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3 October 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Recovering data from corrupted USB flash drives is possible using specialized data recovery tools and services. It's crucial not to format the corrupted drive before attempting recovery, as this can reduce the chances of success. One recommended tool for Windows users is Renee Undeleter, known for its reliability, user-friendliness, and reasonable pricing. The software offers a free trial that allows recovery of up to 500MB of data.



Table of contents

table iconHow to Recover data from Corrupted USB Drives?
table iconHow to Fix Corrupted Flash Drives?
table iconSigns And Reasons of Flash Drive Corruption
table iconConclusion
Data recovery from corrupted USB Flash drives is still possible. Special data recovery tools and services can help you retrieve your files and folders. You can also try to recover your flash drive yourself. This might be a little trickier, but if you can work your way around computers, you will manage well.
Formatting is required to use the error message
A corrupted USB drive is a type of logical error in Windows. This occurs when the file system metadata on the USB flash drive is damaged, causing Windows to fail in loading the list of files and folders and prompting a “Do you want to format it?” error. Despite this, it is often still possible to recover the files and folders from the drive with a high success rate.
Your computer may prompt you to format your corrupted flash drive! Do not do this before recovering files, as this will make data recovery much harder and will decrease chances for success.

How to Recover data from Corrupted USB Drives?

Method 1: Data Recovery Software

After testing many different services for data recovery on Windows, we highly recommend Renee Undeleter as the tool to recover data from corrupted USB drives. We have intensively tested it and found it to be reliable, intuitive, and fair-priced. Although Renee Undeleter runs on a payment model, it also offers a free trial that allows you to recover up to 500MB of data.
Renee Undeleter is designed to retrieve your files no matter what file system your USB drive was formatted with. Even if there’s no recognizable file system at all, it can still apply its powerful signature scanning algorithms to accurately and quickly recognize over 500 different file formats. Whether you accidentally delete important files, empty the recycle bin, or format the disk/storage, this tool can retrieve lost data. For formatted partition, Renee Undeleter scans the whole partition and lists all files. Especially for the formatted partition or inaccessible issue.
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!

Step 1: Download(Windows, MacOS), install, and open Renee Undeleter, and select (Whole Partition Scan) which is suitable for “Formatted data recovery” and “Memory card data recovery”.
Note: Do not install Renee Undeleter in the disk where data is lost to avoid data overwriting.
select whole partition scan in renee undeleter to recover deleted video from sd card
Data Recovery Function
Fast Partition Scan – Retrieve files lost from accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
Whole Partition Scan – Recover files from inaccessible or formatted partitions.
Whole Disk Scan – Analyze partition information and perform a full scan of the entire partition.
Image Creation – Create an image of a partition to back up its current state.
Step 2: Select the Formatted partition where the files are lost, and click (Next).
Renee Undeleter Whole Partition Scan
Step 3: After the scan is over, select the files you want to recover and click the (Recover) button.
Note: To prevent data overwriting, ensure to save the recovered files onto different disks rather than the original storage location.
preview and select the files to recover in renee undeleter

Method 2: Data Recovery Services

If you followed our instructions to recover data from your corrupted drive, quite likely your data is restored. However, there are situations where the data recovery tool cannot recover your corrupted flash drive or misses the one file you desperately need. If this happens, it can be rather frustrating. Consider approaching a data recovery service to retrieve files from your corrupted USB. Usually, the recovery service begins with a free phone call and a quick cost evaluation.
fix damaged cards in clean room
After the consultation, all you have to do is to ship the corrupted drive to the service provider. Their experts will try to clone the drive and recover corrupted flash drives. Although data recovery services are very reliable, they are also expensive. Only consider them if your data is very valuable to you.

How to Fix Corrupted Flash Drives?

A corrupted drive can still be made usable. Why throw away something that can be repaired quite quickly and efficiently? If your drive is not physically damaged or worn out due to excessive use, you can try out our methods to repair it. Make sure to have recovered all the data you want before you proceed!

Method #1: Use CHKDSK Windows Command

Make sure you are familiar with the command prompt before you use this method. It is a powerful tool that can permanently make changes to your system, so make sure to follow the command precisely. The following commands will fix your USB using the chkdsk function in the command prompt. Chkdsk basically scans your drive for errors and tries to fix them. This might take a long time but will protect your data on the corrupted flash drive. Here’s how to fix corrupted USB using cmd:
1. Click search bar, input cmd, then right-click it and click on Run as administrator.
run as administrator
2. Note the drive letter of your USB. If it is G, Type in chkdsk F: /f /x /r and press Enter (Replace G with the drive letter of your USB.)
chkdsk F: /f /r /x

Method #2: Assign a New Letter to the USB Drive

Check if your USB has a letter assigned to it. If it doesn’t or has an incorrect letter, you might need to change it. Here’s how:
1. Press Windows + X.
2. Select Disk Management, and a window with drive details will open.
windows disk management right click start
3. Right-click on your USB drive and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
change drive letter in disk management
4. Click on the drive letter and select Change.
5. Select a new letter, click on Ok, and then Done.

