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Alora Smith November 17, 2023 3 Comments

USB flash drive files accidentally deleted or lost? This article covers the top four USB data recovery methods. The easiest way to recover files is via USB data recovery software like Webbyacad Data Recovery. Due to their reliability and simplicity, USB flash drives are popular external storage devices. Still, you may accidentally delete or destroy data on a USB flash drive.

Data Recovery from a Lost USB Flash Drive: Preparation Steps

A robust USB flash drive recovery program is needed to restore your data. Read on to discover the top four USB data recovery options and USB drive data loss prevention recommendations!

Small solid-state flash disks store data. These are also called pen drives, thumb drives, jump drives, flash drives, and memory drives. They are used to store essential data and backups, move favourite settings or apps, and even launch an operating system if bootable.

No moving parts make USB flash devices harder to break than hard drives. USB drives can become damaged and unreadable when shared between many computers. All disk data will be inaccessible then. An example:

Hey, The disc has all my photos and is often used, therefore it may have failed. Previous notifications indicated the disk was unformatted. Check disk reports the drive as RAW (?), indicating an issue. After downloading Recuva, it says “Unable to determine file system type” when I try to recover files from my USB stick’s E: drive. Please suggest next steps.

How to Restore Files Deleted or Destroyed USB Flash Drive

Due to broad use, USB data loss issues are common. Avoid panicking if you lose USB data! Damaged USB flash drives can still be recovered. Anyone would reasonably be concerned if they accidently lost files. However, because ill-informed behaviours are the primary cause of most recovery failures, please avoid from taking any drastic measures.

To improve the success rate of data recovery, first carefully eject your USB drive and then unplug it from your computer’s USB socket. Stop using it as soon as you notice there are data loss issues!

After that, keep in mind that you shouldn’t format or put any new data on the USB flash drive while you’re “testing” it to ensure it’s working properly. These activities may disrupt the file structure and replace the original data, rendering lost data unrecoverable. Regardless of the cause—hardware failure, incorrect file system, etc.—time is of the essence. Please recover the data from your USB flash device as quickly as possible.

Restore Data from Previous USB VersionsStart This PC > To restore the most recent version, right-click the USB flash drive, navigate to Properties > Previous Versions, and then click Restore.Simple, although earlier backups are required. Local USB Drive Retrieval HelpCall or send an email to a local data recovery facility for a quote. Drop off the USB flash disk at the store. Both expensive and time-consuming.

Restore Data from USB Flash Drive device using Recovery software

If you want to discover the simplest way for recovering files from a USB flash drive, it is recommended that you utilize a professional USB recovery application. Stellar Data Recovery, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Disk Drill, and Webbyacad Data Recovery software are all popular data recovery solutions for USB drives that can effortlessly recover lost files in a variety of conditions.

We prefer Webbyacad USB data recovery app since it is simple to use and entirely safe. Webbyacad Data Recovery is capable of recovering email files from Windows and Mac computers or laptops, as well as accidentally deleted Word documents, photos, videos, audio files, and archive files from flash drives.

The key features of Webbyacad Data Recovery:

  • Hundreds of file types and formats, including RAW, MKV, JPG, PSD, DOC, and others, are supported.
  • Recover data from RAW, corrupted, unreadable, and formatted USB flash drives.
  • Support BitLocker data recovery, such as file recovery from destroyed or lost encrypted disks, data recovery from erased BitLocker partitions, and so on.
  • In addition to USB drives, it can recover data from a wide range of storage devices, including hard disks, memory cards, SD cards, digital cameras, and others.
  • Almost all versions of Windows are supported, including Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP and Windows Server 2019/2016/2012/2008/2003.

How can I Recover files from USB with Webbyacad Data Recovery?

Regardless of the USB flash drive data loss scenario, you should utilize Webbyacad Data Recovery program. This is a step-by-step tutorial on recovering deleted or lost files from flash drives:

Step 1: Simply connect the flash drive you want to recover to any accessible USB port on your computer. To benefit from the fastest possible data recovery speed, choose the fastest USB connection that is always available.

Step 2: Download Webbyacad Data Recovery for free, install it, and run it on your PC. Download Webbyacad Data Recovery and then follow the wizard’s instructions to install it on your Windows PC.

Step 3: Select the USB flash device from which you lost or erased files, and then click “Next” to begin the search for recoverable contents. A progress bar with the remaining time, elapsed time, and current operation progress will appear.

Step 4: Once the software has done scanning, the path to each found file will be displayed in the left sidebar. You can, for example, select a folder and the right pane will display all of the files in that folder.

Step 5: Using the software, you may preview recovered files by double-clicking them. To get them back, pick them and then click the “Recover” button.

Note: If lost files are not recovered in quick scan mode, please click “Back” on the home window, check the “Deep scan” option, and try again.

To Preview the files on the USB Drive, use Webbyacad Data Recovery

Restore your lost data with CMD.

Another method for data recovery that you could try is to use the command prompt. This is for experienced Windows users who understand how to use the CMD command.

Connect the USB flash disk to your PC.

Press Windows + R to launch Windows Explorer. Type CMD into the search bar to launch a command prompt. Enter the following command into the CMD window and hit Enter. Remember to replace E: with the drive letter of your USB flash device.

To recover erased data from USB flash drives, use CMD.

After the recovery procedure is completed, all recovered files will be placed in a newly created folder. To be used by your programs, the files must be renamed with their original file suffix, such as.jpg, if they are in the CHK format.

Chkdsk is a disk repair utility.

The alternative is to retrieve USB data from a prior release. Previous Versions feature in Windows is a valuable asset as it comprises the most recent versions of a specific form of file system backup. You can now utilize it to recover all lost files from your flash drive.

