No computer owner can imagine life without removable storage media. There is a lot of information, why overload your computer with all sorts of data if you can save everything on a flash drive? All the more unpleasant is the moment when very necessary information suddenly appears on the media.
Bad sectors are sectors of the storage medium that, due to damage or system failures, the computer cannot read.
There are two types of bad sectors:
- logical. Data replay error occurs as a result of system failures. Such incidents can be corrected and after correction the computer will read everything;
- physical. The readable area of the card is so damaged that it is impossible to read information from it.
It is important to understand what led or could lead to such an incident.
Where do they come from?
The reasons that the computer does not like certain areas on the flash card lie in:
- system failures;
- viral infection;
- physical damage (crack, scratches);
- incorrect completion of work with the media (roughly pulling it out of the port as soon as the card is no longer needed);
- the initial presence of defects on the machine heads.
All these incidents lead to the operating system receiving an adjustment error code instead of the sector contents. From this moment on, the volume is closed to her; she ceases to perceive it as a potential repository of information.
Is it always possible to restore them?
Logical broken areas can be corrected. If the failure is caused by physical wear and tear or serious damage to the media, then even repairing the flash card is often useless.
In any case, you should still try to restore the bad sector. For this there are internal and external applications of the system, for example:
- conductor;
- Check Disk;
- Hetman Partition Recovery;
- Jet Flash Recovery Tool;
- Storage Format Tool;
- PartitionGuru.
All external utilities can be downloaded from the Internet for free. They are easy to use, which is facilitated by the Russian interface. Hetman Partition Recovery is the most popular - according to user reviews, this utility revives data on an almost completely “dead” drive. Each program is accompanied by instructions. After launching, the utility scans and evaluates the condition of the media, then eliminates damage - of course, only those that are possible.
After this, all that remains is to restart the computer. The drive operates in satisfactory mode.
Remedies
Windows Explorer
Usually, the system, having noticed a “guest”, offers to check and restore it. This also happens in Windows (starting with Windows 7). Just insert removable media to the port, then a notification will appear that the operating system has noticed the device and for some reason does not like it.
However, the PC does not always offer such a service right away. For many reasons (outdated version, data overload), it may not respond immediately. In this case you can:
If after this the work of the removable media becomes satisfactory, you can simply return to it. As a last resort, you should restart the computer. However, this service is only good for minor damage.
Check Disk
The built-in Check Disk application will detect damage on the flash card and, if possible, fix it. Of course, not everything either, but in many cases it turns out to be a good help.
It's also very easy to use:
On a note!“E:” - indicates the identifier of the flash drive; you can insert another identifier instead of it.
Next, the system itself will assess the condition of the removable drive and revive the damaged areas. True, only logical ones. And that's not all. After completion of the work, the system will provide a report on what broken areas were detected and whether they were able to be revived.
After rebooting the machine, the removable media should start working in the same mode as before the damage. In other cases, it is better to use other utilities, such as Hetman Partition or Partition Guru.
Hetman Partition Recovery
Hetman Partition Recovery utility can find and recover damaged or deleted files regardless of the method. For this:
- Go to the official website of the utility developers, select the file download option and click “Download file”.
- The Google Chrome browser will prompt you to select a folder to download the file on your computer, we recommend selecting the “Downloads” or “Desktop” folder, click “Save”. Sometimes the file is downloaded automatically.
- Run installation file programs from the "Downloads" folder or from the bottom bar of the browser for downloads by double-left clicking the mouse.
- The usual “Setup Wizard” will open, read the information and click “Next”.
- Click the “I Accept” button and read the terms of the license agreement if you wish.
- Click Next.
- Check the required boxes and click “Install”. Wait for the installation process to complete and automatic start programs.
- After starting the program, the “File Recovery Wizard” window will appear, read the text, click “Next”.
- Select with the left mouse click. The utility will provide two scanning options, we recommend selecting “Full analysis”, checking the appropriate box, click “Next”.
- After completing the scanning process, click on the “Finish” button.
- Drag the necessary files into the recovery field, click on the “Recover” option.
- Check the box to save files and click Next.
