How to Repair a Corrupted USB Drive or SD Card in Windows

Before we begin, it’s important to note that repairing a corrupted drive may result in data loss. If you have critical data on the drive, it’s recommended to attempt data recovery first using a tool like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard or DiskGenius. These tools can scan the drive and attempt to recover files even if the drive is not recognized by Windows.

Method 1: Repair Using Windows Disk Management

Insert the USB drive or SD card into your computer.
Right-click on the Start button and select “Disk Management”.
Find the corrupted drive in the list of disks. It may be listed as “Unallocated” or have an error icon.
Right-click on the drive and select “New Simple Volume”.
Follow the wizard to create a new partition on the drive. This can often fix corruption issues.
If the drive still doesn’t work, right-click on it again and select “Format”.
Choose the file system (usually FAT32 or exFAT for USB drives) and click “OK” to format the drive.

Method 2: Repair Using Command Prompt

Open an elevated Command Prompt by searching for “Command Prompt” in the Start menu, right-clicking on it, and selecting “Run as administrator”.
Type diskpart and press Enter to open the DiskPart utility.
Type list disk and press Enter to see a list of connected drives.
Type select disk # (replace # with the number of your corrupted drive) and press Enter.
Type clean and press Enter to remove all partitions and data from the drive.
Type create partition primary and press Enter to create a new partition.
Type select partition 1 and press Enter.
Type active and press Enter to mark the partition as active.
Type format fs=fat32 quick (or format fs=exfat quick for larger drives) and press Enter to format the drive.
Type exit and press Enter to close DiskPart.

Method 3: Repair Using Third-Party Software

If the built-in Windows tools don’t work, you can try using third-party software like DiskGenius or EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. These tools offer more advanced features for repairing corrupted drives and recovering data.
Download and install DiskGenius or EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.
Launch the software and select your corrupted drive.
Use the built-in repair tools to check for errors and attempt to fix the drive.
If the drive is still not recognized, use the data recovery features to scan for and recover any accessible files.
Once data recovery is complete, you can attempt to format and repair the drive using the software’s disk management tools.