C drive is partially corrupted

raktimP

Prominent
Mar 19, 2017
5
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510
So suddenly my pc couldn't boot and was stuck at a blinking underscore at start up. I loaded a USB with windows 10 and tried all troubleshoot options

System restore, start up repair, back to previous build, all resulted in failures.
Same for Reset this PC.

So I went into command prompt and decided to check my drives.

Windows is installed in my 240gb SSD, which was the C: drive. In start up setup, it is showing as I: (no issues i'm told?).

I type the following

I:

I:\>cd I:\windows

'The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable'

Same if i go into I:\Users\pcname

I can navigate to other directories like Users\guest or even inside Program Files.
I can also navigate to my HDD which has all my data.

So what i think, is my C drive partially corrupted?

Is there any way to fix this without re-installing windows? I have some important files in my user directory which i really need. Any way to get those back?

I tried searching for similar stuff on the web, couldn't find any viable solution. Maybe i didn't search deep enough.
Anyway, thank you for any help, in advance
 
Solution
you probably got infected and it's encrypted. boot to usb and nuke all partitions and install windows is your option. your user files are most likely infected too. Also, backup your work more often, preferably to the cloud. then this is no big deal, you can install windows 10 5 times a day if you want and lose nothing.
you probably got infected and it's encrypted. boot to usb and nuke all partitions and install windows is your option. your user files are most likely infected too. Also, backup your work more often, preferably to the cloud. then this is no big deal, you can install windows 10 5 times a day if you want and lose nothing.
 
Solution

raktimP

Prominent
Mar 19, 2017
5
0
510
So you're saying there is no way for me to fix this without doing a fresh install? Sigh. I hoped there'd be a way.
And about those files, I was going to transfer them to my work laptop soon. Guess i should have done sooner.
 
try the chkdsk /f thing and if your folders and files are unreadable, well, there is your answer. you could take that drive and put it into another computer or connect via external usb to sata connector and go for the \users directories. make sure to scan with anit-malware and anti-virus software

here is a sata to usb, cheap
https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-to-sata-adapter

then you might want to just drop in a new Crucial 500GB SSD and install windows clean on that instead. that alone makes an old pc feel new again.
 

raktimP

Prominent
Mar 19, 2017
5
0
510
try the chkdsk /f thing and if your folders and files are unreadable, well, there is your answer. you could take that drive and put it into another computer or connect via external usb to sata connector and go for the \users directories. make sure to scan with anit-malware and anti-virus software

I connected the ssd to my laptop. It shows up as System Reserved 499mb, and an H drive which does not show any size whatsoever. If i navigate to the H drive, my pc just frezes and Windows Explorer needs to be restarted.

I can't also format the drive as both Disk Management and Diskpart hangs when the ssd is connected. I know this because both of those works immediately after I disconnect the ssd.
Any idea what are my options at this point?
:(