HDD/MBR Corruption Fix

Fixing a corrupted external HDD/MBR (non SSD) for use on a Windows machine.

This is a step-by-step fix for hdd's that (through one way or another) became corrupt and unable to format and/or fails to be accessible.

Disclaimer:
I do not guarantee this method will work for everyone and I am not held responsible for any damages or data loss.
By following the steps below you are proceeding at your own risk

• 1. Download Ubuntu (May work with other Linux Distros)
• 2. Burn Ubuntu ISO to a CD or USB (either one should work)
• 3. Make a note of corrupted drive's Letter and Size
• 4. Remove working HDD and replace with corrupted HDD.
• 5. Restart computer and boot from Ubuntu CD/USB.
• 6. Install Ubuntu to corrupted HDD (full install)
• 7. Upon successful install of Ubuntu/Linux: Shutdown computer and replace working HDD.
• 8. Boot into Windows and connect the corrupted HDD.
• 10. From Windows search: Search Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions. A.K.A. Disk Management.
• 11. From within Disk Management look for the corrupted drive within the lower pane.
• 12. Right click on the corrupted drive and click New Simple Volume and follow the steps for creating NTFS/FAT32/extFAT, including a drive letter.

The reformatted corrupted drive should now show along side the C:\ drive within My Computer and be accessible.

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Final Note:

After searching the internet for an alternative fix for my corrupted drive I found the method listed above to be the best (FREE) solution.

Linux tends to be my go to software for correcting a lot of computer problems.
Typically software for windows that require some sort of payment and claims to fix your problem are more often filled with malware, spyware, or just don't offer the solution that opensource software/linux offers.

-Geist von P.A.