The following procedures must be adhered to in order to restore USB data:

  • Connect the USB drive to a computer via any available USB interface.
  • Select Properties by right-clicking the USB flash drive in the list of removable drives after launching This PC or This Computer.
  • Flash drive via USB for Windows
  • Click the Restore icon once the most recent previous version has been selected from the Previous Versions menu.
  • Recovery of deleted files from USB flash drives is possible with prior versions of Windows.

For the purpose of recovering deleted files from flash drives resulting from “logical” errors like file system failures or accidental deletion, each of the aforementioned methods remains accessible. However, in the event that the USB flash drive has incurred physical harm leading to data loss, the aforementioned methods are inapplicable for file restoration.

The process of recovering data from a physically damaged USB flash drive can be challenging due to the need for specialized equipment and extensive technical expertise. You should consider sending a physically damaged USB flash drive to a local data recovery company for repair and recovery.

A number of frequent USB drive complications

This section will cover several prevalent USB drive issues that can be resolved on both Mac and Windows systems.

1: Accidentally formatting USB devices
A minimal number of taps are sufficient to perform the formatting process on a USB flash drive. Without creating a backup, formatting or partitioning a USB drive or partition could result in the loss of all data stored on the device. Inadvertent formatting frequently occurs due to human fallibility.

Users may format a drive inadvertently in an attempt to recover their data subsequent to encountering an issue. Upon formatting a USB flash drive, all data present on the disk or partition will be expunged by the operating system. A reliable solution in such situations is Webbyacad Data Recovery Tool.

2: Accidentally erasing data from USB flash devices
Retrieving deleted files is a simple process using the Windows Recycle Bin, irrespective of whether the deletion occurred through the context menu or by pressing the “Delete” key on the keyboard.

3: Circumstance: A USB flash drive malfunctions, becomes corrupt, or is RAW.
The RAW USB drive is an extremely frustrating circumstance that a significant number of Windows users have occasionally encountered. It consistently manifests as one of the subsequent symptoms

data recovery tool

See Below for Numerous Sentence Possibilities

  • Access to the USB flash drive is currently denied due to its unformatted state. The specified parameter is flawed.
  • The USB flash drive’s whereabouts are unaccessible due to an invalid specification. :* is not reachable. There is no recognized file system on this drive.
  • There is no recognized file system on this drive.
  • Kindly verify that the volume is undamaged and that the necessary file system drivers have been installed.
  • The USB flash drive will display the error message “The file system type is RAW” if chkdsk is executed. “The conversion feature cannot be used for RAW drives, as indicated by the RAW file system reported by chkdsk. Additionally, chkdsk cannot be used for RAW drives.”

In these instances, you can use Webbyacad Data Recovery to recover files from the RAW USB device if it contains critical files. Once the data has been recovered, go to Disk Management, right-click the USB device, and select Format. However, keep in mind that formatting deletes the file system as well as the contents, so never format a drive containing critical data!

1: No files or folders are displayed on a USB flash drive

The most prevalent causes of USB flash drives not displaying files or directories are virus infestations or unintended deletions. Furthermore, files and folders set as hidden by the operating system will not appear on Windows. These are typically system files that are hidden for good reason.

2: USB flash drive not detected or working

When you plug your USB flash drive into your Windows PC, it normally functions perfectly. However, the drive may not be identified by your computer at times, or an error message such as “USB device not recognized” may occur. There are several possible causes for the problem, including faulty file systems, failing USB ports, and other drive issues.

3: The USB drive cannot be rejected

  1. When you select the “Safely remove hardware” button in the bottom-right corner, Windows occasionally is unable to disable the device and shows one of the following error messages:
  2. This device is currently in use. Try again after closing any windows or programs that may be using the device.
  3. Because your device is in use, Windows cannot stop it. Close any windows or programs that are now using the device and try again later.
  4. There is currently no method to stop the device. Later, try stopping the gadget again.
  5. The gadget cannot be stopped by Windows. Remove this device while it is still in use. Before removing this device, any programs operating on it should be closed.

How to Prevent USB Flash Drives from Losing Data?

Now that you’re aware of the daily hazards to your storage media, let’s look at some solutions to avoid data loss.

Back up your critical data on a regular basis.

To avoid USB drive data loss, create a systematic backup plan and frequently transfer your contents from a USB drive to an internal or external storage device. You should also keep them separate from your networked devices in a secure location. Making extra copies costs nothing but time.

Remove your USB flash drive safely.

Before removing the USB flash drive, ensure that it has been properly ejected, as pulling a drive out while it is still in use may erase the data. Fortunately, there are various ways to eject a drive on both Mac and Windows.

Ensure that you have up-to-date, dependable antivirus software.

It is critical that you install software that protects your data against viruses and malware, as they constitute a major threat.

Check that your computer is properly turned off.

It is vital that you properly end your system. Simply clicking the power button to turn off the power may cause file system damage. You must first terminate any open programs. In Windows, select “Shut down” by selecting the Windows button in the lower left corner of the screen. On a Mac, pick “Shut down” from the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen.

Check your USB flash drive for faults on a regular basis.

There is an error checking tool available for both Mac and Windows that allows users to examine disks and partitions for issues such as defective sectors and disk failures. If your system isn’t running consistently, you should use these tools straight immediately.

To Summarize

This article covers all you need to know about USB flash data recovery. It investigates various causes of USB drive data loss, provides access to a free tool for recovering erased content from USB flash drives, and proposes practical repairs for damaged USB drives. We sincerely hope you found this information useful.

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The Best Free HDD Data Recovery and Repair Methods

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