Checking consistency of the file system
Before suspecting a hard drive failure, make sure your file system is healthy and consistent. Likely, it currently is not.
This is likely an ntfs formatted partition because you tell you also use it with Windows. To check and repair the file system:
- Connect the drive to MS Windows
- Run the disk checking tools of Windows on the drive. (In principle, the linux tool
ntfs can repair an ntfs drive to some extent. However, ntfs is a proprietary file format, so only Windows tools know all the ins and outs of the file system. Hence the recommendation to check on Windows.)
- Correctly disconnect the drive, i.e. first using the icon in the tray.
That ensures the file system is now healthy and consistent. Unless there is a hardware issue, you will now be able to use it correctly under linux.
Keeping file systems on removable drives consistent
- Always disconnect a drive by software first, using the tray icon in Windows, and right-clicking the drive in your file manager to remove the drive in Linux. You can also use the
eject command.
- Alternatively, fully shut down the system before disconnecting the drive. With Windows, however, this is safe only if "Windows Fast Start" is turned off.
Potential hardware failure
If, after these precautions, you still encounter issues with the drive, then you can start suspecting hardware failure.
