How to Fix External Hard Drive I / O Device Errors in Windows 11/10

A very frustrating error that many Windows users keep reporting is the I / O device error. I / O stands for Input / Output. So an I / O device error means there is a problem with reading / writing to / from your hard drive. This error appears on devices like USB, external hard drive, HDD, SDD, DVD, CD, etc. Once this error appears, you will not be able to copy data to or from this device.

There are many reasons why you might be getting an I / O device error. Try the listed methods one after the other to fix your problem.

Method 1: change the driver letter

Step 1: right click about Windows icon and then click File Browser option.

Paso 2: The right button of the mouse about This PC from the left panel from the window first and then click Show more options.

Paso 3: In the expanding menu, click Manage option.

Stage 4: As below, under Storage tab, click Disk management option.

At right window panel, find the Disc section for your hard drive and the right button of the mouse in that. From the right-click context menu, click on the option that says Change the drive letter and roads.

Paso 5: As below, click the Change in the window that follows.

Paso 6: Click the drop-down menu associated with the option button Assign the following drive letter and choose a new letter for your drive. Click on OK button once done.

Method 2: Run the disk repair scan

Paso 1: Click on the Search on the taskbar.

Paso 2: In the search window that appears below, type cmd and click on the Execute as an administrator option.

Paso 3: As below, copy get the following command and press Get into to run the CHKDSK scan.

chkdsk /f <Drive_Letter_of_Hard_Disk_Drive>:

Note: don’t forget to replace with the actual drive letter of your hard drive showing the error.

Method 3: update the device driver

Paso 1: Start the To run window pressing keys Win y R together. Write devmgmt.msc and hit the OK button.

Paso 2: When the Device administrator the window opens, expand the section Disk drives Y the right button of the mouse in you HDD.

From the right-click context menu, click the option Update driver.

Paso 3: In the window that follows, click on the option that says Search for drivers automatically.

That’s it. Wait for the process to finish and check if your issue is resolved after that.

Method 4: reinstall the device driver

Paso 1: As in the previous method, start Device Manager through the Run window.

For that, open To run window pressing Win + R keys together. Once it opens, copy and paste devmgmt.msc and hit Get into wrench.

Paso 2: In the Device Manager window, expand the section Disk drives. The right button of the mouse about him HDD and click Uninstall device option.

Paso 3: When the uninstall confirmation window appears, click the Uninstall button.

If you are still having trouble with this, send us a message in the comment section. Thank you for reading.