---
id: external-drives.first-aid-cant-repair-my-external-drive
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/first-aid-cant-repair-my-external-drive
category: "External drives"
subcategory: "Mounting and drive problems"
question: "What should I do if First Aid can't repair my external drive?"
alt_questions:
  - "First Aid failed external drive"
  - "Disk Utility couldn't repair disk"
  - "First Aid process has failed Mac external"
  - "External drive can't be repaired what now?"
  - "fsck failed external disk mac"
short_answer: "Copy everything you need off the drive while it still mounts, stop writing to it, then erase it and run First Aid again. If errors return on a freshly erased drive, the hardware is likely failing and should be replaced."
tags: ["first aid", "repair", "data recovery"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-run-first-aid-on-an-external-drive", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/my-fast-drive-is-failing-what-should-i-do", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/how-do-i-make-a-backup-of-my-fast-drive"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What should I do if First Aid can't repair my external drive?

Treat the drive as untrustworthy: copy everything you need off it now, while it still mounts, then erase it and test it before trusting it again. A file system that First Aid can't repair can lose more data the longer you keep writing to it.

Steps:

1. **Don't write anything new to the drive.** Close apps using it.
2. Copy your important files to another drive. If the drive is read-only after the failure, copying off it still works.
3. Erase the drive in Disk Utility (select the top-level device, **Erase**, APFS), then run First Aid again.
4. If errors return on a freshly erased drive, the hardware is likely failing — replace it.

If the drive held things Storage Studio moved, see [what to do when your fast drive is failing](https://storagestudio.us/faq/external-drives/my-fast-drive-is-failing-what-should-i-do) before erasing anything, so you bring those items back first.