When I try to run CHKDSK on my external hard drive, it crashes my entire system. I suspect it might be due to corruption on the drive or hardware issues, but I’m not sure. Has anyone experienced this or know how to fix it? Any help would be appreciated! 
Thanks in advance
Your drive seems to be severely corrupted or maybe the hardware issues are causing the system to crash during CHKDSK. I also have faced a similar issue so I would suggest first try connecting the drive to another system to check if it behaves the same. If it does, avoid running CHKDSK again, as it could worsen the issue. Instead of it focus on recovering your data you try Stellar free data recovery tool before going for the paid one to recover your data. Once you’ve saved what you can then run the WD diagnostic tool to confirm if the drive is failing. If it’s beyond repair, replacing in my opinion is the safest option.