- Wait for the process to complete and go to the selected drive to view the recovered data.
The host is infected with a virus
Sometimes the reason is that removable drive suffered from “saboteurs” who arrived from the Internet. Such a threat lurks, for example, on photo hosting sites.
An inexperienced user can also cope with this. Free antivirus cleaners will come to the rescue, for example:
- Dr. Web Cureit;
- Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
It’s easier to use Doctor Web, which can also be downloaded from the Internet. This service is good because the virus database is constantly updated and the defender program keeps up with viruses in its development faster than many other analogues.
If the reason for the appearance of broken areas was related to viruses, this will become clear from the report.
Thus, it turns out that bad sectors on a removable drive are not a fatal problem; in most cases it is possible to fix it. In some cases, you will have to contact a service center to restore the flash card.
Video - How to check a flash drive for errors and fix them?
We choose the best programs for flash drive recovery. We tell you how to recover a USB flash drive and revive it using free utilities.
Flash drive – small device for storing information (documents, music, videos, files), convenient for carrying and connecting to a USB port, removing from a computer, laptop. It contains a controller and special chips that store information inside the microcircuits.
Sometimes we copy files and forget about them, and when we remember, we find that valuable files have either been erased or permanently deleted. Either the device is broken, you formatted the partitions. What can you do, often the digital flash drive (most often, the controller in it) breaks down, generates errors, the flash drive does not open on the PC - not even a month will pass. One day the flash drive may need to be restored. The reason for this may be:
- incorrect, careless operation of the flash drive
- incorrect formatting of the storage medium
- low-quality flash drive, bought on the market or cheaply from a Chinese (probably by mistake)
- physical or software failure of the flash drive (the most likely reason)
- Also, the reason for inoperability can be an incorrectly removed flash drive from a computer or laptop. This happens when an impatient user literally rips the flash drive out of the USB slot while copying or transferring files.
There are many reasons when it is necessary to restore a flash drive that does not open on the computer or is recognized with read errors. Fortunately, today specialists from service centers They will help you return valuable files and restore the functionality of your device without any problems or errors. Recovery programs will return files safe and sound or at least partially restore data on a USB flash drive. The flash recovery procedure costs a lot of money, which makes you think about recovering a USB flash drive yourself. Alas, free utilities are not always useful.
Flash drives and SD memory cards are equally characterized by all the symptoms and consequences of deleting digital information. This could be accidental erasure, unconscious or deliberate deletion of files from a USB drive, damage to the structure, physical or mechanical damage to the controller or memory chips... One way or another, restoring a flash drive and SD card is a more than relevant task for PC owners. Therefore, first of all, read the contents of this section.
The flash drive does not open: we study the symptoms of damage
In the recovery section, we will talk about the main problems associated with recovering information on flash and secure digital storage. As a rule, this is due to hardware or software damage to the flash drive - if it does not come off or is not recognized correctly. Sometimes the memory wears out, sometimes the controller fails. And the USB controller drivers have nothing to do with it. In some cases, you can solve the problem yourself and, as a result, save the files on a flash card or repair the chip or device, ignoring reading errors on the computer. Here are just a few of the symptoms that indicate a drive failure:
- The PC does not see the flash drive in the list of readable devices
- The flash drive does not appear when connected to a laptop or computer (OS does not matter)
- The flash drive is not readable: although the files can be seen on the USB drive
Help with the contents of the section "Recovering a flash drive" (Flash Recovery)
- A small guide related to the question of how to find the reasons why the card does not work or the PC does not see the flash drive along with other drives (the device is not recognized, has problems being read, requires formatting, freezes, gives an error when copying to the card, etc.) flash drive -storage device. Diagnostics of malfunctions is important in such situations, because without identifying the disease, it is impossible to cure the patient, or even easily ruin his life, using the wrong tools, using the wrong methods and programs that can revive the drive. In this article, we analyze the causes of damage and possible symptoms that lead to the need to restore a flash drive, secure digital, controller, memory chip and flash card.
