How to Fix Corrupted Flash Drive in 6 Ways | No Data Loss

To repair a corrupted USB drive, try the CHKDSK command to scan for the drive error and fix it. If it fails, try using a data recovery tool to restore your files try using a data recovery tool to restore your files and formatting your USB as a last resort.

A portable storage device is a USB flash drive, pen drive, or external hard drive. This device allows people to carry their data anywhere they go and use it with various devices. Sometimes, this frequent use of the USB device can cause issues, like leading the USB drive to become corrupted.

The USB damage can be simply divided into logical and physical corruption. If the device still recognizes your USB, then the following methods can help you repair USB drive and restore lost files. Otherwise, you might need to look for local service if your USB is not detected.

How Does a USB Flash Drive Become Corrupted

USB drives can get corrupted for several reasons; if you find your USB damaged, your USB is highly likely to have been through situations like physical wear and tear, improper removal, or internal issues like damaged sectors or malware attacks：

• ⚠️Improper Ejection. Removing a USB drive without safely ejecting it can interrupt data transfer and corrupt files; it's very likely to lose data on a USB drive.
• ⚠️File System Errors. Sudden power loss or system crashes on the computer can damage FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS file systems of your USB flash drive.
• ⚠️Physical Damage. Dropping, water exposure, or extreme temperatures can harm the drive's internal memory.
• ⚠️Bad Sectors on the USB. Worn-out sectors can cause read/write errors and data corruption.
• ⚠️Virus or Malware Infection. Malicious software can delete, encrypt, or alter files, making the USB corrupted and unreadable.

But the causes fall into two main categories, as shown in the infographic.

How to Repair a USB Drive Without Losing Data

How to repair a corrupted pen drive without losing data and how to restore usb flash drive? When you encounter issues like having a USB drive showing up or a USB drive becoming RAW and not accessible, you'd better try to recover data from the damaged USB flash drive. When you don't have any backups and pen drive data not showing, you should try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. You can download this USB data recovery software now.

This software can help you repair a USB drive on Windows without losing data, and you can check the highlights here:

• Recover files from USB, including photos, videos, documents, emails, and audio.
• Support RAW drive recovery; you can recover lost files from a RAW drive with EaseUS recovery software.
• Recover the formatted USB drive with ease. You can format the USB drive and fix the corruption, then perform USB data recovery.

You can follow these simple steps to recover lost data from the corrupted USB flash drive:

Step 1. Connect your USB stick and scan it with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. After launching the software, you can easily locate your USB drive. Tap on Scan for lost data to find your files.

Step 2. You can easily filter the files from the sidebar. Choosing "Path" or "Type" can help you quickly find lost files from USB sticks.

Step 3. You can preview the files before saving them. Click "Recover" and save these recovered files in a new location. Do not save the files on your corrupted USB drive.

Here's a video tutorial that can help you learn how to repair USB drives and recover data from USB drives.

• 00:48 Method 1. Repair USB with Error Check Tool
• 01:15 Method 2. Fix Corrupted USB with CMD
• 02:09 Method 3. Uninstall USB Driver to Fix USB Drive
• 02:40 Recover USB with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

 

If you have successfully recovered data from your corrupted USB drive, try to share this page on social media to help more readers!

How to Fix Corrupted USB Flash Drives | 6 Ways

There are many different symptoms of a corrupted USB. You may receive an error message saying you need to format the drive before you use it, or your USB may disconnect every 30 seconds and then freeze up, as in a real case posted in the Microsoft Community. To better suit the methods to the situation, here is a table that directs you to the recommended ways based on your symptoms.

Fix 1. Repair Corrupted USB Drive with Disk Check Tool

How to fix a corrupted flash drive？ If your flash drive is not physically broken, your computer should recognize it and assign it a drive letter. In this case, follow the methods below to check and fix the logical errors on your USB. These methods shouldn't cause any data loss.

Step 1. Connect the USB to your PC

Step 2. Go to "My Computer/This PC" and then find the USB Drives.

Step 3. Right-click 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. Let the scan process complete, then close the scan window.

Fix 2. Run CHKDSK to Fix Corrupted USB File System

How to fix a USB? If the USB drive is detected but not accessible on your computer, you can try to fix the logical error using the native Windows tool, Command Prompt, or a third-party fixing tool. Then, you will be able to access your USB.

This is essentially the same process as above, but this will provide you with more feedback in the end that will help you determine whether the problem has been fixed or not.

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

Step 2. Type cmd in the search box. You'll see "Command Prompt" in the search results.

Step 3. Select "Run as administrator". Then, type chkdsk /X /f H: (replacing H with your USB's drive letter) in the Command Prompt window and hit Enter. The chkdsk operation will start to repair damaged USB drives.

This command makes the Windows operating system scan and repair file system errors on the flash drive. If the repair process works properly, it will show Windows has made corrections to the file system in the command window. This suggests that the corrupted USB pen drive has been successfully fixed and can be accessed again.

Fix 3. How to Fix Unreadable USB Flash Drive by Reinstalling USB Driver

How can i repair my usb flash drive? If your USB drive is physically damaged and cannot be detected or recognized, reinstalling the USB drivers is worth trying. Or, you can try to connect your device to different USB ports to diagnose the problem.

