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How to Open E01 File in FTK Imager (Failed)? Complete Guide

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Published By Deepmala Pandey
Published On December 18th, 2023
Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading
Category How to

E01 files play an important role in digital forensics investigation to carve out crucial evidence. But, as a forensics professional if you’re unable to view the contents of the disk image file then it could jeopardize the whole investigation. If you’re someone who’s trying to open E01 file in FTK imager but getting an error message or failing to do so. Then, you’ve opened the right article. Here, you’ll find an alternative approach to open E01 file without the requirement of FTK imager. Stay tuned till the end.

What is FTK Imager?

At times, forensics examiners need to create forensic images of storage devices such as hard drives, USB drives, and other devices. They do the same with the help of an FTK imager, a forensics software, to acquire and analyze evidence from computer systems.

It stores the images in E01 file format. If you have E01 files for investigation, then you should know how to open E01 file in FTK imager. First of all, you must have FTK imager installed on your system otherwise you won’t open the files. However, in the same context, we’ve seen unanswered queries floating on forensics discussion forums. Have a look at some of those queries.

“I created an E01 file of a hard drive of a computer earlier. But, when I’m trying to open the same on FTK imager, it’s showing the error message INVALID EVIDENCE FILE. I’m currently finding other ways to resolve the issue in the meantime does anyone have any suggestions?”
“Hey everyone, I applying different methods on how to open E01 file in FTK imager for copying some files. I used the image mounting function, well they mounted but cannot be opened. So, I tried changing the mounting method to block device/read only and eventually got an error message saying ADD DRIVE FAILED. Now, I am confused how to properly open E01 file. Any suggestion is appreciated.”

After going through such queries, we noticed that most of them have the same issue. They tried to open E01 file in FTK imager but it failed. Thus, we decided to share a one-stop solution that can resolve the issue instantly. 

One-Stop Solution to Open E01 File Without FTK Imager

Free sources often work to an extent after that they keep showing problems, in this case, error messages. That’s why it’s recommended to invest in a professional E01 Viewer Tool to have an error-free experience in opening E01 files.

Purchase Now

Besides you can get various advantages after purchasing the tool.

  • You’ll be able to open not just one but multiple E01 files.
  • It will let you preview the E01 file metadata for 20 different file formats.
  • You’ll be able to search the exact content you’re looking for through the filter option.
  • You can even analyze email data.

Just install the software on your device and follow the guidelines. That’s how you can open E01 file using the tool.

open E01 file without FTK Imager

Aren’t you curious to know what could have gone wrong and why the users couldn’t open E01 in FTK Imager? Let’s know the reasons.

Possible Reasons For Not Opening E01 File in FTK Imager

There might be different reasons for FTK imager failing to open an E01 file. Here are some probable reasons:

  1. In the process of creating a new E01 file, the file might get corrupted or incomplete. 
  2. There might be insufficient permissions to access the E01 file. If it is saved in a restricted location then you won’t be able to open the file properly.
  3. The FTK imager version might not be compatible with the E01 file you’re working on. Compatibility mismatch could create issues.
  4. Sometimes not enough disk space for processing large forensic images could be the reason for not opening E01 file in FTK imager.
  5. If the path where you saved the E01 file has any special characters, spaces, etc then it could lead to errors. 
  6. From a technical point of view, if the hash value such as (MD5. SHA-1, SHA-256) has been tampered with then it may result in creating issues when opening E01 file in FTK imager.
  7. There might system issue (precisely the operating system issue) might be the reason for getting an error while opening the E01 file.

Key Takeaways

Most forensics investigators search how to open E01 file in FTK imager. However, after attempting the same they receive different errors and fails to open the file accurately. That’s why we suggested an alternate solution that can effectively help users open and view the E01 file content without any problem.