[solved] the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable

Today evening i logged into my computer to but for my horror drive g: was corrupted and everything was changed when i clicked on any folder it was showing the error message "file or directory is corrupted and unreadable" i was totally pissed of because it was around 30gigs of important data see the below pic how the folders and files in corrupted drive looked click on the image to enlarge

after googling for a while from microsoft kb site i came to know that This behavior can occur if the file, folder or file system index (Master File Table [MFT] or File Allocation Table [FAT]) is damaged.

solution was simple just to run the chkdsk to repair the damaged files and folder file system index just followed the simple steps see below and issue got fixed

1. Click on start and click on run
2. In command prompt type chkdsk/ f g: (drive g: in my case) and press enter
3. Click ok, thats it you are done

it takes time depending on your hard disk size and data in drive, in my case for 30gigs of data it took 5-10 mins see the below pic after running the chkdsk i was able to recover the data in the harddrive G: click on the image to enlarge

Warning: though chkdsk attempts to fix the file system index using chkdsk with the /f command some time data loss may occur so its better to use it unless until u have a full backup of your disk

below is the chkdsk syntax for windows xp

CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:size]]

volume	Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name.
filename	FAT only: Specifies the files to check for fragmentation.
/F	Fixes errors on the disk.
/V	On FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of every file on the disk.
/R	Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information (implies /F).
/L:size	NTFS only: Changes the log file size to the specified number of kilobytes. If size is not specified, displays current size.
/X	Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary. All opened handles to the volume would then be invalid (implies /F).
/I	NTFS only: Performs a less vigorous check of index entries.
/C	NTFS only: Skips checking of cycles within the folder structure.

Though this is the first time i ever faced this problem while using this system for last 7 years, this problem mostly occurs in secondary or external harddisk if you have faced the same problem and fixed it do comment back.

Source: Technology Blog