Can You Recover Files From A Corrupted USB? Proven Solutions Here

Signs and Triggers of Corrupted USB Drive

A USB drive, also known as a “USB flash drive”, “thumb drive”, or “pen drive”, is a portable storage device that uses “flash memory”to store data. However, like any electronic device, it can become corrupted due to various factors, making your files inaccessible or the device unusable. Here are some common indicators that your USB drive might be corrupted:

1. Inaccessible Files: Files on the USB drive become unreadable or corrupted and cannot be opened.

2. File System Errors: You may encounter error messages like “The drive is not formatted" or "You need to format the disk."

3. Unrecognized Device: The USB drive may not be recognized by the computer, even though it’s properly connected.

4. Error Messages: Common messages include "USB device not recognized," "Windows cannot access the drive," or "The disk is not formatted."

5. Corrupted Files: Files may appear corrupted or with strange extensions that are not associated with any known program.

Triggers of a Corrupted USB Drive:

1. Unsafe Removal: Ejecting the USB drive without safely removing it can cause corruption.

2. Sudden Power Loss: Disconnecting the USB during a file transfer or power failure can corrupt the files.

3. Virus or Malware Infection: Malicious software can corrupt the USB drive, causing data loss or making files inaccessible.

4. File System Errors: If the drive has been improperly formatted or there are bad sectors on the drive, it can lead to corruption.

5. Physical Damage: Physical damage to the USB drive, such as exposure to water or dropping it, can trigger corruption.

6. Overuse or Wear and Tear: Extended use, especially on low-quality drives, can wear out the internal components, leading to data corruption.

7. Faulty USB Port or Cable: A defective USB port or cable can cause the drive to malfunction, resulting in file access issues.

Being aware of these signs and triggers can help you act quickly to prevent data loss or further damage.

Is It Possible to Recover Corrupted Files from USB?

Yes, it is possible to recover corrupted files from a USB drive, although the success of recovery depends on the severity of the corruption and the method used. If your USB drive is corrupted, it’s important to take immediate action to avoid further data loss. In this article, we will share you withsomeprovenmethods to recover files from from a corrupted USB drive. Just Keep Reading!

How to Recover Files from Corrupted USB?

The process of recovering files can from a broken USB flash drive can range from simple steps to more advanced recovery techniques. You can check the following solutions in sequence until find the proper one for your situation.

Method 1. Recover Files from Broken USB using CMD CHKDSK

First of all, you can try the Windows inbuilt Tool-CHKDSK, which can help scan for errors in the file system and attempts to fix them. It can often recover corrupted files if the issue is related to logical errors, such as file system corruption or bad sectors on the drive.

Step 1. Insert the corrupted USB drive into your computer.

Step 2. Open Command Prompt as an administrator (Search for "cmd" in the Start menu, right-click it, and select "Run as administrator").

Step 3. In the Command Prompt, type the command Type "chkdsk [drive letter]: /f /r" and press(Replace "drive letter" with the drive letter of your USB drive).

Step 4. Press Enter. The tool will scan the drive, fix errors, and recover readable files. Depending on the size of the drive and the extent of the corruption, this may take some time.

Method 2. Restore Data From Corrupted USB with CMD ATTRIB

Using the “ATTRIB”command is another simple and effective way to recover files from a corrupted USB drive, particularly when files are hidden, read-only, or marked as system files due to corruption. The “ATTRIB”command in Windows is used to change file attributes, such as "read-only," "hidden," and "system" attributes.

If your USB drive is corrupted, and you're unable to access files, it could be that the files have been hidden or marked as system files. Here's how you can use the “ATTRIB”command to fix the issue:

Step 1. Insert Your USB Drive into the computer and ensure it’s connected properly.

Step 2. Open Command Prompt window like you do in the method 1.

Step 3. In the Command Prompt, type the following command (replace `E` with your actual drive letter)::

attrib -h -r -s /s /d E:\*.*

What can the attrib command do?

-h: Removes the "hidden" attribute.

-r: Removes the "read-only" attribute.

