Member Avatar for foley

I can't defrag, error message says "drive contains one or more backup copies of FAT, the copies should be identical but aren't scan disk for errors but can't fix the problem, I haven't done any backups I wouldn't know how I can't Defrag and have re-formatted my hard drive twice but the problem remains,. What do you reckon I should do. Cheers!............Graham

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Important first step: because noted no backups and ScanDisk could not repair the mismatch, preserve user data before any destructive action. If the system still boots, copy Documents, Desktop and other important folders to an external USB drive, a network share, or burnable CD/DVD. If Windows will not start, boot a rescue/live CD or USB and copy files. If the disk shows read errors, make a block-level image to another drive (GNU ddrescue is a standard choice) and run repairs against the image, not the original media.

Try non‑destructive fixes before repartitioning. TestDisk (Windows/Linux) can inspect FAT structures, rebuild boot sectors and offer options to repair or synchronize the primary and backup FAT — run it against an image if the drive is flaky. On Linux, the dosfsck/fsck.vfat tool will try to reconcile FAT copies; for example: dosfsck -a /dev/sdXN (replace sdXN with the actual device). These tools are often more effective than GUI defraggers for low‑level FAT inconsistencies.

Check for hardware causes. Mismatched FAT copies frequently follow write errors or a failing disk head. Run SMART/self‑test and vendor diagnostics (SeaTools, WD Data Lifeguard, etc.); watch for reallocated or pending sectors. If SMART shows problems, plan to replace the drive even if repairs temporarily succeed.

As suggested, deleting and recreating the partition will clear the inconsistency but destroys data, so treat that as last resort after a good backup or image. GUI “one‑click” utilities like the one mentioned may be convenient, but low‑level filesystem utilities and SMART checks give clearer diagnostics and safer recovery paths.

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Member Avatar for DMR

The FAT/FAT32 filesystems automatically create a backup File Allocation Table in case the primary FAT gets corrupted. Of course, as you're seeing, the implementaion isn't entirely perfect.

If a reformat didn't clear things up:

1. Get a bootable floppy with fdisk on it.
2. Boot from that and use fdisk to delete the existing partition entirely.
3. Reboot to write the changes to the partition table(s).
4. Use fdisk again to create a new partition.
5. Reboot again, reinstall the OS, and see if the problem is gone.

Member Avatar for NonitoAV

I your problem is can't defrag, just refer to pc health advisor, and it will show you. Can directly defrag your pc.
Everything happen in terms of defragmenting.

Edited by NonitoAV because: n/a
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