External hard drive issue

[lockstock8179]

Hello,

I am having a problem with an external hard drive. I have used it to back up files such as pictures and pdfs from three computers. All the files are present when I browse through the hard drive, and all of the files from my most recent computer open fine, but all of the files from the two previous computers will not open. I can copy them over to my current computer, and don't get any errors or anything. Basically the messages I get are that the files are an unsupported format, regardless if it is a jpg, pdf, or word doc. I've ran checkdisk and found no errors on the drive. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there lockstock8179,

I would advise you to get the data that is fine and readable off the drive until you sort this issue out.
Apart from that, you can start with something simple as just attaching it to another computer. This way you will be sure whether the issue is in the drive.
If this is the case, I would can run some antivirus scan as well as test the drive with a brand specific tool. The results of the testing tool will show you whether the drive is healthy.
Regarding the files that are already on the drive, my guess would be that they are damaged somehow(if they can't open on the other computer as well). You may be able to at least read Word and Excel files with some third party editor.
Check this similar to yours thread: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/513972/need-some-help-with-file-corruption/

Cheers,
D_Know_WD