How to Repair a USB Drive with 8 Methods | 2024

Overview of USB Drive Corruption Repair

A portable storage device refers to a USB flash drive, pen drive, or external hard drive. These devices enable users to carry their data with them wherever they go and utilize it across multiple devices. However, frequent usage of such USB devices can sometimes lead to issues, such as corruption of the USB drive.

The good news is that over 90% of USB users can typically resolve these USB issues on their own. If your USB device is experiencing a problem, it must fall into one of the following categories for it to be fixable by yourself:

• ?Connect a USB flash drive to Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, but it doesn't appear in File Explorer
• ❌The Windows operating system detects the USB flash drive, but it fails to open, displaying an error that the drive is not accessible.
• ?When you double-click the drive, it prompts that the USB needs to be formatted before use.
• ⚠️Other unknown issues like RAW drive, USB no media, etc.

Essentially, you can resolve the USB drive not working issue using the following effective methods. The table below provides a basic overview of each approach:

How do you fix a USB drive without losing data? It's crucial to first rescue the data from your corrupted USB flash drive using data recovery software.

?Recovering Data from Corrupted USB Drives using Recovery Software

When faced with issues such as a USB drive not appearing or a USB drive turning RAW and becoming inaccessible, it's advisable to attempt recovering data from the damaged USB flash drive. If you lack backups and your pen drive data is not displaying, you should consider using a tool like Data Recovery Wizard. You can download this efficient USB data recovery software right away.

This software can assist you in repairing a USB drive on Windows without data loss. You can view the key features here:

• Recover files from USB, including photos, videos, documents, emails, and audio.
• Support RAW drive recovery; you can restore lost files from a RAW drive using recovery software.
• Easily recover a formatted USB drive. Format the USB drive to fix corruption, and then perform USB data recovery.

You can follow these simple steps to recover lost data from a corrupted USB flash drive: 1. **Connect the USB Drive**: Plug the corrupted USB flash drive into your computer's USB port. 2. **Download Data Recovery Software**: Obtain a reliable data recovery software, such as Recuva, tools Data Recovery Wizard, or Stellar Data Recovery. Make sure it is compatible with your operating system (Windows, macOS). 3. **Launch the Software**: Install and open the downloaded data recovery program on your computer. 4. **Select the Device**: In the software interface, locate and select the corrupted USB drive from the list of available drives. 5. **Scan the Drive**: Choose a scanning mode, usually 'Deep Scan' for a more thorough search. Initiate the scanning process to look for lost files. 6. **Preview and Recover Files**: After the scan is complete, browse through the listed files and preview them if possible. Select the files you want to recover and click on the 'Recover' or similar button to save them to a safe location on your computer, preferably not the corrupted USB drive itself. 7. **Backup Your Data**: Once the recovery is successful, make sure to back up your recovered files to prevent future data loss. 8. **Format the Corrupted Drive (Optional)**: If the USB drive still doesn't function properly after data recovery, consider formatting it to fix corruption issues. However, remember that this will erase all data, so only do this after confirming the successful recovery of your important files. These steps should help you retrieve your lost data from a corrupted USB flash drive.

Step 1. Connect your USB stick and scan it with tools Data Recovery Wizard. Upon launching the software, you can easily locate your USB drive and click the "Scan" button.

Step 2. You can easily filter files from the sidebar. Selecting "Path" or "Type" can help you quickly locate missing files from USB drives.

Step 3. You can preview the files before saving them. Click "Recover" and save these retrieved files to a new location. Avoid saving the files back onto your corrupted USB drive.

Here's a video that can assist you in understanding USB device data recovery and introduce the tool, Data Recovery Wizard. Watch this video for more information:

• 0:00 How to recover files from a USB stick
• 0:42 Download and install the tool Data Recovery Wizard
• 2:50 Recover hidden files from USB using CMD

If you've successfully recovered data from your corrupted USB drive, please consider sharing this page on social media to help more readers!

Fix 1: Change the Drive Letter or Path to Fix USB Drives

Note: Before proceeding with the USB device repair, it's advisable to check the USB ports beforehand.