- We try (with the help of instructions and utilities posted on the site) and at the same time qualitatively - how to solve problems with our own hands - fix a breakdown on the sd card, revive the controller, correctly format, solder the loose contact or memory chip, scan information and process bad sectors on flash "ke, sections with reading errors. However, the described methods require certain dexterity and experience in using the specified tools.
- , if it does not open on your computer or does not display correctly. What is “VID&PID”, what does this abbreviation stand for and what to do when the device is not recognized or cannot be opened. Explanation of terminology, without which it is difficult to imagine recovery for flash drive, data and digital information on it.
- - testing 5 good programs, each of which has remarkable features when working with memory or a drive chip.
Recovering USB flash drives and memory cards. Formatting utilities
One of the best ways resuscitation of the Jetflash flash card - reformat it again, at a low level. As a rule, such measures are taken when the flash drive is not readable. If possible, you should ask the memory manufacturer (say, A Data, Seagate, Transcend SD, Datatraveler, etc.) if they have proprietary utilities or fresh drivers for reconstruction. Scroll through the contents of this section for help and you will see several articles on the topic of low-level drive formatting. Fortunately, Windows 7 and higher operating systems have tools for formatting a flash device without using third party applications computer. One such program for a flash drive is HP USB Disk Storege Format Tool.
Diagnostic formatting of a flash card in the program for recovering flash drives HP USB Disk Storege Format
Utility for recovering HDD flash drive Low Level Format Tool
Many people know that the HDD Regenerator program is used to help revive hard drives(HDD), however, not many people know that it is also suitable for a device such as a flash drive. The essence of the program is the detection of bad bad sectors on the device with subsequent processing of the received information, depending on the controller and memory model, at a low access level via USB. As a result, you get a working device that can copy files without read and write errors. This greatly facilitates the recovery of flash drives if the computer does not see them. The HDD Regenerator program is equipped with recovery instructions; in addition, on the recovery website you can find instructions on using the utility and correct formatting (see via search). You can download the flash drive recovery program directly from the link posted on the page HDD review Regenerator"a.
Open and diagnose the problematic flash drive in HDD program Low Level Format By the way, in other sections on the Softdroid website you will find other programs for recovering flash drives (for example, Flash Recovery or JetFlash Recovery Tool), but we advise you to first study all the information collected in this section. We hope that after the measures taken, the computer will see your flash drive.
Why don't you indicate the cost of the product before downloading the flash drive recovery program and installing it?
Answer. You can download all the mentioned flash drive recovery programs on the official website. Only reviews are published on Softdroid - we do not have the physical ability to update information about the cost of the products presented. When you download the trial version of the program, it is free. Next, see information about the cost from the developer, or at the end of the trial period you will receive a notification.
Ask us a question about flash drive recovery
The site's specialists will help you recover your data. You ask a question - we answer it for free (you will receive the answer by mail).
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Flash Drive Information Extractor – a program for obtaining information and diagnosing a USB flash drive
Information about the flash drive (model, manufacturer, firmware version) helps to better understand the device and its operating features. In turn, this allows you to diagnose, restore files or correct the operation of the device.
How to recover deleted files from a USB flash drive: step-by-step guide
One of the most pressing problems associated with deleting files relates to the flash drive. Let's talk about how to recover deleted files from a flash drive using the Unformat program. What free software to install on your computer, what program, besides Unformat, is effective when working with a flash drive. The methods described below will be relevant for USB drives, memory cards, SD cards of digital cameras in the Windows OS environment. We will try to help you, even if the situation is difficult.
What to do if the computer does not see the USB flash drive? We solve problems and fix errors
If the file system of the memory card / USB flash drive is incompatible with the computer OS, the contents of this memory card will not be displayed when connected to a PC. Accordingly, you will not be able to work with the device until you correct the format. In addition, there are a number of other reasons why the computer does not display a USB flash drive (SD card) as a separate drive in Explorer.
How to restore a flash drive with your own hands: instructions for owners of flash drives
In this article I want to tell you how to restore a flash drive: about all the available methods for restoring damaged, non-working, faulty, faulty USB drives. I offer the most complete instructions that include everything available methods, as well as programs that optimize flash drive recovery.
