Restoring a flash drive: detailed and visual instructions. Restoring a flash drive and further treatment of a USB drive Restoring a flashboot flash drive

Greetings to all blog readers!

Probably most people who work with a computer more or less often have a flash drive (or even more than one). Sometimes it happens that a flash drive stops working normally, for example, due to unsuccessful formatting or as a result of some errors.

Quite often, the file system can be recognized in such cases as RAW, the flash drive cannot be formatted, and it cannot be accessed either... What to do in this case? Use this small instruction!

These instructions for restoring the functionality of a flash drive are designed for a variety of problems with USB media, except for mechanical damage (the manufacturer of the flash drive can, in principle, be anything: kingston, silicon-power, transced, Data traveler, A-Data, etc.).

And so... let's get started. All actions will be described step by step.

1. Determining the parameters of the flash drive (manufacturer, controller brand, amount of memory).

It would seem that it is difficult to determine the parameters of a flash drive, especially since the manufacturer and amount of memory are almost always indicated on the flash drive body. The point here is that USB drives of even one model range and the same manufacturer can have different controllers. A simple conclusion follows from this - in order to restore the functionality of the flash drive, you must first accurately determine the brand of the controller in order to choose the right utility for treatment.

A typical type of flash drive (from the inside) is a board with a microcircuit.

To determine the brand of the controller, there are special number-alphabetic values ​​specified by the VID and PID parameters.

VID - vendor ID
PID - Product ID

They will be different for different controllers!

If you don’t want to kill the flash drive, then under no circumstances use utilities that are not intended for your VID/PID. Very often, due to an incorrectly selected utility, a flash drive becomes unusable.

How to determine VID and PID?

The easiest option is to run a small free utility CheckUDisk and select your flash drive from the list of devices. Next you will see all the necessary parameters to restore the flash drive. See screenshot below.

VID/PID can be found without using the utility.

To do this, you need to go to Device Manager. In Windows 7/8, this is conveniently done through a search in the control panel (see screenshot below).

In Device Manager, the flash drive will usually be labeled as “USB Mass Storage Device”, you need to click on that device right click mouse and go to its properties (as in the picture below).

In the “details” tab, select the “Equipment ID” parameter - the VID/PID will appear in front of you. In my case (in the screenshot below) these parameters are equal:

2. Search for the necessary utility for treatment (low-level formatting)

Knowing VID and PID we need to find special utility, suitable for restoring our flash drive. It is very convenient to do this, for example, on the website: flashboot.ru/iflash/

If suddenly nothing is found on the site for your model, it is best to use a search engine: Google or Yandex (query like: silicon power VID 13FE PID 3600).

In my case, the Formatter SiliconPower utility was recommended for a flash drive on the flashboot.ru website.

Actually, that's all. Of course, this recovery instruction is not the simplest (not 1-2 buttons to press), but it can be used in many cases, for almost all manufacturers and types of flash drives...

All the best!

Good day everyone!

You can argue, but flash drives have become one of the most (if not the most) popular storage media. It is not surprising that there are quite a lot of questions regarding them: especially important among them are the issues of recovery, formatting and testing.

In this article I will present the best (in my opinion) utilities for working with drives - that is, those tools that I have used myself many times. The information in the article will be updated and expanded from time to time.

The best programs for working with a flash drive

Important! First of all, if you have problems with a flash drive, I recommend visiting the official website of its manufacturer. The fact is that the official website may have specialized utilities for data recovery (and not only!), which will cope with the task much better.

For testing

Let's start with testing drives. Let's look at programs that will help determine some of the parameters of a USB drive.

H2testw

A very useful utility for determining the actual volume of any media. In addition to the storage capacity, it can test the actual speed of its operation (which some manufacturers like to overestimate for marketing purposes).

Check Flash

A free utility that can quickly check your flash drive for functionality, measure its real read and write speed, complete removal all the information from it (so that no utility can recover a single file from it!).

In addition, it is possible to edit information about partitions (if they exist on it), make backup copy and reanimate the image of an entire media partition!

The speed of the utility is quite high and it is unlikely that at least one competing program will do this job faster!

HD Speed

This one is very simple, but very convenient program for testing flash drives for read/write speed (information transfer). In addition to USB drives, the utility supports hard disks, optical drives.

The program does not require installation. Information is presented in a clear graphical representation. Supports Russian language. Works in all Windows versions: XP, 7, 8, 10.

CrystalDiskMark

One of best utilities to test the speed of information transfer. Supports various media: HDD (hard drives), SSD (newfangled solid state drives), USB flash drives, memory cards, etc.

The program supports the Russian language, although running a test in it is as easy as shelling pears - just select a carrier and press the start button (you can figure it out without knowledge of the great and mighty).

An example of the results can be seen in the screenshot above.

Flash Memory Toolkit

Flash Memory Toolkit - this program is a whole set of utilities for servicing flash drives.

