[Fix] Insufficient Disk Space to Repair Master File Table(MFT) Mirror

Scenario

CHKDSK stopped on corecting errors in the master file table mirror

Hi, I have an external hard drive that functions well, but it sometimes switches off in the middle of action. So I decided to run a chkdsk command. It went well until the end where I got the error:

Correcting errors in the Master File Table (MFT) mirror, insufficient disk space to repair master files table (MFT) mirror. chkdsk aborted.

And the checking process stop. What does that mean? How to fix it?

- Question from www.techsupportforum.com

What is master file table?

Master File Table, which is used to record files’ attributes, including file names, access permission, content, on an NTFS partition/volume. It decides how to handle NTFS files related to the Master File Tables. When you create on NTFS drive, its information will be recorded on its MFT. And the MFT will be changed or marked free as you modify or delete the file.

Sometimes, you will recieve error showing master file table is corrupted. For example, when you check a drive that contains corrupted master file tables by running CHKDSK command, it will send you a message saying correcting errors in the Master File Table (MFT) mirror, insufficient disk space to repair master files table (MFT) mirror. chkdsk aborted. And sometimes, you are not allowed to access the related files, and prompts you the parameter is incorrect.

Then follow the next part, we will help you out of the issue.

Solutions for insufficient disk space to repair master file table mirror?

When the chkdsk stuck on correcting error in the master file table mirror, we can still have a try to run CHKDSK again in Windows recovery environment. If it does not work out, we afraid you need to reformat the hard drive to rebuild the master file table.

Method 1. Run CHKDSK.exe in recovery mode

Step 1. Restart your computer.

Step 2. When you see the Windows logo, press “Shift + F8” to immediately.

Step 3. Choose “Advanced Options” and “Troubleshoot”, then select “Command Prompt”

Step 4. When Command Prompt is launched, run CHKDSK again. It might get the issue fixed.

✍Note: If your PC is not bootable, you can prepare a USB or CD media to create a WinPE bootable repair tool. And enter BIOS to boot your PC from it. Then run the checking command.

Method 2. Format the hard drive to rebuild master file table

If the "insiffucient disk space to repair MFT mirror" error is still there when you run CHKDSK in Windows recovery environment, you can reformat the hard drive to repair master file table. There are lots of formatting tools, but AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is more suitable for this circumstance. It helps you easily and quickly format a hard drive to NTFS or FAT32, exFAT or other file systems in Windows.

More importantly, it allows you to clone the hard drive to another drive or USB flash drive to make a backup. When the formatting process is finished, you can copy back the hard drive, so you don’t lose any data.

Step 1. Open AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click on the drive that has the MFT error.

Step 2. Choose a file system, and click “OK”.

Step 3. And click “Apply” and “Proceed” buttons to start the repairing.

Conclusion

This is how to deal with “insufficient disk space to repair master file table(MFT) mirror”. You can firstly run CHKDSK in recovery mode to fix master file table, If you can't enter recovery mode, or the disk contains OS files, AOMEI Partition Assistant can help you create a bootable media to check the hard drive.  Or format the hard drive to rebuild the master file table with it.

Besides, AOMEI Partition Assistant supports many other feature for managing hard drive, such as create partition, delete partition, merge partition, rebuild MBR. And you can upgrade to the Professional edition to have more advanced features, like dynamic disk management, change serial number.