How to Resolve Error 0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty Issue??

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  • Published on
    January 10th, 2020
  • Updated on
    February 20, 2021
  • Read Time
    11 minutes

Do you often receive a hard disk error while trying to perform a task? You should not take such errors so lightly. They may cause serious problems in due course. One such common hard disk error is, “0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty”. In this article, we will be discussing this dirty disk error in detail and also we will talk about a few potential solutions to troubleshoot this problem.

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Let us suppose you are in the middle of completing a task. And all of a sudden, you receive an error message something like this, “0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty”. I understand this would be so irritating for any computer user. This type of hard disk error usually occurs when you are trying to copy files on the hard disk or you are trying to delete files from the hard disk. What will you do if you receive this error message? What course of action will you take if you receive a message that says, “error 0x80071ac3 the operation could not be completed”?

Before I can explain this hard disk error in detail, let us read the complete error message:

An unexpected error is keeping you from copying the folder. If you continue to receive this error, you can use the error code to search for help with this problem.

Error 0x80071ac3: The operation could not be completed because the volume is dirty. Please run chkdsk and try again.

Error 0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty

This is one of the most common hard disk error messages you are likely to face while moving files from your computer system to any other storage media devices like external hard disk, SD card, flash drive, etc. Generally, this error message indicates that there is something preventing your computer system from accessing the disk drive. There are various reasons due to which you may receive this type of hard disk error.

  • This error message mostly occurs when your operating system cannot access files and other information due to some bad sectors on the hard disk.
  • It can also be caused by the ReadyBoost feature that may cause severe conflicting issues on your computer system.
  • If the USB port into which you are plugging in the external storage device is damaged, this may also result in error 0x80071ac3.
  • If you are using incomplete or faulty device drivers, you are likely to receive this error code – 0x80071AC3.
  • This error can pop up if you are using an old external drive.
  • And sometimes the reasons could be the system errors.

Now let us talk about the methods using which you can troubleshoot the error, “0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty”.

How to Troubleshoot this Hard Disk Error?

There are multiple solutions that can help you fix error 0x80071ac3 the operation could not be completed, such as

  • Solution 1: Run CHKDSK to Resolve 0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty
  • Solution 2: Fix the Error Using Command Prompt
  • Solution 3: Disable ReadyBoost Software
  • Solution 4: Plugin Drive to Another USB Port
  • Solution 5: Reinstall External Device Drivers
  • Solution 6: Enable Writing to the Drive from the Registry
  • Solution 7: Format External Storage Device

As suggested by the error message itself, we should try to fix the error message first by running CHKDSK, the Check Disk tool.

Method 1:- Run CHKDSK to Resolve 0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty

If the hard disk contains bad sectors, the operating system fails to access the files and other information. In such a situation, you are likely to receive the error 0x80071ac3 the operation could not be completed. The Check Disk (chkdsk) tool can help you resolve this dirty disk error. It determines the system errors and fixes them. By running the Check Disk tool, you can fix the issues with your hard disk or any external drive containing any bad sectors. Follow the steps given below to fix 0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty by running the Check Disk tool:

  • First, you need to open My Computer.
  • Then right-click the local drive (C: drive) or any other drive that is causing the error, and select Properties.
  • Now select the Tools tab, and click the Check Now button.
  • This will open the “Check Disk Local Disk (C:)” dialog box. Before you can actually start the process, select either or both of these actions:
    • Automatically fix file system errors to fix errors without scanning the bad sectors.
    • Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors to fix errors and scan the bad sectors.
  • After selecting the appropriate action(s), click the Start button. It will take some time.
  • Once the process is successfully completed, you will get a report of the errors which have been fixed during the process. If there is no report, this means no errors were found.

Note: You can also use the command prompt to run the Check Disk tool.

Scanning the hard disk for the errors using the Check Disk tool is a great way to fix error 0x80071ac3 the operation could not be completed. Unfortunately, if you are still receiving the same error, you should try to repair the bad sectors of the hard disk using Command Prompt.

Method 2:- Fix the Error Using Command Prompt

To determine if the “0x80071ac3 Volume is Dirty” error is really being caused by the bad sectors, you should run the Windows built-in CHKDSK utility. There is one more way to run the Check Disk tool so that you can scan every sector on the disk volume for the bad sectors. The Check Disk tool not only fixes the soft bad sectors but also marks the hard sectors as “bad” so that Windows does not use them anymore. To run the chkdsk utility using the command prompt (make sure you have the admin rights), follow the steps given below:

  • First, press Win+R keys to open the Run window.
  • Type cmd and click OK. This will open a command prompt.
  • On the Command Prompt window, you need to type the following command to fix the errors and scan the bad sectors:
    Chkdsk volume: /r
    Notes:
    • Instead of volume in the above command, type the letter of the drive you wish to repair. For example, type chkdsk C: /r.
    • The “/r” command is used to locate the bad sectors in the hard disk as well as to recover readable information.
  • Now hit Enter to start the scanning process.

