How to Resolve External Hard Drive Freezing While Copying Files

Saving files and data on external hard drives and other external devices like HDD, SSD, SD cards, or USB is an excellent way to back up essential information. However, issues may arise with the external hard drive, such as it becoming unresponsive or frozen when copying files. If you encounter problems with your external hard drive, keep reading to find solutions here.

Why does an external hard drive freeze when copying files? When you attempt to copy files to an external hard drive, it might freeze or stop responding, and this can be caused by several factors. Here are some possible reasons and solutions: 1. **Hardware issues**: The external hard drive could have hardware problems, such as bad sectors, damaged components, or internal failures. In this case, the drive may freeze during the copying process. You can use disk diagnostic tools to check for issues, and if found, you might need to replace the drive. 2. **Large data volume**: If you're copying a significant amount of data, especially large files, the hard drive might require more time to process. This can lead to the operating system freezing temporarily, especially if system resources are stretched. Wait for a while, or try copying files in smaller batches. 3. **Slow interface speed**: The USB interface might not be fast enough to support rapid data transfer. Make sure you're using the latest USB port (such as USB 3.0 or USB-C) and that the connection is secure. 4. **Insufficient system resources**: If your computer's RAM or CPU usage is high, it can slow down or freeze the copying process. Close unnecessary programs to free up system resources. 5. **Virus or malware**: The external hard drive could be infected with viruses or malware, causing issues when copying files. Run an antivirus scan to detect and remove potential threats. 6. **File system errors**: The hard drive's file system might have errors that affect normal read and write operations. Try using a disk checking tool (like Windows' chkdsk or macOS' Disk Utility) to fix the file system. 7. **Driver issues**: Sometimes, the driver for the external hard drive might be incompatible or outdated. Update the driver to the latest version to see if that resolves the issue. 8. **Power problems**: If the external hard drive requires its own power source, ensure it's correctly connected and providing sufficient power to avoid freezing due to inadequate power. 9. **Overheating**: Excessive heat can also lead to performance degradation and freezing. Make sure the hard drive has proper ventilation and isn't operating continuously for extended periods. If none of these solutions work, consider contacting the manufacturer of the external hard drive for technical support.

An external hard drive freezing or not responding usually occurs due to the following reasons:

• The external hard drive is damaged, malfunctioning, or physically broken.
• The external hard drive doesn't have enough storage space to copy the files.
• The external hard drive has bad sectors, affecting its performance.
• The external hard drive is formatted incorrectly.
• The external hard drive is incompatible with your computer, so it's not recognized.
• Viruses, ransomware, or malware are present on the external hard drive or the files you're trying to copy.

Solutions to Fix External Hard Drive Freezing While Copying Files

With the possible causes in mind, we will show you some practical ways to fix an external hard drive freezing when copying files. Try each of the methods one by one until your external hard drive works normally again.

Solution 1: Check the external hard drive storage space

When an external hard drive is full or almost full, it may freeze or become unresponsive while copying files due to insufficient storage space for duplication. Hence, it's advisable to free up space on the external hard drive beforehand.

Solution 2: Disable Fast Startup

The Windows 10 operating system has a feature called "Fast Startup" that aids in quicker booting after shutdown. However, this feature can sometimes lead to external hard drive freezing issues when copying files. Therefore, you can try disabling "Fast Startup" to resolve the problem.

To turn off Fast Startup:

1. Click the "Start" button, and then select "Settings." 2. Click on "Update & Security," and then choose "Power & Sleep" from the left-hand side. 3. Under "Related settings" on the right, click on "Additional power settings." 4. Click "Change what the power buttons do," and then click "Change settings that are currently unavailable." 5. Uncheck the option "Turn on fast startup (recommended)," and then click the "Save changes" button.

Solution 3: Format the External Hard Drive

If the external hard drive is formatted incorrectly or uses the wrong file system, it might freeze when you try to copy files to it. Try to format the external hard drive to see if that fixes the issue. However, formatting the drive will erase all data stored on it, so back up your data beforehand.

Format an external hard drive:

1. Open File Explorer and select the external hard drive that frequently freezes. 2. Right-click on the external hard drive, and choose "Format." 3. Select the file system you prefer for your external hard drive, such as NTFS or FAT32, then click the "Start" button. 4. When the warning window appears, click "OK."

