Doesn’t the thought of losing your important work documents, educational files, and memorable photos give you shivers? Who wants to go through the nightmare of losing access to such valuable lost data on flash drives? The answer is no one. USBs are not entirely safe!
You are not alone if you have worked all night to complete your school assignment using your Spectrum internet which can be upgraded to internet ultra you should know the Spectrum internet ultra price and transfer it to a flash drive to share it with your professor, only to find out that the file has been corrupted!
Reasons for Data Loss
There can be various reasons for data to be lost from your flash drive without a warning. These include:
- Accidental file deletion
- Malware attack
- Data disintegration
- Unfitting conditions such as high heat or moisture
- Hardware failure
- Software bugs
- Dysfunctional USB ports.
Methods to Recover Files From a Flash Drive
Have you ever unconsciously ejected your USB while some files were still transferring only to find out that all your documents got deleted due to it? When a USB gets corrupted by a virus, you become unable to access the files on it. Sometimes the files get infected and it becomes impossible to view them. Other times documents are completely erased from the flash drives leaving you with no other option than to move on.
Here are some tricks to try to retrieve deleted files from flash drives.
#1: Use Command Prompt Method
CMD is the easiest and most efficient process to recover deleted files without having to download third-party resources. CMD is an in-built feature of Windows using which you can attempt to get your lost data back.
Follow these steps to restore your files:
- Insert the flash drive into the USB port,
- Click ‘Start’ and search ‘CMD’ OR type “Win + R” and enter ‘CMD’ in the dialogue box that appears,
- Once a black screen is displayed, type “chkdsk X: /f” and press the Enter key. Don’t forget to replace the “X” with the letter allotted to your USB.
- Next, type “ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D X:*.*” and again replace “X” with the letter of the drive where you want your recovered files to be saved,
- Sit back and wait for the magic to take place.
CMD is fairly easy to use. You don’t need to stress over your accidentally deleted files anymore. Although this method is not guaranteed to work each time, it does in many cases. If it works for you, you will see a new folder with all your deleted files in the designated folder.
#2: Use the ‘Restore a Previous Version’ Feature
‘Restore a Previous Version’ is another in-built feature that comes with all the recent Windows versions to retrieve lost files from flash drives without the investment into third-party software. Remember, this feature works only if it is activated before the files are deleted from the USB.
To gain access to the deleted files, follow the following steps:
- Insert the corrupted flash drive into your PC or laptop,
- Navigate to the specific folder from where the files got deleted,
- Right-click the folder to open a drop-down list and choose ‘restore previous version’
- Another menu will appear. You need to choose which previous version you need and then press the ‘restore’ option,
- Click ‘OK’ to initiate the recovery process.
Using this method you will be able to retrieve your lost files and breathe a sigh of relief.
#3: Use the ‘Disk Drill’ Procedure
If the other two methods fail, you can use the reliable ‘Disk Drill Recovery Software” technique to retain deleted documents from your flash drive. It is a pro-level data recovery solution that is easily available but you don’t have to be exceptionally skilled to use this software. It is a data recovery software that can restore up to 500 MB of data using its free version.
Follow these steps to recover your documents:
- Download the Disk Drill Software online,
- Once it is downloaded, install it on your desktop or laptop,
- Connect the corrupted flash drive,
- Open the ‘Disk Drill Software’ and select your USB,
- Hit the ‘Search for Lost Data’ button on the right side,
- Preview and select the files that need to be restored and click ‘recover’,
- Now, wait for the software to scan your USB to retrieve your files.
Disk Drill is a user-friendly software that uses advanced file recognition algorithms that can identify distorted documents and bring them back to life.