Full set of functions:

• a detailed list of properties and information about the drive and USB devices;
• test to find errors when reading and writing information to the media;
• quick data clearing from the drive;
• search and recovery of information;
• backup of all files to media and the ability to restore from a backup copy;
• low-level testing of information transfer speed;
• measuring performance when working with small/large files.

FC-Test

Website: xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/fc-test.html

Benchmark for measuring real read/write speed hard drives, flash drives, memory cards, CD/DVD devices, etc. Its main feature and difference from all utilities of this kind is that it uses real data samples to work.

Of the minuses: the utility has not been updated for quite some time (problems with newfangled media types are possible).

Flashnul

This utility allows you to perform diagnostics and testing USB Flash drives. By the way, during this operation, errors and bugs will be corrected. Supported media: US and Flash drives, SD, MMC, MS, XD, MD, CompactFlash, etc.

List of operations performed:

• reading test - an operation will be carried out to determine the availability of each sector on the media;
• recording test - similar to the first function;
• information integrity test - the utility checks the integrity of all data on the media;
• saving a media image - saving everything that is on the media into a separate image file;
• Loading the image into the device is similar to the previous operation.

For formatting

HDD Low Level Format Tool

A program that has only one task - to format the media (by the way, hard drives are also supported HDDs, and solid state drives - SSD, and USB flash drives).

Despite such a “meager” set of capabilities, it is not for nothing that this utility is in first place in this article. The fact is that it allows you to “bring back” to life even those media that are no longer visible in any other program. If this utility sees your drive, try low-level formatting it (attention! all data will be deleted!) - there is a good chance that after this format, your flash drive will work as before: without failures and errors.

USB Disk Storage Format Tool

A program for formatting and creating bootable flash drives. Supported file systems: FAT, FAT32, NTFS. The utility does not require installation, supports USB port 2.0 (USB 3.0 - does not see. Note: this port is marked in blue).

Its main difference from standard tool in Windows for formatting drives - this is the ability to “see” even those media that are not visible regular means OS. Otherwise, the program is quite simple and concise, I recommend using it to format all “problem” flash drives.

Format USB Or Flash Drive Software

The utility will help in cases where the standard formatting program in Windows refuses to “see” the media (or, for example, will generate errors during operation). Format USB Or Flash Drive Software can format media into the following file systems: NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT. There is a quick formatting option.

I would also like to note the simple interface: it is designed in a minimalist style, it’s easy to understand (the screenshot is shown above). In general, I recommend it!

SD Formatter

A simple utility for formatting various flash cards: SD/SDHC/SDXC.

The main difference from standard program, built into Windows - is that this utility formats the media in accordance with the type of flash card: SD/SDHC/SDXC. It is also worth noting the presence of the Russian language, simple and clear interface(the main window of the program is shown in the screenshot above).

Aomei Partition Assistant

Aomei Partition Assistant- large free (for home use) “combine”, which provides a huge number of functions and capabilities for working with hard drives and USB media.

The program supports the Russian language (but is still set to English by default), works in all popular Windows operating systems: XP, 7, 8, 10. The program, by the way, works according to its own unique algorithms (at least according to the developers of this software ), which allows it to “see” even “very problematic” media, be it a flash drive or HDD.

In general, a whole article would not be enough to describe all its properties! I recommend you try it, especially since Aomei Partition Assistant will save you not only from problems with USB drives, but also with other media.

Recovery programs

Important! If the programs presented below are not enough, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with a large collection of programs for data recovery from various types media (hard drives, flash drives, memory cards, etc.): .

If, when connecting the drive, it reports an error and asks you to format it, do not do it (it is possible that after this operation, it will be much more difficult to return the data)! In this case, I recommend reading this article:.

Recuva

One of the best free file recovery programs. Moreover, it supports not only USB drives, but also hard drives. Distinctive features: fast scanning of media, a fairly high degree of search for “remains” of files (i.e., the chances of returning a deleted file are quite high), simple interface, step by step wizard recovery (even complete beginners can handle it).

For those who will be scanning their flash drive for the first time, I recommend that you read the mini-instructions for recovering files in Recuva:

R Saver

Free* (for non-commercial use in the USSR) program for recovering information from hard drives, flash drives, memory cards and other media. The program supports all the most popular file systems: NTFS, FAT and exFAT.

The program sets the media scanning parameters independently (which is also another plus for beginners).

Program features:

• recovery is accidental deleted files;
• possibility of reconstruction of damaged file systems;
• recovering files after formatting the media;
• data recovery using signatures.

EasyRecovery

One of the best data recovery programs, supports a wide variety of media types. The program works in all versions new Windows: 7, 8, 10 (32/64 bits), supports Russian language.

One cannot fail to note one of the most important advantages of the program - the high degree of detection of deleted files. Everything that can be “pulled out” from a disk or flash drive will be presented to you and offered to be restored.

Perhaps the only negative is that it is paid...