Solution 4: Repair the External Hard Drive

You should check the external hard drive for any errors. Please follow these steps to do so:

1. Click the "This PC" icon, find, and right-click your external hard drive. 2. Select "Properties" from the drop-down menu. 3. Click "Tools" and then under "Error Checking," click "Check."

If everything is working properly with the external hard drive, you'll see a message that says "This device is working properly." Otherwise, Windows will scan and fix any errors on your external hard drive. When the external hard drive error check is finished, restart your computer to see if the problem still exists.

Solution 5: Fix Bad Sectors on the External Hard Drive

Sometimes, the file copy process freezes due to bad sectors on the external hard drive. Thus, you can try to repair bad sectors on the external hard drive via Command Prompt.

Methods to Repair Bad Sectors on an External Hard Drive:

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator. 2. Type the command "chkdsk external hard drive letter /r" (replace "external hard drive letter" with the letter assigned to the external hard drive you wanna check), and hit Enter to fix bad sectors. For instance: `chkdsk g: /r`. 3. When it asks if ya wanna schedule a scan on the external drive for the next system boot, type "Y" and hit Enter. 4. Restart your computer, and the external hard drive'll automatically get scanned and fixed. Afterwards, check if the external hard drive is workin' properly.

COPYING FILES TO AN EXTERNAL DRIVE MORE SECURELY

Copying files to an external hard drive is a simple and common backup method. However, the external hard drive might freeze while copying files due to various reasons. To avoid freezing of the external hard drive while copying files or other external hard drive issues, we recommend using the Todo Backup Home tool. It's a professional tool that can back up files to an external hard drive without any glitches.

Aside from backing up files, Todo Backup Home also allows you to back up your drives, system, and emails to internal and external hard drives, cloud services, NAS, and a Secure Zone. With it, there's no need to manually copy files to the target drive, as it offers an automatic backup option, meaning you can set up a scheduled backup plan. Additionally, you can compress and encrypt your backups to ensure their security. This is a safer way to copy your files to an external hard drive.

Here's how to use the tool Todo Backup Home to save your files to an external hard drive:

Step 1: For your first backup with Todo Backup, click Create Backup on the main screen, then click the big question-mark button to Select What to Back Up.

Step 2. Since you want to back up files and folders on your computer, choose the "Files" backup mode so that you can pick which photos, videos, documents, and other types of files to back up.

Step 3: Browse and select the files, folders, or directories you wish to back up, then click OK.

Step 4: Now, you need to choose a location to save the backup.

Step 5: Todo Backup allows users to save backup files to any convenient device, such as a local hard drive, external USB drive, SD card, network drive, or NAS drive, as well as to the vendor's cloud drive. We recommend saving important backups to a cloud drive for easier, more flexible, and secure access.

To use Tool Cloud, you simply register and log in with an e-mail address.

Step 6: If you want to set up an automatic and intelligent backup schedule for your next file backup task, proceed with the Options settings. Here, you can encrypt your sensitive file backups, compress the backup image size, or customize the scheme to tell the software when to start the backup next time.

Create a sophisticated and automated backup task right here.

Step 7. Click "Backup Now" to start the backup process. When it's done, the backup will appear as a card in the left pane.

In summary

External hard drives tend to freeze while copying files due to various reasons. The solutions provided in this article can effectively help you address the issue of an external hard drive freezing while copying files. If you wish to avoid external hard drive issues altogether, we recommend using the Todo Backup Home tool. With it, you can seamlessly back up your files to an external hard drive. Furthermore, it allows you to set up scheduled backup plans to automatically save your files to an external hard drive.

Frequently Asked Questions About External Hard Drive Freezing While Copying Files

Why does my external hard drive freeze?

As we mentioned in the article, external hard drive freezing can be caused by hard drive errors, bad sectors on the external hard drive, viruses or malware, insufficient storage space, and so on.

How to fix the issue of unable to copy files to an external hard drive?

If you can't copy files to your external hard drive, try checking for errors on the external hard drive, removing bad sectors on the external hard drive, or using a tool like Todo Backup Home to back up external hard drive data.