If your USB flash drive has become corrupted and unreadable, don’t panic! There are several methods you can try to fix the issue and recover your data. In this article, we’ll walk you through three easy steps to get your flash drive back up and running.
Step 1: Repair Logical Errors
First, try repairing any logical errors on your flash drive:
Connect the flash drive to your computer system
Right-click the Removable Disk that represents your flash drive and choose Properties
Under the Tools tab, click Check
If any errors are found, proceed with the wizard to fix them
Safely eject the flash drive
Step 2: Format the Drive
If the logical repair doesn’t work, you can try formatting the drive:
Open Disk Management by pressing Windows R, typing diskmgmt.msc, and hitting Enter
Locate the unreadable flash drive and check its disk information
If it’s shown as a RAW file system, right-click on it and choose “Format”
Choose a file system like NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT and perform a quick format
Warning: Performing a quick format will erase data, but it’s recoverable by using specialized data recovery software.
Step 3: Recover Data and Create a New Partition
If the drive is still unreadable, you can try recovering your data and creating a new partition:
Use data recovery software like Disk Drill or EaseUS to scan the drive and recover your files
In Disk Management, locate the corrupted USB drive and right-click on it, select “Delete Volume”
Confirm to delete the volume on the USB drive by following the onscreen guide
After the USB drive has become unallocated space, right-click the unallocated space and select “New Simple Volume”
Rename the drive, set the file system to NTFS or FAT32, and follow the onscreen guidelines to create a new partition
By following these three steps, you should be able to fix your corrupted USB flash drive and recover your data. Remember to always safely eject your drive when disconnecting it from your computer to prevent future corruption.