If your USB drive is not working, don’t panic! There are several ways to fix a damaged USB drive and recover your important data. In this article, we’ll explore eight effective methods to repair a corrupted or physically damaged USB flash drive.
1. Change the Drive Letter or Path to Fix USB Drives
Sometimes, assigning the same drive letter as other disks to the USB drive can cause it not to show up or be recognized by the computer. To fix this:
Right-click the Windows icon and select “Disk Management”
Right-click the USB drive and change the drive letter
Assign a new drive letter and save the changes
2. Check and Fix the Error on the Damaged USB with Built-in Utility
If your USB drive is not physically broken, your computer should recognize it and assign it a drive letter. In this case, you can use the built-in Windows utility to check and fix logical errors on your USB drive:
Connect the USB drive to your PC
Go to “My Computer/This PC” and find the USB drive
Right-click the USB drive and select “Properties”
Click on the “Tools” tab and click the “Check” button to repair the USB stick
3. Repair Corrupted USB File System with Third-Party Software
EaseUS CleanGenius is a user-friendly computer fixing tool that can help repair a corrupted USB file system. Follow these steps:
Download and install EaseUS CleanGenius
Connect the USB drive to your computer
Launch EaseUS CleanGenius and select “Damaged Device Fix”
Select the USB drive and click “Scan”
Once the scan is complete, click “Fix” to repair the USB drive
4. Recover Data and Repair Physically Damaged USB Drive
If your USB drive is physically damaged, you can try to repair it by soldering the USB connector to the circuit board:
Remove the flash drive’s casing with a flathead screwdriver
Inspect the circuit board (PCB) and solder pads for damage
If the PCB or solder pads are damaged, you may need professional help
If the connector has broken away without causing further damage, continue to the next step
Cut one end off the USB cable and strip away about 0.25 inch of each wire
Solder each wire to the corresponding solder pad on the USB drive
Plug the other end of the USB cable into a computer and check if the drive is recognized
5. Format the USB Drive to Fix RAW File System
If your USB drive has a RAW file system, you can fix it by formatting the drive:
Insert the USB drive into your computer
Open File Explorer and right-click the USB drive
Select “Format” and choose either FAT32 or NTFS as the file system
Give the drive a name and click “Start” to format the drive
6. Use Diskpart to Repair Corrupted USB Drive
Diskpart is a command-line utility in Windows that can help repair a corrupted USB drive:
Press the Windows key X and select “Command Prompt (Admin)”
Type “diskpart” and press Enter
Type “list disk” and press Enter to see a list of available disks
Type “select disk X” (replace X with the number of your USB drive)
Type “clean” and press Enter to clean the disk
Type “create partition primary” and press Enter
Type “select partition 1” and press Enter
Type “active” and press Enter to mark the partition as active
Type “format fs=fat32 quick” and press Enter to format the drive
7. Update USB Drivers to Fix USB Device Not Recognized
If your USB drive is not recognized by your computer, try updating the USB drivers:
Press the Windows key X and select “Device Manager”
Expand the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” section
Right-click on the USB Root Hub and select “Update driver”
Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software”
Follow the on-screen instructions to update the driver
8. Scan for Malware to Fix Infected USB Drive
If your USB drive is infected with malware, it can cause corruption and prevent it from being recognized by your computer. Run a malware scan to remove any viruses or malware:
Install a reliable antivirus software
Connect the USB drive to your computer
Run a full system scan
If any malware is detected, quarantine or remove it
Restart your computer and check if the USB drive is working properly