Do-it-yourself USB flash drive repair: troubleshooting hardware and software problems
What to do if the computer does not see the flash drive? We agree: this is a painful and frequently asked question. Another popular issue that flash drive owners face is repairs resulting from a breakdown. A USB drive has its own characteristics for repairing a controller, memory, or failed memory: in some cases, the storage device is not detected by the PC. What to do if the flash drive is not detected on any computer? This guide describes an operation to resuscitate an “invisible” flash drive for correct recognition on a computer.
Review of programs for restoring the functionality of a USB flash drive
Errors in USB operation Flash drives are not common. Almost all of them boil down to the inability to read or write the necessary information into the device’s memory due to software damage.
Specialized programs provided by device manufacturers will help you fix the problem and restore the memory card.
To restore the operation of noname flash drives and those that do not have their own recovery software, the built-in Windows Chkdsk and formatting system.
Choosing the best program to recover deleted files from a USB flash drive
Damaged your portable USB flash drive or memory card? These best-in-class programs will help you save and recover information, and here you will learn what is involved in recovering data from a flash drive. Applications include Undelete 360, CardRecovery, PhotoRec, Recuva Professional and other candidates. You will also learn how to revive a flash drive for each program.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free 11 – free data recovery program
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard supports many SSD data deletion scenarios. We will launch the Recovery Wizard and explain in a step-by-step manner how the recovery is performed. IN free version Easeus Data Recovery Wizard Free has limitations, we will tell you more about them. Using the program EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard you can recover files and deleted information from a formatted disk, laptop or removable devices such as a flash drive or SD card for free.
Where to download PhotoRec for free (for Windows OS)
Free program PhotoRec is designed to recover multimedia data on HDDs, USB flash drives, SD cards and other storage devices. Overview of PhotoRec recovery functions, scanning options. Where to download PhotoRec for Windows and other OS.
Do you have an inoperative USB flash drive or other storage device and are you wondering what program to choose for recovery?
We reviewed the most popular utilities. Which of the above programs is suitable for you and will restore a flash drive with a 100% guarantee?
A one-of-a-kind program will help you extract all the data. Hetman Partition Recovery. It is loved by both beginners and professionals for its convenience, speed and advanced information recovery algorithm. Your files will be found and copied even when the media’s FS is no longer accessible or is damaged.
JetFlash Recovery Tool is a proprietary utility that has the maximum simple interface and support for working with Transcend, JetFlash and A-DATA drives. Controlled by just two buttons, you will definitely like it. Do not forget that cleared data cannot be restored, so pre-saving information from a flash drive will not be superfluous.
If you have a need to constantly have a universal program with you, which is convenient to use both on home computer, and beyond, we recommend D-Soft Flash Doctor, its platform does not require pre-installation, it launches instantly on any PC. Software Suitable for repair, unlocking,
restoring the volume of the flash drive and its performance.
If you need to recover SD cards, we recommend downloading F-Recovery SD, which has an effective set of simple options for working with damaged flash drives from digital cameras and other portable devices. From the point of view of a professional approach to Flash drives, it will be interesting to use the Flash Memory Toolkit; the application contains a whole range of additional functionality that can test flash drives; in addition, the program works with any version of the Microsoft OS.
Recognize maximum amount various types Flash Drive flash drives, among the above utilities, and also quickly restore the drives’ performance, can be formatted and restored by the USB Disk Storage Format Tool, which has a very clear and user-friendly interface. The USB Disk Storage flash drive repair program will be able to quickly recover damaged data. hard sections disk even if problems with the flash drive firmware are detected.
If no flash drive recovery program has helped, we recommend checking the status of the memory controller using the ChipGenius utility. The program works with USB, micro SD, SD, SDHC and USB-MP players from Kingston, Silicon Power, Transcend, Adata, PQI. Further actions to correct errors and recover lost data are only advisable if
The flash drive is detected in Chip Genius.
Micro SD memory cards are quite popular due to their portability: you can use it in your phone, and if you insert it into an adapter, you can easily put it in your computer, digital camera and any other devices. Such memory cards are inexpensive, but they often break down. Micro SD suddenly stops responding and shows no data. In this case, do not rush to throw away the flash drive and buy another one, as you can restore it with the basic using Windows or third party programs. Bring your Micro SD flash drive back to life with the help of this article.