Occasionally, it might occur that you've assigned the same drive letter as another disk to the USB drive. This can result in the USB drive not appearing or being recognized by the computer. Let's explore how to change the drive letter to resolve the issue with the USB stick in Disk Management:

Step 1. Right-click the Windows icon to bring up a menu, and select "Disk Management."

Step 2. Right-click on the USB drive and assign a different drive letter.

Step 3. Assign a new drive letter and save the changes.

Fix 2: Check and Repair the Damaged USB with Built-in Utility

If your flash drive isn't physically damaged, your computer should detect it and assign it a drive letter. In this situation, follow the methods below to check and fix any logical errors on your USB. These methods shouldn't result in data loss.

Step 1. Connect the USB to your computer.

Step 2. Go to "My Computer/This PC" and then locate the USB drive.

Step 3. Right-click on the USB drive and select "Properties."

Step 4. Click on the Tools tab.

Step 5. Click the "Check" button to repair the USB stick.

Step 6. Allow the scan process to finish, then close the scan window.

You can find more information about USB repair tools in the text below:

Sure, please provide the text that needs to be translated.

USB Repair Tool | Pen Drive Repair Tool and Data Recovery

How can I repair a damaged USB flash drive? You can utilize the Windows CHKDSK or the Windows disk error-checking USB repair utility. Read more >>

Solution 3: Run CHKDSK to Fix USB Corrupted File System Error

If your USB drive is detected but not accessible on your computer, you can attempt to fix the logical error using the built-in Windows tool, Command Prompt, or a third-party repair utility. This will enable you to access your USB drive again.

This is essentially the same process as above, but it will provide you with more feedback in the end to help you determine whether the issue has been resolved or not.

Step 1. Plug in your USB flash drive or pen drive into your computer.

Step 2. Type cmd in the search bar. You should see "Command Prompt" in the search results.

Step 3. Choose "Run as administrator." Next, type chkdsk /X /f G: (replace G with your USB drive's letter) in the Command Prompt window and press Enter. This will initiate the chkdsk process to fix any damaged USB drives.

This command instructs the Windows operating system to scan and fix file system errors on the flash drive. If the repair is successful, it will display "Windows has made corrections to the file system" in the command prompt window. This indicates that the corrupted USB flash drive has been successfully repaired and can be accessed again.

Solution 4: Repair Corrupted USB File System with Third-Party Software

CleanGenius is a user-friendly computer repair tool that is both safe and lightweight. It serves as an ideal alternative to the CHKDSK command. With its one-click functionality, you can effortlessly fix a damaged file system.

Step 1. Download CleanGenius on your computer and complete the installation.

Step 2. Run the software. Click on "Optimization," and then select "File Showing."

Step 3. Choose the drive with a corrupted file system. Check the "Check and fix file system error" option, then click "Execute".

Step 4: Wait for the tool to complete the repair process. After that, click the "here" button to check the drive.

After fixing the file system errors on your USB drive, feel free to share this method with your friends to help them scan and repair their drives too!

Fix 5: How to Repair a Corrupted USB by Reinstalling the USB Driver

If your USB drive is physically damaged and cannot be detected or recognized, trying to reinstall the USB drivers is worthwhile. Alternatively, you can attempt to connect your device to different USB ports to troubleshoot the issue.

Many unusual USB issues typically stem from a damaged driver. To resolve this, you need to reinstall a new driver by following these steps:

Step 1. Press the Windows + X keys and choose "Device Manager" from the menu.

Step 2. Expand Disk drives, right-click the name of your removable USB disk, and select "Uninstall."

Step 3. Select "OK" and unplug the USB drive from your computer.

Step 4. Restart your computer and plug in your USB drive. Windows will automatically install the necessary drivers for you.

You can also attempt to update the USB driver to fix the corrupted USB, and the following article might assist you in learning more:

Sure, please provide the text that needs to be translated.

[Proven Method] How to Download and Update USB Drivers

A variety of peripherals are connected to your computer using a USB connection. If the USB driver becomes faulty, these devices may not function properly. Read more >>

Solution 6: Fix USB Drive Issues by Formatting It

Your computer might not recognize the file system of USB drives, or it could be RAW, prompting you to format it. Generally, you can easily fix this RAW drive issue by formatting the USB; however, you should also be aware that formatting will erase the data on the USB drive.

