Unable to back up file(s) due to damaged source hard drive (code 1631)

Situation

A restore plan finishes with the following warning: Unable to back up file(s) due to damaged source hard drive. Some files from the backup dataset cannot be backed up due to source hard disk drive issues. These files are skipped and reported in the backup history

Cause

This situation happens when there is a bad spot on the media of your hard disk drive or on the hard disk drive of the computer where the network share is located.

Solutions

There are several solutions to this warning. First, try to fix your hard disk drive with CHKDSK command.

Check History to view affected files. If these files are located on a network share, exclude them from the backup dataset. Edit the backup source to exclude these files.

Fix Hard Disk Drive with CHKDSK Command

  1. In the Command Prompt execute the following command:

    CHKDSK /R

The "/R" parameter stands for "repair" and directs CHKDSK to check for disk physical and surface errors and repair them as best it can.

Consider, if this is your system drive (most often C:), the command will not run immediately, but will be scheduled for the next reboot. You'll need to reboot to make it happen.

  1. After CHKDSK is done, try running the backup plan again.

Even if CHKDSK repairs the problem, there are some doubts on how much you can trust the hard disk. You could still experience future failures. Given that disks are relatively inexpensive compared to data loss, we recommend to replace the drive, especially if this is not the first instance of an error.