Many strange USB issues usually result from a corrupted driver. You need to reinstall a new driver by following the steps.

Step 1. Press the Windows + X keys and select "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 disconnect the USB drive from your computer.

Step 4. Restart your computer and connect your USB drive to your computer. Windows will automatically install the required drivers for you.

Fix 4. Repair Damaged USB Stick by Formatting It

Your computer may not recognize the file system of USB drives, or the file system is RAW, and ask you to format it. Basically, you can easily fix this RAW drive problem by formatting the USB, but you should also know that the data on the USB drive will be erased after formatting.

How to format USB drives to fix issues:

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

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

Step 3. Right-click the USB and choose "Format". Choose the file system and click "Start".

Note: After formatting, you can simply unformat the USB drive with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.

Fix 5. Repair USB Flash Drive with Windows Security

If your USB is infected with malware and then becomes unreadable or corrupted, you can try scanning and repairing it with the help of Windows Security.

Step 1. Type Windows Security in the search bar and open it.

Step 2. Navigate to the Virus & threat protection.

Step 3. Click the Scan options in blue and then choose "Custom scan".

Step 4. Tap on Scan now and choose your USB.

Wait for the process to end, and you can then try opening your drive to see if this method helps.

Fix 6. Recover Corrupted USB Drive with Data Recovery Services

If you think it is impossible to repair the USB drive or other storage devices by yourself, you can also turn to reliable and powerful data recovery services that easily help you repair corrupted SanDisk, Kingston, Sony, Seagate, or Western Digital USB flash drives. Our professional teams will stay online all day and help you repair the device even if the USB is dead.

EaseUS USB Repair and Recovery Services

Click here to contact our experts for a free evaluation

Consult with EaseUS recovery experts for one-on-one manual recovery service. We could offer the following services after a FREE diagnosis.

• Repair external hard drive and USB flash drive errors, and restore data from all RAID levels
• Recover a lost partition that cannot be restored by data recovery software
• USB RAW format fix, or the USB that cannot be read or accessed because of bad sectors
• Fix disks that become GPT-protected partitions
• Wipe data, unformat hard drive, install/uninstall software or driver, etc.

Tips to Prevent USB or Pen Drive Corruption

Though it is possible to repair a corrupted USB drive and extract data from the problematic external devices, it is suggested to take preventive measures to prevent USB corruption. Here are some tips you may need to prolong the lifespan of your USB:

• 🖨️Scan for Errors: Periodically run the disk check or scan for errors on your USB drive to identify and fix any issues, and check the health of your USB.
• 🔌Proper Ejection: Remember to safely remove the hardware or use the "Eject" function every time you disconnect the USB to make sure the file system is properly closed.
• 🚿Keep Clean and Dry: Ensure your USB drive and the USB ports on your computer are free of dust and debris. Regularly clean the USB ports with compressed air or a soft brush and keep them away from water.
• 💾Reliable Drives: When buying USB drives, choose the high-quality and reputable brands for saving your critical files.
• ⚡Avoid Sudden Power Loss: Do not unplug your USB drive during data transfers or system shutdowns, as sudden power loss can corrupt files or damage the drive.
• 📦Proper Storage: Store USB drives in protective cases when not in use to prevent physical damage from drops, pressure, or extreme temperatures.
• 🗂️Regular Backups: Keep copies of important files in multiple locations, such as your computer or cloud storage, to reduce the risk of data loss if the USB drive fails

Final Words

This post from EaseUS has looked at how to fix corrupted flash drive and restore lost data before you repair USB drive. So do not lose heart once you find your files are gone; there are ways out. And remember to make a regular backup and check to protect your important files and USB.

Repair USB Drive FAQs

To get additional help, read these questions and answers below.

1. What to do when a USB drive does not show up?

When a USB is not showing up, you need to:

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

2. How do I tell if my USB is corrupted?

Your USB flash drive is corrupted when it looks empty, appears as RAW, or the pen drive is not detected.

3. Can a USB flash drive be repaired?

Yes. Here are the solutions to fix USB errors:

• Determine the cause of the USB problems
• Repair the USB drive with a repair service
• Repair the USB drive with a USB repair tool

4. Is there a SanDisk USB repair tool?

SanDisk doesn't offer a dedicated USB flash drive repair utility in the way some third-party recovery tools do; they recommend using Windows' built-in error checking, Disk Management, CHKDSK, or formatting to fix corrupted file systems. SanDisk's official Dashboard utility can check drive health and update firmware for some devices, but it doesn't specifically repair USB flash drives.

5. How to fix a USB drive that is unreadable?

To fix an unreadable USB drive, try reconnecting it, testing another USB port, updating USB drivers, and running CHKDSK. Use Disk Management to assign a drive letter, repair file system errors, or format the USB after data recovery.

6. Why is my USB drive not working in Windows 11?

A USB drive may not work in Windows 11 due to outdated USB drivers, power management settings, file system corruption, unsupported formats, or hardware issues. Check Device Manager, Disk Management, USB port functionality, and Windows updates.