如何格式化USB驱动器以解决问题：

Step 1. Insert the USB drive and open File Explorer.

Step 2. Go to "This PC" and locate your USB drive.

Step 3. Right-click on the USB drive and select "Format." Choose the file system and click "Start."

Note: After formatting, you can easily unformat the USB drive using tools like Data Recovery Wizard.

Fix 7: How to Manually Repair the USB Drive Yourself

Before attempting to fix a broken USB drive on your own, there are a few things you should be aware of:

• Physically repairing a flash drive is unlikely to be successful unless you have professional experience in repairing physically damaged flash drives.
• If the internal storage of the flash drive is damaged, your only practical option is to take the drive to a manual repair service.
• The cost of data recovery can range from $20 to $850, depending on the extent of the damage to the drive and the type of recovery needed.

If you decide to give this a try, follow these steps:

Preparations:

• Soldering iron with solder and flux
• An old USB cable
• Wire cutters/strippers
• A small flathead screwdriver
• A magnifying glass or jeweler's loop

Once you have these necessary items, follow the steps to fix your damaged USB drive.

Step 1. Take off the flash drive's casing. Use your flathead screwdriver to do this.

Step 2. Use the magnifying glass to examine the circuit board (PCB) and solder pads. If the PCB (the green circuit board) is damaged or the solder pads are lifted, you will likely need professional assistance.
Solder pads are the four sections of solder that join the USB connector's pins to the copper traces on the circuit board. If the connector has detached without damaging the PCB or solder pads, proceed to the next step.

Step 3. Place the flash drive on a hard surface with the connector end facing you and the solder pads facing up.

Step 4. Use wire cutters to trim one end off the USB cable. Make sure you cut the USB end of the flash drive cable that goes into the adapter.

Step 5. Strip the USB cable's wires. Expose about 0.25 inches (0.6 cm) of each of the four wires inside the cable that are connected to the USB.

Step 6. Solder each of the four wires to the four solder pads. Take your time with this step, as failing to secure the connections properly will likely render your flash drive non-functional.

Step 7. Plug the other end of the USB cable into a computer. It should fit into one of the rectangular slots on your computer's housing.

Step 8. Next, access your USB drive. If your flash drive is recognized by the computer, open it and transfer your files to a secure location promptly. If the files are not visible, proceed to Step 2.

Fix 8. Repair USB Errors with a Manual Repair Service

If you believe it's not feasible to fix the USB drive or other storage devices on your own, you can also seek assistance from reliable and robust data recovery services that effortlessly help in repairing corrupted SanDisk, Kingston, Sony, Seagate, or Western Digital USB flash drives. Our professional teams are available online 24/7 to assist you in repairing the device, even if the USB is dead.

Disk Repair and Recovery Services

Click here to contact our experts for a free evaluation

Consult with our recovery experts for personalized manual recovery assistance. After a FREE diagnosis, we can provide the following services:

• Repair external hard drive, fix USB flash drive errors, and recover data from all RAID levels
• Recover lost partitions not restorable by data recovery software
• 修复USB RAW格式或无法读取或访问的USB驱动器，由于坏道问题
• 修复变成GPT保护分区的磁盘
• 擦除数据，取消格式化硬盘，安装/卸载软件或驱动程序等

"Repair USB Drive" FAQs

For further assistance, please refer to the following questions and answers below.

< strong >1. What to do when a USB drive is not detected?

When a USB device is not being detected, you should:

• Fix 1. Seek Repair Services
• Fix 2. Update USB Driver
• Fix 3. Reinstall Disk Driver

**2. How can I tell if my USB is corrupted?**

Your USB flash drive is considered corrupted when it appears empty, shows up as RAW, or the pen drive is not recognized.

3. Can a USB flash drive be repaired?

Indeed, here are the solutions to fix USB errors: USB Error Fix:

• Determine the cause of the USB issues
• Repair the USB drive using a repair service
• Repair the USB drive with a USB repair utility

< strong > 4. Is there a SanDisk repair tool?

Yes, there is a SanDisk repair tool available. You can easily download it by following simple steps. If you find this information useful, kindly share it on your Twitter and Facebook to assist more individuals.