A rather uncommon error that can show up on your screen while running Windows 10 on your PC is error 0x800701E3. This error occurs while you are moving files from the main computer storage to an external hard drive.
It is shown when a text saying “Error 0x800701E3: The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error.” is displayed on a pop-up bar on your PC screen. This usually happens due to a faulty external hard disk or SSD.
If you want to learn how to fix this error from popping up on your screen, read the step-by-step guide below to do so. This guide will make sure that the error 0x800701E3 is fixed on your external drive and PC.
Step 1
The first step is to check the WD External HDD. You can do this by employing the WD Utility. This checks the condition of your WD External HDD. However, in the case that there is physical damage to the WD External HDD, you might want to seek the help of a trained professional technician.
Moreover, if you are not willing to erase any data while you work on the issue at hand, it is a better idea to seek professional help instead of losing the data you would want to keep. The WD utility will give you an insightful check of the HDD.
Step 2
The next step in the process after you have run a thorough check on the HDD would be to run the CHKDSK utility. Under the CHKDSK utility, the WD external HDD will be scanned for faults, and any found faults will be solved by troubleshooting.
To run this check on your PC, you have to follow the given steps:
- The first step is to type the “cmd” command in the search bar and right-click on the Command Prompt button. You will notice that a droplist will appear.
- The next step is to find and select “Run as Administrator” from the dropbox that appeared in the previous step.
- Next, you have to type this command in the bar: chkdsk [
[[ ] ]] [/f] [/v] [/r] [/x] [/i] [/c] [/l[: ]] [/b] - Now, press enter.
- Make sure that any issues have been resolved before you continue with your work on the PC.
- If not, you can start to work on the next step in the process to fix the Error 0x800701E3.
Step 3
For the next step, you need to run a scan on the PC. this scan is known as the System File Checker or the SFC scan. This scan enables you to check for any corrupt files on the PC by scanning every file in the computer storage, repairing them to fix all the faults on the Pc due to them.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to run an SFC scan
- The first step is to type “cmd” in the search bar.
- Next, you need to press the command prompt button. This will give you a drop list of options.
- In the window that says “command prompt,” you have to type “sfc /scannow.”
- For the last step of the process, you have to ensure by checking whether the error has been fixed or not.
Step 4
Next, that is if the error is still present, it might be possible that there is an issue with the initialization of the disk. At this point, it must be considered that the disk will be run again, and there is a high chance that at this point, some data that was unsaved be lost to the initialization.
The steps to perform this task can be done from the Windows page. However, you must remain cautious of the fact that you may lose some data from the initialization of the disk. If you are comfortable with that idea, you can run the initialization of the disk.
Step 5
The last step should be the final fix to your issue. That is, if you are doing all of this yourself. If you end up seeking the help of a trained professional, everything might go completely differently. Since this error is so rare, these trained professionals spend more time on them.
Also, if your data has been lost during this time, you can approach a third-party team and call for the recovery of lost data. Many names are talked about online when it comes to trustworthy third-party that are the safest and work the best.
The third party of your choosing will work by doing the following steps.
- First, they will take away the hard drive. They will ask for it so that they can check it thoroughly in a lab.
- This deep examination will result in the team of the third party recognizing the faults and knicks in the drive and running troubleshooting to fix it.
- Once all the troubleshooting is complete, the hard disk is sent for getting cloned by data cloning while sticking to their rules of privacy and security.
Other causes of the error
We know that Error 0x800701E3: The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error.” This usually happens due to a faulty external hard disk or SSD. As stated above, if all of those steps are followed to no avail, it might be possible that there is not a problem in the targeted area, but the error is being caused by some other factor.
Here are some other causes that might cause Error 0x800701E3:
- Cable connections are loose.
- You are in a bad sector of the WD external HDD
- You have hardware that has become more damaged physically, causing the error
- The SATA cable or other thighs like the SD card adapter, failing peripherals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if “Error 0x800701E3: The request failed due to a fatal device hardware” was to pop up on your desktop while you are trying to transfer files from the computer storage to the external hard drive, it is easy to do it yourself.
There are certain checks and commands you can run to scan and troubleshoot any problem on the PC. However, it is essential that, if need be, you seek the help of a trained professional who can also fix this error and protect your data from being lost.
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