Method #3: Install New USB Drivers

Check if your USB has the right drivers associated with it. Using outdated drivers often creates software issues.
1. Press Windows key + X.
2. Select Device Manager, and navigate to Disk Drives.
3. Find the corrupted USB, right-click on it and select Uninstall device.
uninstall USB drivers
4. Unplug the USB and replug it into the computer. 5. This will reinstall missing or broken drivers automatically.

Method #4: Format The Drive

If nothing else helps, formatting your drive and writing a new filesystem will deal with logical corruption. There are many ways to format USB drive, but in case of corruption, we recommend using diskpart command, as it avoids some system-level checks and allows to perform tasks that are sometimes not possible with a graphical interface due to system errors. This method also uses the command line. Please familiarize yourself with the commands before proceeding.
1. Click on the Search box and type “cmd”, then right-click it and click on Run as administrator.
run as administrator
2. Type diskpart and press Enter.
accessing diskpart from cmd
3. Type listdisk and press Enter. You will now see a list of the drives attached to your computer.
listdisk in diskdrill
4. Type select disk and press Enter. Make sure you select the right disk, else you might lose data permanently.
5. Your USB should now be marked with an asterisk.
6. Type clean and press Enter.
clean command in diskdrill
7. Type create partition primary and press Enter. 8. Type active and press Enter. 9. Type format fs=fat32 Quick and press Enter. Here’s how it would look all together:
formatting usb using diskpart

Method #5: Use USB Drive Repair Tools

If you are uncomfortable following these instructions to repair your corrupted USB, you can also use USB recovery tools. While most of these tools are paid software, they also have versions that are free tools to repair flash drives. On our team, the four most popular tools to repair flash drives were:
TestDisk
Among these commercial software tools, open-source software also thrives. A great open-source, and therefore, free-to-use tool is TestDisk. Don’t dismiss it because it is open-source, for it is powerful and helps recover flash drives in many different situations. This includes corrupted drives, drives affected by viruses, and those drives that are rendered useless by our fault. It is available for free on Windows 10 and other OS.
screenshot of testdisk
PARAGON Hard Disk Manager
Paragon is among the most popular partition manager tools. It helps you reconfigure your disk operations and repair corrupted USB drives. It is packed with a lot of features that make it a useful tool for amateurs and professionals alike. Plus, it is extremely user-friendly and intuitive, which has rightfully earned it a large user base.
AOMEI Partition Assistant
If you are uncomfortable using the command prompt to repair your drive, we suggest you consider AOMEI. While it is very similar to the rest of the tools in this section, it has a nifty trick up its sleeve. It has a great collection of wizards that guide you through even more advanced drive management tasks. You can quickly repair your corrupted flash drive by checking it for errors, which AOMEI helps you fix. AOMEI’s free version gives you access to all common partition management tools. However, migrating free space and command line support requires you to buy the paid version for $39.95.

Signs And Reasons of Flash Drive Corruption

Flash drives can become corrupted over time due to wear and tear from frequent use. However, other factors like improper removal, physical damage, or even manufacturing defects can also play a role. Here’s how to recognize a potentially corrupted flash drive:
* You see the flash drive in Windows Explorer, but you see a “drive not accessible” error when you try to open it
* Windows Explorer does not display the flash drive when you connect it to the computer
* When you try to open the drive, Windows prompts you to format it before use
* Files on the drive are missing, or you see other errors like “no media”, “RAW format”
If you see the signs above, then your drive is quite likely corrupted. However, you can try to see if this is a possibility in your case. Ask yourself the following:
1. Is the flash drive old or worn out?
2. Have you had programs crash recently?
3. Did you experience power failure while using the drive?
4. Did you disconnect the USB without first ejecting it?
5. Did your OS crash while the USB was connected to it?
If your answers to any of those questions were “yes”, then there is a good chance your drive is corrupted. Flash drives that are in constant use are often worn down, and their memory begins to fail. Even though recovery is possible for corrupted drives, it goes without saying that older, worn-out drives should be replaced soon.

Conclusion

In this article, we covered a few methods of recovering data from corrupted USBs and repairing them so that they may be used again. We hope that you can retrieve data from your flash drive soon!
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!