Important! You can find out how to return deleted files in this program in this article (see part 2):

R-STUDIO

One of the most popular programs for data recovery, both in our country and abroad. A large number of different media are supported: hard drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SSD), memory cards, flash drives, etc. The list of supported file systems is also amazing: NTFS, NTFS5, ReFS, FAT12/16/32, exFAT, etc.

The program will help in the following cases:

• accidentally deleting a file from the trash (this happens sometimes...);
• formatting the hard drive;
• virus attack;
• in the event of a computer power failure (especially important in Russia with its “reliable” power grids);
• in case of errors on the hard drive, if there are a large number of bad sectors;
• if the structure of the hard drive is damaged (or changed).

In general, a universal harvester for all kinds of cases. The only negative is that the program is paid.

Remark! Step-by-step recovery data in the R-Studio program:

Popular USB flash drive manufacturers

It is, of course, unrealistic to collect all manufacturers in one table. But all the most popular ones are definitely present here :). On the manufacturer’s website you can often find not only service utilities for resuscitating or formatting a USB drive, but also utilities that greatly facilitate the work: for example, programs for archival copying, assistants for preparing bootable media etc.

Note! If I have left anyone out, I suggest using the tips from the instructions for restoring the functionality of a USB drive: . The article describes in some detail how and what to do to “return” the flash drive to working condition.

This concludes the report. Good work and good luck everyone!

It has happened to many users that you insert a flash drive into the computer, but it identifies it as an unrecognized device and does not open it. This, of course, is very unpleasant and frightening, especially if the media contains very important and necessary data. And the question arises: is it possible to restore a flash drive?

In principle, it is possible if the media stopped working not due to any physical intervention.

I’ll tell you right away that there is no universal program that could restore a damaged flash drive. Each device has its own utilities. The probability of success is sufficient to try it.

Flash drive identification

So, before you restore a flash drive that the computer does not see, you need to identify it. We need VIP data, PID and memory chip information. If you know them, then good. If not, then you will need a program that is very easy to manage.

By connecting the flash drive to the computer and running the CheckUDisk program, we get the necessary data.

Flash drive recovery utility

To restore a flash drive, we are primarily interested in the VID&PID line. In my case it has the value Vid_0951&Pid_1665. Therefore, on the flash drive the VID is 0951, and the PID is 1665. With this data we go to the site, which is free and mostly in Russian.

Here we will see where the received data should be written: in the VID and PID lines, respectively. We write and click “Search”. The site will find all flash drives that have such identifiers, and most likely there will be a lot of them.

Therefore, you may need other data from CheckUDisk in order to find your flash drive in this list. For example VendorID or ProductID.

To make it clearer, I will give a translation of the columns of the table in which you will look for your flash drive:

• Flash vendor – flash drive manufacturer;
• Flash model – flash drive model;
• Vid and Pid are the identifiers that we obtained at the very beginning;
• Chip vendor – chip manufacturer;
• Chip model – chip model;
• Memory chip – chip memory;
• Size (gb) – size in GB;
• Utils – A utility that can solve your flash drive recovery problem.

As I already said, if it is difficult to find a flash drive in the list by VID and PID, then use other CheckUDisk data, for example, information about the manufacturer or chip, or capacity (you should know this if this is your flash drive).

You can now get increased views of Telegram channels with large wholesale discounts. To do this, you just need to follow the provided link. Here you will find reliable service, quality resources, and very inexpensive prices for services. In addition, on the same site you can get other resources for developing a channel or group.

And, as has already become clear, to restore a flash drive you need a utility, which can be downloaded from the link in the Utils column of the list table. These programs are usually simple, and the whole thing comes down to pressing one button.

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 (most probable cause)
• 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 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 cost of the flash recovery procedure is not that little money, which makes you think about self-recovery usb flash drives. 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, unknowing or deliberate deletion of files from a USB drive, damage to the structure, physical or mechanical damage 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 drives. 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 some 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, format it correctly, solder the loose contact or memory chip, scan the information and process bad sectors on flash, 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 to resuscitate a Jetflash flash card is to 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, in operating system Windows 7 and higher 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 HP USB Disk Storege Format flash drive recovery program

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 (HDDs), but not many know that it is also suitable for devices such as flash drives. 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 located on the HDD Regenerator review page.

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).

The issue may not be related to file recovery. The main requirement is to describe the problem in detail, formulate it in such a way that you don’t have to decipher your message.

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. Which free software install on your computer which 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 full instructions which includes 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 at work USB flash drives do not occur often. 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 Chkdsk built into Windows and the formatting system are suitable.

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 EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard program, 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.

How to recover a flash drive using Unformat

I suggest you effective method recovery recovery usb flash drive. To use it you will need specialized utility- Unformatted. The program has long established itself in the field of specialized software. In the instructions, I described in detail the entire process of returning files - from scanning the disk to saving files on a flash drive.

Unformat supports recovery of flash drives from almost all manufacturers on the market today.