Fix: Error 0x800701E3 on Windows 7, 8.1, 10
Several users are encountering the 0x800701E3 when performing a hard disk / SD card operation that involves copying or moving files on a Windows computer. In most cases, the issue is reported to occur when the user tries to move files from one hard drive to another. Other users report that the issue is occurring when they try to clean install Windows 10 or a different Windows version. Looking at the status code, the 0x800701E3 error DEVICE_HARDWARE_ERROR, “The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error.”
/>0x800701E3 — DEVICE_HARDWARE_ERROR, “The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error.”
What is causing the 0x800701e3 error code?
Unfortunately, this particular issue is associated with a serious hardware problem that usually can’t be fixed. Most of the time, the issue is a surefire sign that the drive is failing. Upon seeing this message, your first stop should be to recover as much data as possible before it’s not too late.
You can use this article (here) for two recovery solutions that will allow you to retrieve data from a faulty disk.
Update: As it turns out, the error message might also be caused by a failing peripheral like a SATA cable or an SD card adapter. You might also see a false positive if you get this error while trying to clean install a Windows version from an installation media creating through unofficial channels.
But even if the 0x800701e3 error is an obvious sign that the drive is failing, we managed to find a few workarounds that will allow you to circumvent the error message and complete the data transfer.
Since not every method will be applicable to your scenario, we advise you to follow the potential workarounds in the order that they are presented and skip the ones that are not applicable to your scenario.
Method 1: Dealing with bad sectors
If you’re seeing the 0x800701E3 error when trying to clean install a Windows version, it’s probably because your HDD contains too many bad sectors. There are a couple of built-in utilities that are capable of fixing bad sectors to some degree.
Some affected users have reported that they were able to complete the installation without the 0x800701E3 error after performing CHKDSK and SFC scans on the affected drive. Here’s how to do this:
- Start your computer and press any key to boot from the installation media while the prompt is showing. Press any key to boot from installation media
- At the initial Windows installation screen, click on Repair your computer. Choosing Repair your computer from Windows Setup
- Inside the Advanced Options menu, go to Troubleshoot and then click on Command Prompt. Opening Command Prompt
- In the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter to run a CHKDSK scan on the affected drive:
If this method was not applicable or didn’t resolve the issue, move down to the next method below.
Method 2: Disabling Secure boot
Some affected users have reported that the 0x800701E3 error was no longer occurring during a clean installation of Windows after they disabled Secure boot from UEFI/BOOT.
Secure boot is an industry standard that was developed by the biggest manufacturers in the PC industry to ensure that the PCs are using software exclusively from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). However, this security feature is known to create problems with installation media created outside of the official channels (using Rufus and other similar software).
Here’s a quick guide on disabling Secure boot:
- Press the Setup (Boot key) repeatedly after powering up your machine (during the initial bootup sequence). Press the BIOS key during the startup procedure
If you’re still seeing the same error message or this method wasn’t applicable to your current scenario, move down to the next method below.
Method 3: Changing the connection cable/card adapter
This error is typically indicative to an electronic problem inside the hardware/ SD card enclosure. However, there are some cases where the issue was actually caused by a peripheral like a SATA cable or an SD card adapter.
If possible, change the connectivity cable / SD card adapter and check if the issue is still occurring.
In the event that this method is not applicable to your current scenario, move down to the next method below.
Method 4: Retrying the operation over & over again
If the data you are trying to copy or move is very important, you might be able to recover bits and pieces by retrying the process over and over again.
And instead of copying / moving all the files at once, try to move the data separately and see if you are successful.
Several affected users have reported that they were able to gradually copy the data that was previously failing with the 0x800701e3 error by copying data individually and retrying multiple times until the transfer was successful.
But keep in mind that this method is only effective with failing SD cards. And even then, it will only work as long as whole sections of the chip inside are not failing.
If this method is not applicable, move down to the next method below.
Method 5: Using a third party software to recover data
There are a few specialized software that will help you recover data in cases where traditional transfer attempts fail. Most of this software is designed to try different coping strategies, retry and skip the blocks that are beyond transferable.
We tried different free recovery software and we can recommend any of the following:
- DDRescue
- Unstoppable Copier
- Disk Drill
But for the sake of keeping things simple, we’re going to feature a recovery guide with Unstoppable Copier since it’s widely regarded as the most reliable recovery feature out of the bunch. Here’s how to use it:
- Visit this link (here), select your Windows version and hit the Download button to commence the download of the installer. Downloading Unstoppable Copier’s installer
- Open the installation executable and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation of Unstoppable Copier. Installing Unstoppable Copier
- Once the installation is complete, launch Unstoppable Copier and agree with the End User Licence Agreement. Accepting the User Agreement
- Inside Unstoppable Copier, go to the Copy tab and set the failing drive as the Source. Then, set a healthy drive as the Target. Then, simply hit the Copy button to commence the transfer. Transferring data with Unstoppable Copier
Error 0x800701E3 on Windows 10/8.1/7-It’s Easy to Fix [Partition Manager]
Many users complain about they encounter error 0x800701E3 when trying to copy or move files on a Windows computer. Have you come across this annoying error? In today’s article, MiniTool Solution will walk you through with several top troubleshooting methods to fix error 0x800701E3.
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About Error 0x800701E3
There are two cases many users reported when error 0x800701E3 occurs.
Case One
Error 0x800701E3 often occurs when performing a hard disk or SD card operation that involves copying or moving documents or files from a hard disk or SD card. In most scenarios, users will receive an error message saying that “Error 0x800701E3: The requested failed due to a fatal device hardware error.”
Here is what a user described his problem with error 0x800701E3 on the WD community.>
Case Two
In addition, some others also reported that they encountered error 0x800701E3 and failed to upgrade Windows. To solve this problem, some users tried to format their hard drive, but still received an error:” Windows cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x800701E3«.
A user posted his issue on Tenforums:
Possible Causes for the Error 0x800701E3
According to the reports we gathered from major forums and communities, there are several possible causes for this particular error 0x800701E3:
- The error code 0x800701E3 may be an indicator that there are bad sectors or errors on your hard drive.
- Besides, the error 0x800701E3 in Windows 10 might be caused by a failing peripheral like a SATA cable or an SD card adapter. You may encounter this error when trying to clean install a Windows version from Windows 10 media creation tool via unauthorized channels.
- A number of conflicting components including Network, CPU, Disk and even more make the process of Windows 10 installation intensive. So, you may end up seeing error 0x800701E3.
What You Need to Do Before Fixing the Error 0x800701E3
As we mentioned above, this particular error 0x800701E3 is associated with a serious hardware problem that may not be fixed. In other words, the first step you should do is to back up your hard drive as soon as possible to protect your data before it’s not too late.
Here it is highly recommended that you back up your hard drive with MiniTool Partition Wizard. This is a marvelous tool that boasts many powerful features like rebuild MBR, extend partition and so forth. Let’s start from coping disk to back up your hard drive.
There are also users reported that they lost some part of data when they failed to copy or remove files for the error 0x800701E3. As for this problem, you can read this article to find your lost data back.
Even though the 0x800701E3 error code gives you an obvious sign that the hard drive is going to fail, there are still some accessible methods we have explored that can help you to circumvent the error and complete the file transfer.
Solution 1. Run CHKDSK Scan and SFC Scan to Fix Error 0x800701E3
If you encounter 0x800701E3 when attempting to clean a Windows installation, it may because your hard drive contains many bad sectors or errors. There are a couple of Windows built-in utilities that enable you to fix bad sectors and errors to some extent.
The first built-in utility is to run the CHKDSK scan. This method helped some users to troubleshoot error 0x800701E3. Here is how to do this:
Step 1. Power down your computer and reboot your computer from your Windows 10 installation USB drive/DVD disc.
Step 2. When the Install Now prompt screen appears, click on Repair your computer.
Step 3. In the pop-up window, navigate to the Advanced Options menu and go to the Troubleshoot menu. Then click on Command Prompt inside Advanced options.
Step 4. In the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter to start running CHKDSK scan on the affected hard drive: chkdsk /f D: (Note: D: is the drive letter of the affected hard drive). This command will scan and repair missing or corrupted system files.
Step 5. Once the chkdsk command is finished, type the following command and hit Enter to run an SFC (System File Checker) scan: sfc /scannow. This process will take some time to complete.
Step 6. After the SFC scan is completed, you can retry to clean the Windows installation and check if error 0x800701E3 still persists in this process.
If this solution fails to get rid of the error 0x800701E3 in Windows 10, move on to the next solution.
Windows could not format a partition? Error 0x80070057 appears when reinstalling Windows 7/8/10? Never mind, for you will get perfect solutions here.
Solution 2. Run DISM Command to Fix Error 0x800701E3
DISM is a built-in command-line that helps you install and update Windows features, drivers and so forth. Here are detailed steps about this solution:
Step 1. Press Win + R keys to call out the Run dialog box. Then type cmd in the box and hit Shift + Ctrl + Enter to open an elevated command prompt that grants you an administrator privilege.
Step 2. Inside the elevated command prompt, type the following three commands sequentially and hit Enter one by one.
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
These DISM commands will take some time to complete.
Step 3. Once these commands finish running, restart your computer and check if 0x800701E3 error code still appears.
The first three methods can help you deal with the bad sectors of the affected hard drive. If these methods all failed to get rid of this error, you can try the next method.
Solution 3. Change the Connectivity Cable/SD Card Adapter
As we mentioned above, error 0x800701E3 may be caused by electronic problems inside hard disk or SD card enclosure, which result from the failing peripheral like a SATA cable or an SD card adapter.
So, you can change the connectivity cable/SD card to check whether there are electronic problems if possible.
Well, if this method is not agreeable for your current scenario, you can move on to the next method.
Solution 4. Disable Secure Boot to Fix Error 0x800701E3
It is reported that many Windows users troubleshoot the error 0x800701E3 with a clean installation of Windows after disabling the Secure Boot.
The Secure Boot was designed to ensure that your PC is using the software exclusively from Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). But this exclusive security feature also brings new problems with installation media created outside the official channels.
To solve this problem, you can follow this full tutorial on disabling Secure Boot.
Step 1. The first step you need to do is to Enter BIOS. You can press the Boot keys repeatedly during the initial boot sequence.
Step 2. Once you enter into the BIOS window, navigate to a security feature named Secure Boot by pressing the left-right and up-down keys. Then set Secure Boot to Disabled.
Note: The extract name and location may vary among different manufacturers. Usually, you can find it inside the Security tab. Well, there are also many Windows users find it inside the Boot or Authentication tab.
Step 3. Save the changes and exit the BIOS settings window. Then you can try to install Windows 10 and check if this error still persists.
This method may be helpful for you. But please bear in mind that it may be difficult to re-active Secure Boot without restoring your PC to the factory state after disabling Secure Boot. Thus, it is highly recommended that you back up your Windows timely and be careful when changing BIOS settings.
If you want to make your Windows 10 look like Windows 7, you come to the right place. Here are the top 8 ways to satisfy your needs.
Solution 5. Restore Your Windows to an Earlier Time to Fix Error 0x800701E3
As a user described his problem on TensForums, he encountered this error message after failing to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. So, there is an alternative to get rid of the error 0x800701E3 by restoring your Windows to an earlier time.
Here are detailed steps you can follow.
Step 1. You need to start your computer and log on as an administrator.
Step 2. Click the Start menu at the bottom left. Then click on All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then click System Restore one by one.
Step 3. In the pop-up window, select “Restore my computer to an earlier time” option and click Next.
Step 4. Inside the new window, you can select the recommended restore point or other different restore point and click on Next. Here it is recommended that you choose the most recent store point.
Step 5. Restart your computer when the restoration is finished.
Final Words
Right now, I believe you have already known how to fix error 0x800701E3 and some useful tips. Hope this post can really solve your problem.
Welcome to leave your good ideas in the following comment area. Or if you have any questions, you can send an email to [email protected] . Much appreciated!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Position: Columnist
Ariel is an enthusiastic IT columnist focusing on partition management, data recovery, and Windows issues. She has helped users fix various problems like PS4 corrupted disk, unexpected store exception error, the green screen of death error, etc. If you are searching for methods to optimize your storage device and restore lost data from different storage devices, then Ariel can provide reliable solutions for these issues.
https://appuals. com/fix-error-0x800701e3-on-windows-7-8-1-10/
https://www. partitionwizard. com/partitionmanager/error-0x800701e3.html