How to recover a Micro SD flash drive without third-party programs
The surest way and the first one that you should immediately take is to format the flash drive in Windows via external USB adapter. The thing is that built-in adapters for Micro SD do not always cope with their task; it is best to buy a USB adapter for memory cards and use it or ask friends for a while.
- Insert the USB flash drive into the adapter and then connect it to the computer. Wait until the device is detected by the system. It's okay if the type of flash drive is displayed incorrectly, because it is broken.
- Click on it right click mouse and select “Format”.
Select formatting options:
- The file system must be Fat32.
- The cluster size is 32 KB.
- Check the box next to “Quick Format”.
Click “Ok” and wait until the procedure is completed. Remove the device when finished and insert again.
Of course, after formatting, all files from the flash drive will be deleted, but, nevertheless, its performance may return to normal.
How to recover a Micro SD flash drive using the program
This option is suitable not only for restoring the functionality of a flash drive, but also for recovering files from it. Try this procedure after formatting to recover all photos and files.
- Download the Card Recovery program on the official website at https://www.cardrecovery.com. Several options for one recovery program are available here different files and memory cards.
- Please note that the program is distributed only in a trial version. You will have to pay for the full one.
- Installation is quite simple and straightforward: agree to the license agreement and select the program installation directory.
- Immediately open the program via Start or a desktop shortcut. First of all, insert your memory card into your computer.
- Click “Next” and you will see the next step. Here you need to select the drive letter on which the flash drive is currently located. Expand the first list and select it.
- Once you set the device letter, in the bottom line set the path to save the recovered files. It is in this folder that all photographs and other documents will appear.
- Click “Next” again to begin. If the program itself was unable to indicate the amount of memory on the device, write it down manually.
- Confirm the restoration and click “Yes”.
- Wait while the scan completes. During the process, all lost files will be found, as well as problems with the flash drive. As soon as the line is completely filled with green, the scanning was successful. In the lower window you will see everything that was recovered.
- The program will tell you how many files were found.
- Click “Next” to view them.
- Check the boxes next to those that need to be restored. Click “Next” again. The recovery will take several minutes, depending on the capabilities of your computer.
- Now you can again use the Micro SD flash drive and files recovered from it.
Perhaps every user sooner or later faces a problem with the performance of a flash drive. If your removable storage stopped working normally, do not rush to throw it away. In case of some failures, functionality can be restored. Let's consider all available ways to solve the problem.
It should be said right away that all procedures are performed quite simply. Moreover, the problem can be solved without even resorting to any unusual means, but with only the capabilities of the operating room Windows systems. So let's get started!
Method 1: Check Flash Program
This software effectively checks the functionality of a flash device.
- Install the program. To do this, download it from the link above.
- In the main program window, perform a few simple steps:
- In chapter "Access type" select item "Like a physical device...";
- to display your device, in the field "Device" click on the button "Update";
- In chapter "Actions" check the box "Reading stability";
- In chapter "Duration" please indicate "Endlessly";
- click the button "Start".
- The test will begin, the progress of which will be displayed on the right side of the window. When testing sectors, each of them will be highlighted with the color specified in the Legend. If everything is in order, the cell glows blue. If there are errors, the block will be marked in yellow or red. In the tab "Legend" there is a detailed description.
- Upon completion of work, all errors will be indicated on the tab "Magazine".
Unlike the built-in CHKDSK command, which we will look at below, this program, when checking a flash device, erases all data. Therefore, before checking everything important information you need to copy it to a safe place.
If even after checking the flash drive continues to work with errors, this indicates that the device is losing its functionality. Then you need to try to format it. Formatting can be normal or, if this does not help, low-level.
Execute this task Our lessons will help you.
You can also use standard Windows OS formatting. The corresponding instructions can be found in our article on how to record music onto a flash drive for a car radio (method 1).
Method 2: CHKDSK utility
This utility comes with Windows and is used to check the disk for faults. file system. To use it to check the functionality of the media, do this:
