How To Fix A Usb Drive That Corrupted

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Scanning and Repairing (Windows)

Scanning and Repairing (Mac)

Reformatting (Windows)

Reformatting (Mac)

Repairing Physical Impairment

This wikiHow teaches yous how to gear up a malfunctioning wink drive. For software or commuter problems, you can scan and repair your flash drive using your computer'southward built-in repair utility. If your drive isn't working because of an improper formatting or corrupted data, you lot tin can reformat your drive—but proceed in mind that reformatting your USB flash drive will erase all files on it. Finally, if the flash drive won't work considering of physical impairment, y'all should have it into a tech department or data recovery professional; if that'southward not possible, you may be able to fix it yourself past soldering the broken USB drive'south circuitry to a working USB cable. However, attempting repairs yourself is not recommended as there is a high run a risk of destroying the wink drive.

one

Plug your flash bulldoze into your computer. The flash bulldoze should fit into one of the rectangular ports on your PC's housing. If you're encountering errors on your flash drive or information technology won't display its contents, yous may need to update its drivers or software using your computer'south repair feature.
2

Press ⊞ Win+E to open up File Explorer . This opens File Explorer on Windows. You can use File Explorer to navigate to your flash bulldoze.

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3
Right-click your wink drive'due south icon. This displays a menu to the right of the bulldoze.
- You may need to click > next to This PC first in order to view the flash drive.
iv

Click Properties . It'southward at the bottom of the carte du jour that appears when y'all right-click a bulldoze.
5

Click the Tools tab. This selection is at the top of the Properties window.
6

Click Check . You'll meet this push at the top of the Tools tab in the "Error checking" section.
7
Wait for Windows to repair your bulldoze. You lot may also demand to follow some on-screen instructions during the repair process.
- For instance, you might need to ostend that you want to repair the drive by clicking Scan & Repair.
viii

Click Close when prompted. If your flash bulldoze'southward problems were driver- or software-based, it should work at present.

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i

Plug your flash drive into your calculator. The flash drive should fit into one of the rectangular ports on your Mac'south housing. If you're encountering errors on your wink drive or it won't display its contents, you may need to update its drivers or software using your computer's repair feature.
2

Open Finder. This resembles a blue face. You'll find it in the Dock.
iii

Click the Go carte du jour item. It'due south in the upper-left side of the screen.
four

Click Utilities . It's a folder nearly the bottom of the Go drop-downwardly menu.
five

Double-click Disk Utility . It resembles a stethoscope on acme of a hard drive icon.
six

Select your flash drive. This is the indented icon below the "External" heading.
7

Click First Assist . It's at the top of the Disk Utility window.^[1]
8

Click Run when prompted. It's the blue push button on the pop-upward window.
9

Wait for the browse to complete. Disk Utility will repair any software- or driver-related issues.
10

Click Washed when prompted. If your flash drive'south problems were driver- or software-based, it should piece of work now.
11

Click . When you are finished using a flash bulldoze on a Mac, always eject information technology before removing information technology. This prevents damage from being washed to your flash bulldoze. To eject information technology, click the eject icon next to the bulldoze in the Finder, or click and elevate it to the Eject icon in the Dock when on your desktop.

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1

Connect the USB flash drive to your computer. Plug it into i of your PC's USB ports.
2

Press ⊞ Win+E to open File Explorer . This opens File Explorer on Windows. You tin employ File Explorer to navigate to your wink drive.
iii
Correct-click your flash drive's icon. This displays a carte du jour to the correct of the bulldoze.
- You may need to click > adjacent to This PC first in order to view the flash bulldoze.
iv

Click Format . It'south in the carte that appears when yous right-click the drive. Doing so opens the Format window.
5
Select a file system. Utilise the drop-downwardly card beneath "File System" to select a file system to reformat the drive in. Your options are as follows::
- NTFS - The default Windows operating system format. This format but works with Windows.
- FAT32 - The most widely compatible format. Works on Windows and Mac, only has a storage limit of 32 gigabytes.
- exFAT (Recommended) - Works on Windows and Mac, and has no storage limit.
- If y'all've formatted your drive before and you're positive that it isn't broken, you can as well check the Quick Format box.
half-dozen

Click Start , and so click OK . Doing this will crusade Windows to begin formatting your flash drive for y'all.
7

Click OK when prompted. Your wink bulldoze has successfully been formatted.

1
Connect the USB flash bulldoze to your computer. Plug information technology into 1 of your Mac's USB ports.
- Some Macs don't have USB ports, so you lot'll demand to purchase an adapter.
two
Click Go . It's a menu particular in the tiptop-left side of the menu bar.
- If you don't see Go, first click the Finder icon, which resembles a blue face in your Mac's dock.
3

Click Utilities . This option is in the Go drop-downward menu.
iv

Double-click Disk Utility . Y'all'll likely observe this option in the middle of the Utilities page.
v

Click your flash drive'southward name. It'southward on the far-left side of the Disk Utility window.
half-dozen