Once the scanning process is successfully completed, you should try to perform the task again what you were trying to perform previously when you received the error. If you receive the same error again, try other solutions.

Method 3:- Disable ReadyBoost Software

ReadyBoost is a disk caching software component provided by Microsoft for Windows operating systems. Even a lot of USB drives also come with the built-in ReadyBoost Disk Caching feature. The main objective of this program is to improve the performance of the storage devices. But sometimes it can cause the error “0x80071ac3 volume is dirty” when you are trying to move files to the drive. In such a situation, you should try to fix this hard disk error by disabling the ReadyBoost Disk Caching feature. To do that, follow the steps given below:

  • First, you need to locate the affected external storage device on your computer. Press Win+E to open the File Explorer.
  • There you will find the storage device you have connected to your computer. Right-click it and select Properties.
  • Now click the ReadyBoost tab and select the option “Do not use this device”.
  • Then click Apply > OK to save the changes.

Now try to perform the same action what you were performing earlier when you received that hard disk error. If you do not receive any such error, it is good. But if the error still appears, maybe the real cause is something else. We have a few more solutions left what we can try here.

Method 4:- Plugin Drive to Another USB Port

You can also receive the error 0x80071ac3 the operation could not be completed if the USB port into which you are plugging in the external storage device is damaged. The best way to determine if the USB port is really damaged, you can use a different USB port to plug in the external drive. If it fixes the error, this means the initial USB port is damaged. But if you are still receiving the same hard disk error, you should try updating the driver.

Method 5-: Reinstall External Device Drivers

If the device drivers are faulty or outdated, you are likely to receive this dirty disk error message 0x80071ac3. You should uninstall the existing drivers and reinstall the new drivers to see if this can resolve the problem. You can do that by using the Device Manager settings. Follow the steps given below:

  • First, go to the Windows menu by pressing Win+X keys. Then select Device Manager.
  • Now you need to expand the content of the Disk Drives section. Find the affected drive, right-click it and select Uninstall.
  • You will be prompted for permission. Click OK.
  • Now you need to disconnect the device from the computer.
  • Then restart your computer and insert the disk drive again.
  • To go to the Device Manager, repeat the first step.
  • On the Device Manager window, click Action and select Scan for Hardware Changes.
  • Now Windows will reinstall the external drive and its drivers.

Once the process is successfully completed, you should reconnect the external drive and check whether the dirty disk error has been fixed or not. If it is still occurring, you should try the next solutions.

Method 6:- Enable Writing to the Drive from the Registry

Maybe your Windows registry is not allowed to write to the external drive, and that is why you are receiving this hard disk error. You should try to resolve this issue by enabling writing to the drive from the Windows Registry. To do that, you need to follow the steps given below:

  • First, press Win+R keys to open the Run window.
  • Then type RegEdit and click OK. This will open the Registry Editor window.
  • Here you need to locate the below subkey in the left pane:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
  • You will see the option “WriteProtect” in the right pane. Double-click it.
  • This will open the String Value dialog box. You will see that the current value is 1. That is why writing to the drive has been disabled.
  • To enable writing to the drive, replace the value 0 with 1. Click OK to save the changes.

By simply changing the value from 0 to 1, you can enable writing to the drive and successfully eliminate the error.

Method 7:- Format External Storage Device

If the solutions suggested above do not work, then you have to format the external storage device as a last resort. To do that, you need to follow the steps given below:

  • First, connect your External storage device to your computer.
  • Now open the Windows Explorer by pressing Win+E. Then go to My Computer.
  • Right-click the external hardware and select Format.
  • Before you start the formatting, do not forget to select the option “Restore device defaults”.
  • Click Start, and then click Yes to confirm the process.

This process may take some time depending on the size of the external storage device. Once the formatting process is successfully completed, you will receive a confirmation message. Now when you connect this external storage device to your computer, you will not receive any error message.

Keep in mind that if you format the drive, it will remove everything from it. It will also overwrite the data and thus making it impossible to recover your data from the drive. In such a situation, if you have taken a backup of your data, you can restore them from the backup file. But if there is no backup, you should consider using a professional data recovery tool. There are many vendors in the online marketplace that provide data recovery software. I would recommend you to use the Removable Media Data Recovery tool provided by SysInfo Software. Download the free demo version of this software to check the preview of your recovered data.

Conclusion

The article has explained several methods to fix the error 0x80071AC3: volume is dirty. The error can occur due to various reasons, and it can be fixed within a few minutes. I hope the first 5 solutions will help you fix the error 0x80071ac3 the operation could not be completed. Unluckily, if nothing works for you, formatting the drive is the only option you are left with. You can format the drive and recover its data using the professional solution recommended at the end of the article.

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