Hello friends. an urgent problem and now we will talk in detail on this topic. In past issues, we learned the structure of the computer part one - and part two -.
Today I will tell you in detail and show you about data recovery from a flash drive. For this I will use r-studio program... There are many others useful programs for data recovery, but in this article we will consider R-studio. At the end of the post, I shot a short video on how to use the program and recover data from various devices usb.
Recovering information
I have been using this program for a long time and it has helped me out more than once in difficult situations.
USB devices, flash drives, hard disks and every computer user probably has such equipment now. Sometimes it crashes or asks to be formatted, although there may be valuable information there.
Most people go to the service center to solve the problem of recovering deleted data from a flash drive and similar devices. But you can solve it at home yourself, but this is only if the flash drive is detected by the computer, or at least a small indicator near the time lights up - a USB device.
I will give an example for myself. In my work, I often use flash drives with certain information. One day, at work, you had to use a USB flash drive. I put it in the front usb computer, I got an electric shock (static) and after that moment, my flash drive stopped functioning, it was not even detected as a device on the computer. There were many useful programs that I use in my work.
Everything that was there remained there, only I could not get this data out of there. I tried everything, but the flash drive remained dead weight. I did not make backups then, so I had to restore everything from disks and upload it to the Internet. After this incident, I regularly, at least once a month, do backups flash drives on your computer if data is updated there. If they are not updated (you can save it once), but I know that even if the flash drive breaks, I have this information elsewhere, that is, on my computer.
R-studio program
In order to start recovering data from a flash drive, you need to install a special program. I will use R-studio, you can use any other.
If you don't trust me, you can find it yourself on the Internet.
After the program has been downloaded and installed on your computer, you can start the data recovery process. By the way, if your Windows does not load, you can read the information. If the device is detected, then everything is in order and you can start.
If the device is not detected, then you can insert it into another USB port, or try it on another computer. If the situation has not changed, then this program will not help you. You can use another or ask for help in service center.
Run the program
The R-studio program is Russified and you should easily understand it. We go into the program through a shortcut or start menu, all programs.
We select the desired device or disk.
Click the scan tab and wait, the scan time will depend on the size of your device.
Then the scan options come out, you need to click Scan.
The right window displays information about the scan.
After completing the scan, go to our USB flash drive.
We open the section of the device, which displays all the files found.
Select the folders you need, go into them and restore files, find the space you need on your hard disk and click Yes.
Well, in principle, the whole simple process of recovering your lost data. A short video instruction on how to use the R-studio program, I recommend watching it in full screen mode. If the video slows down, then press pause and wait a little.
Conclusion
Today we have analyzed in detail the topic of data recovery from a flash drive and other media. I hope you succeed. If something remains incomprehensible to you - do not hesitate to ask, I do not bite :).
Perhaps you have or have questions about how to recover data from a flash drive. You can ask them below in the comments to this article, as well as use the form with me.
Thank you for reading me in
Hello everyone, Max is in touch, and today we will talk about how you can restore a damaged USB flash drive. Due to their versatility, ease of handling and compact size, removable flash drives or flash drives are widely used.
Unlike obsolete optical disks, flash drives allow you to store more information, they have a higher potential for data rewriting and storage life, as well as better protection from external damage.
Alas, while flash drives are considered quite reliable devices, they are not perfect. There are many reasons why a USB flash drive can fail. Physical component failure, controller failure, damage file system due to the removal of the device at the time of recording, the development of the potential of memory cells - all this can lead to the fact that the flash drive becomes unreadable or simply ceases to be recognized by the operating system.
When connecting such a flash drive, the user may receive various errors, for example, "USB device is not recognized", "No access to the disk", etc., but this does not mean that the drive itself and the data written to it are irretrievably damaged.
If the flash drive does not have gross physical damage, in most cases it can be restored. Below we will describe the most common problems in the operation of flash drives, as well as ways to "cure" them, if one does not help, the other will help. So, let's begin...
