Macrium Reflect backup with error code 23 (CRC) or 6 (MFT corrupt) not fixed by chkdsk

Hello, I've been having an issue with getting Macrium Reflect to backup my C: drive. I generally receive one of the following 2 errors:


I attached a log of a failed MR backup that ended with one of these errors below, in case that's helpful. And this is the disk I'm trying to backup:



I have run chkdsk C: /r multiple times, but continue to get this error (I have probably run it about 5 times, maybe more). I have attached the log files of the 2 most recent times I ran it. Per this KB article on the Macrium website, I was able to get an image to complete successfully, but with warnings:



Per that same article, these errors are likely a sign of a failing disk. Is it possible that running chkdsk more times will fix the issue (allow an image to be completed without throwing error code 23 or 6)? Is there other software I can use to more concretely diagnose that I have a failing disk? What risks am I running if I do end up replacing my disk, and restore from the image I just created? Any suggestions/ideas on how to approach this moving forward?

Please let me know if I can provide more info that could be useful, and thanks sincerely in advance for your thoughts!

Well, the Error 23 is definitely an indication of a failing disk (other diags really not needed), and the second error means the first is right in the middle of the System's most sensitive metadata, the Meta File Table... CheckDsk won't really help at this point.

Most likely, your last good image and a new disk will be your best bet at this point...

If you do replace your disk and use the image with the bad clusters in sectors, the Sytem "may" run fine (if none of those errors are in important Windows areas) but you will definitely have some bad DATA in your System and you won't, any longer, know exactly where that is (because it won't have an error associated with it any longer). I would only use your last error free image to do your restoration.

@danmam


Also... you need a bigger drive.
With your C:\ drive that full, you're gonna have trouble with Windows Updates as well.


The following will help you find a proper replacement drive...

I would format the drive, restore from backup and then do a repair install. This ensures that no bad sectors are reused and will repair/replace any dodgy Windows files.

danmam said:

Backup aborted! - Unable to read from disk - Error Code 23 - Data error (cyclic redundancy check).

MFT corrupt - Error code = 6. Please run 'chkdsk C: /r'

I attached a log of a failed MR backup that ended with one of these errors below, in case that's helpful. And this is the disk I'm trying to backup:

I have run chkdsk C: /r multiple times, but continue to get this error.....

Click to expand...

That 'MFT corrupt - Error code = 6. Please run 'chkdsk C: /r' message is a generic error message. The partition with the corrupt MFT is not necessarily the C: drive. You have two more NTFS partitions besides C:, each with their own MFT. Partitions 4 and 5 look like recovery partitions. Only one will be in use, find out which from an Admin command prompt with the command reagentc /info (my guess is it will be the larger one, partition 5).

Try excluding the unused recovery partition from the image. If it still fails, try excluding both. If successful, you could replace the drive with a new one and restore the image to it. Your PC will work without a recovery partition, but if you have an older good image you could restore the recovery partition from that.

Froggie said:

Well, the Error 23 is definitely an indication of a failing disk (other diags really not needed), and the second error means the first is right in the middle of the System's most sensitive metadata, the Meta File Table... CheckDsk won't really help at this point.

Most likely, your last good image and a new disk will be your best bet at this point...

If you do replace your disk and use the image with the bad clusters in sectors, the Sytem "may" run fine (if none of those errors are in important Windows areas) but you will definitely have some bad DATA in your System and you won't, any longer, know exactly where that is (because it won't have an error associated with it any longer). I would only use your last error free image to do your restoration.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, just prior to the error starting to show itself, Macrium went ahead and deleted my last good full image (which is my fault, since that's what I had it set up to do -- but none of the subsequent full images after that last good one were able to complete without throwing this error. So my last good image is likely from 3 years back on a hard drive I haven't used in awhile. Trying to avoid having to use that one.

I did go through and use Recuva to try to see if I could recover that last good image (there was a full plus a lot of differentials, I tried recovering the most recent good differential and the most recent good full). The differential was able to be recovered, but the matching full image doesn't seem to be recoverable (it shows up as a .mrimg file of the correct size in Windows Explorer, but Macrium Reflect can't open it). I see there's also a .tmp file of this same full image that Recuva shows as possibly recoverable -- would I be able to turn that into a workable image if it could be recovered?

Otherwise, looks like I'm either stuck with a very old image to restore or one with some ticking time bombs in it....

Ghot said:

@danmam


Also... you need a bigger drive.
With your C:\ drive that full, you're gonna have trouble with Windows Updates as well.