-s: Removes the "system" attribute.

/s: Applies the command to all files in the current directory and its subdirectories.

/d: Applies the command to folders as well.

E:\: Replace with the actual drive letter of your USB drive.

Once the command runs successfully, check your USB drive to see if the files are now accessible. The “ATTRIB”command should have restored the files that were hidden or marked as system files.

Method 3. Recover Files From A Corrupted Flash Drive with Windows File Recovery

Windows File Recovery is a built-in tool in Windows 10 and later versions that can help recover lost files from a corrupted or damaged USB flash drive. It’s a powerful tool that can be used to retrieve files that were deleted or lost due to corruption, accidental deletion, or other issues.

Step 1. Download and Install Windows File Recovery from Microsoft Store.

Step 2. Open Windows File Recovery directly from the Start menu.

Step 3. In the command window, execute the following command:

winfr C: D: /regular

This will scan the C: drive (replace it with the letter of the corrupted USB drive) and recover files to the D: drive.

• For a deeper scan using Extensive Mode, use the following command:

winfr C: D: /extensive

• For Signature Mode, specify the file types you want to recover, such as:

winfr C: D: /signature: .jpg .mp3 .txt

Method 4. Perform Corrupted USB Data Recovery use MyRecover

To make the corrupted USB data recovery much easier and effective, you can directly take advantage of some professional data recovery software like MyRecover. This tool can help get data back from deleted/lost/corrupted/formatted drive in both Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7 and Windows Server. Besides, it recovers 200+ types of data including texts, pictures, videos, audios, emails, compressed files, etc.

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover software.

Step 2. Launch it, hover on the USB flash drive in the disk list and click on “Scan”, which will perform a quick scan for recently deleted files.

Step 3. Once the scan is complete, MyRecover will display a list of recoverable files. If your lost files are not displayed in the result, you can turn to “Deep Scan”for a more thorough search.

Step 4. You can tick the target files and click on “Recover”.

★Tip:

To ensure you are restoring the correct files, you can use the “preview”to check the contents of files (e.g., photos, documents, or videos) before recovery.

Step 5. Choose a safe location to save the recovered files.

Step 6. Once the recovery process is complete, navigate to the saved location to access your restored files.

See? With an extremely clear and user-friendly interface, both beginners and experts can go through the entire data recovery software. Besides the corrupted drive data recovery, MyRecover also excels in the following situations:

❤️‍🔥Recycle Bin Recovery: Recover data that are deleted from Recycle Bin.

❤️‍🔥System Crash Data Recovery: Allow to create a bootable media and restore data from Windows PC that won’t boot.

❤️‍🔥Virus Attack Recovery: Get your data back when they are lost or deleted due to Trojan, malware, worm, etc.

Method 5. Retrieve Files from Broken USB Stick by CMD FORMAT

In cases where the drive is recognized by the system but you cannot access the files, formatting the USB drive via Command Prompt might help fix the issues and allow you to regain access to the device. Additionally, if the drive is completely unreadable, formatting it may be the only way to make it functional again.

★Tip:

Formatting a drive will erase all data, so you should only use this method as a last resort after trying other recovery methods (such as using data recovery software or the ATTRIB command).

Step 1. Run Command Prompt as an adminitrator.

Step 2. Type the following command in the Command Prompt in sequence:

●list disk: all disks on your computer will be listed along with a number.

●select disk #: # is the disk number of the USB drive

●clean: all data on the selected disk will be cleaned.

●create partition primary

●select partition 1

●format fs=ntfs quick: you can replace ntfs with fat32 or exfat.

●assign letter f: give the formatted partition with a specific drive letter. Then you can access it from Windows File Explorer.

The Verdict

So, the above methods give a clear answer to the question, “can you recover files from a corrupted USB drive.”If your USB drive is just affected by logical error, you can try the above solutions. However, if your USB drive has significant corruption, such as physical damage, these methods may not be effective in fixing the issue or retrieving lost data. In such cases, you may need to use other recovery tools or services.