Learn how to recover USB drive without formatting using five efficient fixes on this page. Besides, there’re related tips about formation and data loss prevention tips.
If your computer asks you to format the USB drive, it means the drive’s file system is corrupted. The Windows operating system can no longer read the drive. You can choose to format the drive to repair bad sectors or fix the file system.
However, the problem is that the formatting process will delete all data on the USB drive. You certainly don’t want to lose any data. Is it possible to recover USB drive without formatting?
The short answer is yes, you can recover USB drive without formatting it. This article provides you with 5 proven methods to restore your USB drive to a good status or directly recover data from USB drive. To increase the success rate, please follow these suggestions:
If you're more data-driven, then this method is just right for you. AOMEI FastRecovery, a reliable Windows data recovery software, allows you to retrieve data from USB drive without repairing it.
Don’t hesitate to install FastRecovery on your Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Windows Server PC now!
Step 1. Download and install this trustworthy data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery. On the main interface, click USB/SD Card Recovery.
Step 2. Select the USB drive and click Scan. It will start the deep scanning process to find and display all recoverable data.
Step 3. Under the Type section, specify a data type and expand it to see all data formats. You can sort them or search the name for quick recovery.
Step 4. Select all the deleted or lost photos or videos and click Recover. Please select a new location to save the recovered files as restoring to the original location may result in data overwriting.
You can perform USB drive data recovery for free, up to 500MB. To recover unlimited data, please upgrade to the advanced edition of AOMEI FastRecovery.
When it comes to flash drive repair, using CHKDSK is the most straightforward method. CHKDSK can examine and find disk errors (if there are).
Note: Be sure to use it with the /f, /r, /x, or /b parameters. Without parameters, CHKDSK only displays the status of the volume and doesn’t repair any errors.
Step 1. Connect the USB stick to your Windows computer. Type cmd in the search bar and select Run as administrator.
Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, type chkdsk d: /f or chkdsk d: /f /r as you need.
If you are not familiar with the CHKDSK command, you can make good use of Disk Check to detect and fix corrupted file systems of your connected flash drive. It's GUI version of CHKDSK command.
Step 1. Connect the pen drive to your Windows PC. Then press Win + E to open File Explorer. Right-click on your connected USB stick and select Properties.
Step 2. Under the Tools tab, click the Check button.
Step 3. Click Repair this drive and wait patiently.
If your USB flash drive is disabled, it may begin to malfunction. So you need to enable your USB first; after that, you can update or uninstall this driver as you prefer.
Step 1. Type Device Manager in the search bar and open it.
Step 2. Go to Disk drives, right-click on your targeted USB drive, and enable it.
Step 3. Then, select Update driver or Uninstall device according to your needs.
An unlettered USB flash drive is one of the possible reasons for the USB not recognized because the Windows OS cannot detect unlettered drives or partitions.
So you’re supposed to make your Windows recognize this pen drive by assigning a new drive letter using Disk Management. Then you’re ready to perform USB data recovery.
Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer. Then, press Win + R and type diskmgmt.msc in the Run box to access Disk Management.
Step 2. Right-click on your USB drive and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Step 3. Click Add. Under the Assign the following drive letter menu, select a drive letter that is different from all the existing drive letters.
How to recover USB drive without formatting? In fact, there are 5 simple and effective methods, which can repair USB drive to repair a USB drive and restore it to normal functionality, as well as recover data from it.