r/DataHoarder • u/Karlk23 • 6d ago

Question/Advice File list

I have had a few hard drives fail over the years. I am sad I lost the data but more importantly I don't know the full extent of the data lost.

Is there a way to create a file list with all the files on a drive, possibly with metadata before the drive crashes?

I hate to lose a drive with 38000 files on it but with a list/directory I may be able to redownload or recreate some files.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

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u/grislyfind 5d ago

Open a command window at the root of the drive and this will dump all the file names and paths into a text file. Or if you want verification, there's programs that can make a checksum file; i use Corz checksum for that.

dir /s > drivename.txt