Click the Erase tab. This pick is at the top of the Deejay Utility window.
7

Blazon a name for the bulldoze. Use the space next to "Name" to blazon a proper name for the drive once information technology is done formatting.
8
Select a file format. Use the drop-downwards carte next to "Format" to select a file format. This will bring up a drop-down carte with the post-obit options:
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - The default Mac format. But works on Mac.
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) - Encrypted version of the default Mac format.
- Mac Bone Extended (Example-sensitive, Journaled) - Version of the default Mac format that treats files with the aforementioned name differently if there are example differences (e.chiliad., "file.txt" and "File.txt").
- Mac Bone Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted) - A combination of the three to a higher place formatting options for the Mac format.
- MS-DOS (Fatty) - Works on both Windows and Mac computers, merely has file size limit of iv gigabytes.
- ExFAT (Recommended) - Works on both Windows and Mac computers. Has no storage limit.
9

Click a format option. Click MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFat for optimal compatibility.
10

Click Erase , then click Erase when prompted. This volition begin the formatting process. In one case the formatting is consummate, you'll run into an icon for your flash drive appear on your Mac's desktop.
11

Click Done . When the reformat is finished, click Done to continue.
12

Click . When you are finished using a wink drive on a Mac, always squirt it before removing it. This prevents damage from existence done to your flash drive. To squirt it, click the squirt icon side by side to the drive in the Finder, or click and drag it to the Eject icon in the Dock when on your desktop.

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1
Understand that physically repairing a flash drive is unlikely to work. Unless you take professional experience in repairing physically damaged flash drives, do not try to open it.
- If the flash drive's internal storage is damaged, your only viable pick is to take the drive into a professional repair service.
- The prices for information recovery can vary from $20 - $850 based on the severity of impairment done to the drive, and the type of recovery required.
2

Look for grit or strange objects in the USB drive'southward mouth. Information technology may not be able to connect to your computer because of an easily-removed blockage. If you see something inside of the USB drive's mouth, gently swab it out with a toothpick or a q-tip.
3

Try testing the flash bulldoze on another USB port or computer. It may be the USB port that isn't working rather than the USB drive itself.
iv
Get your repair tools for soldering a broken connector. If you make up one's mind you are comfy risking your files, y'all will need:
- A soldering iron with solder and flux
- An onetime USB cable
- Wire cutters/strippers
- A small flathead screwdriver
- A magnifying drinking glass or jeweler's loop
five

Remove the wink bulldoze's casing. Practise so with your flathead screwdriver.
6
Use the magnifying glass to inspect the circuit board (PCB) and solder pads. If the PCB (the light-green circuit board) itself is damaged or the solder pads are lifted, you will probably need the assist of a professional person.
- Solder pads are the 4 bits of solder that connect the prongs of the USB connector to the copper lines in the circuit lath. If the connector has broken away without causing damage to the PCB or solder pads, continue to the adjacent step.
seven

Ready the flash drive on a hard surface. Place the connector end facing toward you and the solder pads facing up.
8

Utilise wire cutters to cut one end off of the USB cable. Make sure you cut the USB cease if the wink drive cable is an adapter.
9

Strip away a department of the USB cablevision's wire. Endeavor to expose nearly 0.25 inch (0.6 cm) of each of the iv wires within the cable that's attached to the USB cable.
ten

Solder each of the iv wires to the 4 solder pads. Have your time while doing this, since declining to fairly secure the connectedness will nigh probable render your flash drive inoperable.
11

Plug the other finish of the USB cable into a computer. Information technology should fit into one of the rectangular slots on your computer'due south housing.
12
Open your wink bulldoze if possible. If your flash drive is recognizable past the reckoner, open up it and move your files over onto your computer every bit rapidly equally possible:
- Windows - Open Start, click the File Explorer icon, and click your flash drive'southward icon.
- Mac - Open Finder and click your wink drive's icon.
- If the flash drive doesn't connect to your calculator, you can try taking it to a tech section to run into if they can still pull the files off of information technology.

Add New Question

Question

My pen drive is not showing my folders, but when I am scanning the pen drive, it is then showing the names of folders. What should I do?

The files could have been subconscious every bit system files. To prove the files, become to folder backdrop and to the display tab. There you volition find the selection Testify System Files and Show Hidden Files. Bank check both of them and utilise. Your files should be visible now.
Question

When I try to format my pen drive, my PC shows the message "Windows was unable to format this drive". What is the solution?

It is nearly likely that your pen bulldoze is expressionless (actually the pen drive's storage may be intact but the boot/power part inside the chip has failed).
Question

I have just recently bought a USB storage device. When I plug information technology into my laptop it makes the sound that information technology's continued and starts to install, but the binder doesn't prove up in My Computer. What tin can I do?

This is similar to a trouble I have accessing my mp3 role player. I take 2 cables. Both accuse the device merely one provides a data connectedness so that the device is recognized every bit a drive on the computer, and the other provides no information connection. You could have a cablevision problem.

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If you choose to seek the services of a professional information recovery company, be sure to depict your bug to the best of your abilities to ensure they have the tools and experience for the job.
USB drives are cheap and widely bachelor. If the data on the flash bulldoze isn't important, consider just buying a new flash drive.
If your USB wink drive does comprise important data you would like to retrieve, do not re-format the device.

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Always support your important information.
Formatting will erase all information on a drive.
If the files are at all important, practise not let someone who happens to ain a soldering iron convince yous that they tin fix it. Take your bulldoze into a professional person repair service.
Always eject a flash drive before removing information technology to ensure there is no damage to your files or to the bulldoze itself.

Things You'll Need

Your operating system (restore) disk.
Your operating system series key.
A USB flash drive that is working properly for testing/comparing purposes.

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