Incorrect” error on external hard drive in Windows 10/8/7.
Timestamps:
Method 1: Run CHKDSK to fix “the parameter is incorrect” in Windows 10 2:52s
Method 2: Use SFC to fix “the parameter is incorrect” error 3:55s
Method 3: Formatting the inaccessible drive as the last option 4:28s
Optional: How to recover data from external hard drive 5:47s

“The parameter is incorrect” error is not so rare when it comes to external drives. There are some possible causes that might to “the parameter is incorrect” error, such as virus damage, Improper Ejection, Power Surge, Faulty USB Port, etc. If the parameter is incorrect error comes, you will be unable to transfer, copy or save the files to the external hard drive, but the disk can be accessed, or the drive is not accessible due to the parameter is incorrect error.
So, how can we do to fix this error? Here are 3 workable methods we can try.

Method 1: Run CHKDSK to fix “the parameter is incorrect” in Windows 10

Step 1: Make sure to connect your external hard drive with the computer.
Step 2: Open the command prompt in your PC.
To do this on your Windows 8 or 10, just press the key combinations of Windows and X. Now, select “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the menu.
Step 3: When the command prompt window gets opened, type “chkdsk F: /f /r. here, F is the drive letter. You can change it to your drive letter. Press “Enter” now.

Method 2: Use SFC to fix “the parameter is incorrect” error

SFC stands for System File Checker which can assist you scanning your system as well as fix the files that went corrupted. The steps are:
Step 1: Simply open the command prompt window in the first place.
Step 2: Type “sfc /scannow and press the “Enter” button. This will operate the SFC scan.
Step 3: When the process is over, you got to reboot your PC. Now see if you can access your hard drive.

Method 3: Formatting the inaccessible drive as the last option

If you still can see “The parameter is incorrect” in Windows 10 problem, we suggest you to format the drive that is inaccessible. This comes as the last resort if unfortunately everything fails to work.
Step 1: Plugging in your external drive to the PC.
Step 2: Go to the “This PC”/”My Computer” icon and right click on it.
Step 3: Click on “Manage” followed by “Disk Management”.
Step 4: Choose the drive that is inaccessible and right-click on it. Choose “Format” from the menu and hit “OK”.
Step 5: You have to mention the volume label and file system. Check the “Perform a quick format” option and click “OK” button.
Step 6: The formatting will begin now, and you need to wait for its completion. Once it is completed, restart the PC.

Optional: If you have decided to format your external hard drive to do away with the “The parameter is incorrect” issue, it is a good choice. But what about the data inside it? We would like to suggest you recover your files. And the most powerful way to go ahead is with Recoverit Data Recovery. This tool is created to get your deleted files recovered no matter what the loss scenario is.

[jasonboykin]

This was a life saver I tell you what all my work was on that drive, I have learn 2 things from this. 1 always backup your backup and 2 always use the safe to remove before disconnecting my drive. Because of this videos my hard drive

[williamcreal]

It's A Miracle - Had to run the chkdsk on my 4TB external drive. It did take days and days to run, but once completed my drive and all files accessible. I will NEVER EVER unplug an external storage device without using the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media. A million thanks!!

[ianstraw]

Legend! Took over 15 hours and lost a couple of files but saved 99% - lesson learned regarding the way to remove a USB correctly!

[GiDiH]

Thank you very much Michel well done, this safed my weekend... Hi everyone I have followed the first step : CHKDSK on a 1 T external HD
it worked very well but it took 9 hours, I was tempted several times to stop the process... but the wait paid off... so make sure to plan in advance your time... From now on I will use " safe remove" feature... Expecially before turning off the pc and copy the whole external disk to another external hd...
Thanks again

[airmanfair]

Wow, I can't believe this worked for my 2TB hard drive. Pictures and movies and shows collected over the last decade saved! Tons of fun going back through it all, I really thought it was lost. Thanks!

[awlux]

lifesaver, never really comment on videos like this but man you just saved my years worth of work!

[tflangan]

Thank you for this tutorial. It was easy to follow your instructions and helped save my 14 TB external hard drive.

[WorkOutASMRGardening]

Um, tried the first thing he suggested about typing that short line of code in the CMD area and it f-ing worked. You're a lifesaver, dude. Thank you so, so much for this video! You just helped me recover years of raw audio that I recorded for my job.

[ojzjzqg]

thanks from bottom of my heart
i tried lots of method in internet but none of them didnt work
but your first method saved all of my files.before watching your video I've been thinking about throwing away my external hard

[ThisKid]

This is a must-watch video. I work for an OHL Hockey team and this just saved 1.41 TB of files and videos. Try step one and give it time. In total, there were 5 steps and took me close to 20 hours. TRUST THE SYSTEM!

[naveedmoein]

Another method (quite funny actually) is to plug it into a Mac. Most of the time when I run into this problem with myself or my clients and they just need their data quickly, my MacBook Pro will recognize the drive and let me navigate and pull the data I need instantly. I don't know why it works, but it works. I'm doing it right now. I was going through some old 2.5" Hard Drives to grab some old files and Windows froze for like 20 minutes so I had to pull the plug and move on. But plugging it back in gave me parameter is incorrect error. I tried on 3 other Windows computers to get access and it won't work. I don't care for the drive, just need the data. I plugged it into my MacBook Pro, and boom, it instantly mounted and let me grab what I wanted.

[ikpekpe]

The first step worked for me after 3hours. I thought my 1TB was gone, after months of waiting and trying, now it's fixed.

[happy_alexro]

method one gets stuck at 45% for me and I waited 2 or 3 hours ._.

[shawnparkes]

Recoverit saves the day! Pulled back precious audio and video files previously Thought lost from over a year ago. Tried other products and they didn’t come close. Love it!

[bobkeyte]

Thank you ! Saved our family memories we thought we would keep safe on a hard drive and this ended up happening! Life saver 🙌

[ChuckStaley]

Even as we wait, checkdisk is doing its job. There's nothing like saving $300... Thanks a million.

[saiaint]

"you must be a administrator running a console session in order to use the sfc utility", help?

[hosseinh]

Wow! You gave me back my 19th birthday photos and videos. I cannot thank you enough. I used the third option, though. The first two didn`t work out for me. Hope you become more and more successful, Recoverit team!

[thabangtsekane]

Thank you so much, I managed to fix my 1TB hard drive and I saved my 700.00BWP, I really appreciate your work. THANK YOU

[ScalyFox]

The format window isn't opening for me when I press it :< I also tried the cmd method, but it just freezes