The following will help you find a proper replacement drive...

Memory & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com

Crucial Memory and SSD upgrades - 100% Compatibility Guaranteed for - FREE US Delivery

www.crucial.com

Click to expand...

You're not wrong! It's been a constant hassle keeping the C drive from filling up. If I buy a replacement SSD for my C drive, do I need to install it inside the laptop or can it be externally cased? (I ask because I've opened up my laptop a few times too many to some ill effects, and would prefer not to again; but will if necessary).

kelper said:

I would format the drive, restore from backup and then do a repair install. This ensures that no bad sectors are reused and will repair/replace any dodgy Windows files.

Click to expand...

You mean restore from the recent backup with the bad sectors? The repair install will ensure these bad sectors aren't reused?

danmam said:

You're not wrong! It's been a constant hassle keeping the C drive from filling up. If I buy a replacement SSD for my C drive, do I need to install it inside the laptop or can it be externally cased? (I ask because I've opened up my laptop a few times too many to some ill effects, and would prefer not to again; but will if necessary).

Click to expand...

Well, you can buy an external drive, but I wouldn't want to run Windows from there.
You should be able to find a "disassembly" youtube for the make/model of your laptop.

Ghot said:

Well, you can buy an external drive, but I wouldn't want to run Windows from there.
You should be able to find a "disassembly" youtube for the make/model of your laptop.

Click to expand...

Sure. I've had to replace internal components before....My last keyboard replacement attempt...did not go quite so well, but I can figure it out. Thanks for the suggestion.

Bree said:

That 'MFT corrupt - Error code = 6. Please run 'chkdsk C: /r' message is a generic error message. The partition with the corrupt MFT is not necessarily the C: drive. You have two more NTFS partitions besides C:, each with their own MFT. Partitions 4 and 5 look like recovery partitions. Only one will be in use, find out which from an Admin command prompt with the command reagentc /info (my guess is it will be the larger one, partition 5).

Try excluding the unused recovery partition from the image. If it still fails, try excluding both. If successful, you could replace the drive with a new one and restore the image to it. Your PC will work without a recovery partition, but if you have an older good image you could restore the recovery partition from that.

Click to expand...

Running that command gave this result:


I assume this means that the recovery partition is disk 4?

You must have made 2 Inplacements because your Partition structure looks like that. It always happens when the Recovery is not configured properly. What you should do right now. Delete your hiberfil.sys immediately, if you are using one!
cmd (admin) powercfg /H off
Check your manual if you have an additional port for a 2nd disk. Sata or NVMe.
Run
diskpart
list disk
sel disk 1 (if it is really your OS disk )
list par
sel par 5 (the last partition on that disk)
det par
exit
check if the ID = de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

Then open notepad
in cmd (admin)
type
bcdedit /enum all
copy the complete content to notepad and save as BCD.txt.
Attach the textfile to your reply.

danmam said:

You mean restore from the recent backup with the bad sectors? The repair install will ensure these bad sectors aren't reused?

Click to expand...

If you format the drive and Ron chkdsk /r again any bad sectors will not be used again. Macrium can't write bad sectors to the disk although some files may be corrupt. A repair install will replace any damaged Windows files. Its worth a try.

My experience

I was doing a Macrium backup on my wifes computer and got this error. After reading further I purchased a new NVME SSD and placed in an external case.

I cloned her C drive with Macrium Reflect and replaced the old drive with the new one. I imaged her C drive without a hitch.

We both have custom-built desktops with new windows 11 compatible motherboard and CPU purchased 18 months ago.

Hello everyone, I had a hard drive that stubbornly wouldn't clone or image, giving me "Error 0 - Read failed - 23 - Data error (cyclic redundancy check)". I tried everything suggested in this and other forums to no avail. Windows disk checking, CHKDSK /R, DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, sfc /scannow, turning off the Verify File System options in various places, the "Forensic Sector Copy" under Advanced Options when cloning, the "Ignore bad sectors when creating images" option under Other Tasks -> Edit Defaults and Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Advanced Backup Settings ... none of it worked.

I visited the Macrium forum and found this post which solved my problem with a post from Matt92:

Matt92 seemed to have had a similar problem that I did (mine was slightly different), and he seemed to have tried all the same stuff I did. However, he used a third party disk repair tool, Hard Disk Sentinel Pro, to further identify and correct some bad sectors that CHKDSK /R wouldn't correct.

It seemed unbelievable to me that CHKDSK would fail to repair sectors that were still repairable, but upon using a third party disk repair tool, the sectors were repaired. Thereafter I was able to clone the drive without the dreaded Error 0 - Read failed - 23 - Data error (cyclic redundancy check) bug.

I wanted to post my corroborating evidence on the Macrium Forum, but I don't have a Supported version of their product that would allow me to post to the Forum. So I found this page in a Google Search result and figured I'd pass along my success story. Hopefully it helps someone else!

@SirLouie ,

Welcome to ElevenForum. Thank you for sharing your solution. I use Hard Disk Sentinel Pro, too, on both of my computers. It is great software app.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

POLYSIUS said:

You must have made 2 Inplacements because your Partition structure looks like that. It always happens when the Recovery is not configured properly. What you should do right now. Delete your hiberfil.sys immediately, if you are using one!
cmd (admin) powercfg /H off
Check your manual if you have an additional port for a 2nd disk. Sata or NVMe.
Run
diskpart
list disk
sel disk 1 (if it is really your OS disk )
list par
sel par 5 (the last partition on that disk)
det par
exit
check if the ID = de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

Then open notepad
in cmd (admin)
type
bcdedit /enum all
copy the complete content to notepad and save as BCD.txt.
Attach the textfile to your reply.

Click to expand...

Is there any worth to me doing this? I see the user who posted this advice was banned, so I'm hesitant to follow these instructions.

SirLouie said:

Hello everyone, I had a hard drive that stubbornly wouldn't clone or image, giving me "Error 0 - Read failed - 23 - Data error (cyclic redundancy check)". I tried everything suggested in this and other forums to no avail. Windows disk checking, CHKDSK /R, DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, sfc /scannow, turning off the Verify File System options in various places, the "Forensic Sector Copy" under Advanced Options when cloning, the "Ignore bad sectors when creating images" option under Other Tasks -> Edit Defaults and Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Advanced Backup Settings ... none of it worked.

I visited the Macrium forum and found this post which solved my problem with a post from Matt92:

Reflect Home - Error 9 (Read Failed 23) - (Page 2)

forum.macrium.com

Matt92 seemed to have had a similar problem that I did (mine was slightly different), and he seemed to have tried all the same stuff I did. However, he used a third party disk repair tool, Hard Disk Sentinel Pro, to further identify and correct some bad sectors that CHKDSK /R wouldn't correct.

It seemed unbelievable to me that CHKDSK would fail to repair sectors that were still repairable, but upon using a third party disk repair tool, the sectors were repaired. Thereafter I was able to clone the drive without the dreaded Error 0 - Read failed - 23 - Data error (cyclic redundancy check) bug.

I wanted to post my corroborating evidence on the Macrium Forum, but I don't have a Supported version of their product that would allow me to post to the Forum. So I found this page in a Google Search result and figured I'd pass along my success story. Hopefully it helps someone else!

Click to expand...

Thanks a ton for linking this -- was able to use Hard Disk Sentinel Pro to repair the sectors on my C drive, and now I can image my C drive without any errors (even with "Ignore bad sectors when creating images" turned off). So, I at least am now able to image my C drive, but for various reasons (such as how small the C drive is, and the fact that Hard Disk Sentinel Pro still rates it as low-health), I'd like to replace it.

I purchased a new 1 TB SSD (MX500 from Crucial), and cloned all partitions of my C drive to the new SSD. Basically like this:


Everything worked out fine, but then when I opened up my laptop to replace the C drive with my new SSD, and was very surprised to find that the SSD I purchased (2.5" SATA drive) would be replacing my D drive (internal 1 TB hard drive that I use for storage of just about everything):

It turns out my C drive looks like this -- is this even something that's replaceable?

When I put the new SSD into my laptop (removing my D hard drive), Windows still booted from the C drive, and a cursory attempt to have Windows boot instead from the new SSD (using EasyBCD software) did not work, though I haven't tried extensively.

Is my best bet here to keep the C drive in the laptop, but figure out a way to boot from the new SSD (and, use the previously internal D drive as an external hard drive moving forward)? Or should I buy a larger capacity version of the C drive (which is much smaller than I expected it to be), clone to that, and then replace the C drive physically with my new "C-stick".

danmam said:

It turns out my C drive looks like this -- is this even something that's replaceable?
View attachment 84855

Click to expand...

Your C drive is an M.2 (likely 2280) form factor SATA SSD and is indeed replaceable. The two notches in the connector edge indicate that it's a B+M key (SATA) drive.

See here for reference:
What is M.2? Keys and Sockets Explained


If you look on your motherboard where this is installed, You will see that the socket for this drive either has two notches (one to match each of the B+M keys) or one notch (which should only match the M key, but in some cases only match the B key on the other side).

Here is an example slot with one notch matching the M key:


If your motherboard slot has two notches, then you have several options:
1) remove the old M.2 SATA drive and leave it empty (but why?)
2) (eventually) wipe that old c drive, then install it back and use it as tiny storage (kinda ok)
3) buy a larger M.2 SATA SSD to replace the old one

If your motherboard slot has only one notch, you have an additional option, which I would recommend:
- buy an M.2 NVMe SSD to replace the old one.

NVMe SSD drives are much faster than M.2 or 2.5" SATA drives because they connect directly to the PCIe lanes. Note: the drives are NOT flippable, so if your motherboard only has a B-key notch, the NVMe drive won't fit no matter how you orient it.

danmam said:

When I put the new SSD into my laptop (removing my D hard drive), Windows still booted from the C drive, and a cursory attempt to have Windows boot instead from the new SSD (using EasyBCD software) did not work, though I haven't tried extensively.

Is my best bet here to keep the C drive in the laptop, but figure out a way to boot from the new SSD (and, use the previously internal D drive as an external hard drive moving forward)? Or should I buy a larger capacity version of the C drive (which is much smaller than I expected it to be), clone to that, and then replace the C drive physically with my new "C-stick".

Click to expand...

You've cloned your 120GB M.2 SATA SSD to your 1TB 2.5" SSD? If that's the case, I would try the following.
1. Physically remove the M.2 drive. Put it somewhere safe. If anything goes wrong, you pop this back in and you're back up and running.
2. Replace the existing 2.5" HDD (assuming your storage drive was a regular hard drive) in your laptop with the 1TB 2.5" SSD.

The laptop *should* boot without a problem, unless you had BCD issues. The previous issue is that your old C drive and your new 1TB SSD have the same boot information, so hooking them both up at the same time doesn't give you the expected result. However, if you clone old to new, then replace old with new, the system *usually* sees the new drive as if it was the old drive and boots without a problem. On rare occasions I've seen boot files get weird and need to be rebuilt, but there are instructions on how to do that. Once I even discovered that the boot partition had migrated to a non-boot drive! My new hardware worked *until* I removed my old hardware. That's why it's important not to wipe anything until you're sure the system works without it.

This recommendation assumes that you don't have room in the laptop for a second 2.5" drive.

I'd then take your 1TB 2.5" HDD and pop it into a 2.5" USB 3.x enclosure. They're like $10 on Amazon. Plug it into the laptop and take it with you.

Link:
https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Enclosure-External-Tool-Free-25PW1-C3/dp/B0B936Q35S


Although if I were you, and my laptop had a one-notch M-key M.2 slot, I would return the 1TB Crucial (or use it to replace the HDD) and buy a large NVMe M.2 2280 SSD to benefit from the speed boost. Pick up an NVMe USB 3.x enclosure. They're about $20 on amazon.

Link:
https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Enclosure-Tool-Free-Aluminum-External/dp/B0BWMVVDBM


Put the new NVMe drive into this contraption, then connect it to your laptop after it boots to the original M.2 drive, and then clone it to the temporarily USB-connected new NVMe drive. Shut it down, swap the M.2 SATA drive for the M.2 NVMe drive, and it should boot right up. Then you could keep your existing 1TB HDD (or if you're really feeling the need for speed, clone that to your 1TB SSD and replace it) right inside the laptop.

One other thing to mention - you may wish you overprovision your new SSD drives by shrinking the main partition and leaving that space open at the end of the drive. Such space can be used by the SSD controller to more efficiently manage the drive's lifetime. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I basically cut off about 10% of the drive's capacity and just leave it off the end of the drive. Maybe it's stupid, maybe someone else can confirm or correct me.

Info on overprovisioning:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/overprovisioning-SSD-overprovisioning

For example, here's my 1TB Steam drive:


You can see I have reserved about 10% of the space for overprovisioning.

Anyway, I'm glad you found my original post helpful, and I hope that this one is more specifically helpful to you! Feel free to ask questions if you encounter something not mentioned here.

-Shawn

SirLouie said:

Your C drive is an M.2 (likely 2280) form factor SATA SSD and is indeed replaceable. The two notches in the connector edge indicate that it's a B+M key (SATA) drive.

See here for reference:
What is M.2? Keys and Sockets Explained
View attachment 84883

If you look on your motherboard where this is installed, You will see that the socket for this drive either has two notches (one to match each of the B+M keys) or one notch (which should only match the M key, but in some cases only match the B key on the other side).

Here is an example slot with one notch matching the M key:
View attachment 84880

If your motherboard slot has two notches, then you have several options:
1) remove the old M.2 SATA drive and leave it empty (but why?)
2) (eventually) wipe that old c drive, then install it back and use it as tiny storage (kinda ok)
3) buy a larger M.2 SATA SSD to replace the old one

If your motherboard slot has only one notch, you have an additional option, which I would recommend:
- buy an M.2 NVMe SSD to replace the old one.

NVMe SSD drives are much faster than M.2 or 2.5" SATA drives because they connect directly to the PCIe lanes. Note: the drives are NOT flippable, so if your motherboard only has a B-key notch, the NVMe drive won't fit no matter how you orient it.


You've cloned your 120GB M.2 SATA SSD to your 1TB 2.5" SSD? If that's the case, I would try the following.
1. Physically remove the M.2 drive. Put it somewhere safe. If anything goes wrong, you pop this back in and you're back up and running.
2. Replace the existing 2.5" HDD (assuming your storage drive was a regular hard drive) in your laptop with the 1TB 2.5" SSD.

The laptop *should* boot without a problem, unless you had BCD issues. The previous issue is that your old C drive and your new 1TB SSD have the same boot information, so hooking them both up at the same time doesn't give you the expected result. However, if you clone old to new, then replace old with new, the system *usually* sees the new drive as if it was the old drive and boots without a problem. On rare occasions I've seen boot files get weird and need to be rebuilt, but there are instructions on how to do that. Once I even discovered that the boot partition had migrated to a non-boot drive! My new hardware worked *until* I removed my old hardware. That's why it's important not to wipe anything until you're sure the system works without it.

This recommendation assumes that you don't have room in the laptop for a second 2.5" drive.

I'd then take your 1TB 2.5" HDD and pop it into a 2.5" USB 3.x enclosure. They're like $10 on Amazon. Plug it into the laptop and take it with you.

Link:
https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Enclosure-External-Tool-Free-25PW1-C3/dp/B0B936Q35S
View attachment 84881

Although if I were you, and my laptop had a one-notch M-key M.2 slot, I would return the 1TB Crucial (or use it to replace the HDD) and buy a large NVMe M.2 2280 SSD to benefit from the speed boost. Pick up an NVMe USB 3.x enclosure. They're about $20 on amazon.

Link:
https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Enclosure-Tool-Free-Aluminum-External/dp/B0BWMVVDBM
View attachment 84884

Put the new NVMe drive into this contraption, then connect it to your laptop after it boots to the original M.2 drive, and then clone it to the temporarily USB-connected new NVMe drive. Shut it down, swap the M.2 SATA drive for the M.2 NVMe drive, and it should boot right up. Then you could keep your existing 1TB HDD (or if you're really feeling the need for speed, clone that to your 1TB SSD and replace it) right inside the laptop.

One other thing to mention - you may wish you overprovision your new SSD drives by shrinking the main partition and leaving that space open at the end of the drive. Such space can be used by the SSD controller to more efficiently manage the drive's lifetime. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I basically cut off about 10% of the drive's capacity and just leave it off the end of the drive. Maybe it's stupid, maybe someone else can confirm or correct me.

Info on overprovisioning:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/overprovisioning-SSD-overprovisioning

For example, here's my 1TB Steam drive:
View attachment 84882

You can see I have reserved about 10% of the space for overprovisioning.

Anyway, I'm glad you found my original post helpful, and I hope that this one is more specifically helpful to you! Feel free to ask questions if you encounter something not mentioned here.

-Shawn

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the great info! It appears my computer (Acer Aspire F5-573G) is compatible with the M.2 NVMe drive, but from what I'm reading online, it will only operate at about half the speed advertised by the manufacturer. See here and here. Do you think it's still worth it to go with a NVMe drive vs. a M.2. SATA drive, even if I won't be getting the full speed of the NVMe drive? (Is it that much of an improvement over a M.2. SATA drive still?) In any case, I will be returning the 2.5" SSD I ordered and keeping the original HD, there is not room for 2 2.5" HDs in my laptop. Thanks again for your help.