The flash drive is recognized by Windows, but its file system is designated as RAW
The prognosis in such cases is usually the most favorable. Logical errors are the most common reason for converting the file system of a flash drive to RAW. In this case, the media is recognized by the OS, but its contents are not available, and when you try to open it, the system prompts you to format it.
Indeed, formatting a flash drive can restore access to it, but this method is unacceptable if it has important files... Here you can go in two ways: restore the damaged file system or the data itself using recovery programs deleted files type Transcend RecoveRx or.
After recovery, the USB flash drive can be formatted in any way convenient for you. To reconstruct the file system, we use the standard chkdsk utility... Run Command Prompt as administrator and run a command like this in it: chkdsk T: / f
The letter T in this example has a flash drive, you will have your own. In most cases, this simple trick will restore access to the media, but it may also happen that when you run the command, you will receive the message "Chkdsk is not valid for RAW drives." In this case, we perform data recovery in the first way, and then format the USB flash drive.
The flash drive is recognized by Windows, but there is no data access
If the media is recognized, but shows the wrong capacity, when you try to view the contents, you receive the errors "No access to disk", "Insert disk" and so on, most likely there is a firmware (firmware) corruption.
Such breakdowns are most often caused by power failures, unsafe removal of the device from the USB port. Also, the cause of the errors described above can be malfunctions and damage to the flash memory itself. In such cases, when trying to format the drive, the message "The disk is write-protected" appears.
The case is more complicated than with the file rAW systemhowever, with the right approach, a non-working drive can be recovered. For these purposes, special programs of the MPTool class are used, which allow performing the so-called low-level formatting.
Since all these tools are strictly specialized, for each flash drive model and controller type, you need to use its own, "native" utility. And to do this, at least you need to know the device ID (PID) and manufacturer ID (VID).
Connect the USB flash drive to your computer, open the Device Manager, in the category of storage or portable devices, find the connected drive in the USB Controllers category and open its properties.
In the list of properties, you need to find the parameter: Device ID or Device Instance Code. In the Details field, you will see a line containing the VID_XXX items; PID_XXX, where XXX is the manufacturer ID and device ID, respectively.
If specified parameters you do not have, use the utilities to get complete information about removable media: Flash Drive Information Extractor.
Or CheckUDisk
After receiving information, go to a specialized site Flashboot, enter the received VID and PID in the corresponding fields and search. You will receive a list of recovery utilities for your drive.
If the utility that exactly matches the VID and PID of your flash drive does not appear, be guided by the manufacturer of the removable device. It is not possible to give a consistent instruction on the use of each utility, since they all differ from each other, the main thing when using them is to clearly follow the instructions of the wizard.
However, you can use universal software tools for recovering flash drives, for example, D-Soft Flash Doctor... This free program is not tied to a specific manufacturer or controller type, and therefore can be used to treat flash drives of various types.
Additionally D-Soft Flash Doctor disk imaging, scanning for logical errors are supported. Using the utility is simple, you just need to select a non-working flash drive in the window and click the "Restore media" button.
The flash drive is not recognized by the system
In the cases discussed above, the flash drive, although not readable, was still recognized by the system, but what to do if Windows cannot recognize the connected drive? In Explorer it is not displayed, in the disk manager - too, and the only indication of the connection is the window with the notification "USB device not recognized."
And also an item marked with a yellow warning icon in Device Manager.
The error in this example can be caused by both software problems and physical damage USB flash drive components. It is important to exclude hardware breakdowns here, since this almost always means that the USB flash drive will either have to be handed over for repair or simply replaced.
First, try connecting the problematic drive to a different USB port, or better yet, to a different computer. If the error does not occur, you need to look for the reasons on your computer. Most often, these reasons are damaged or incorrectly working external storage drivers.
Go to the device manager and find your USB flash drive among the devices. Since she will be marked in yellow exclamation mark, this will not be difficult. If the flash drive is in the "Unknown devices" category ( which is most likely), try updating its driver using the context menu.
If the driver update fails unknown device you will have to use one of the programs to search for drivers on the Internet, for example DriverPack Solution... If a non-working flash drive finds itself in the "USB Controllers" category, open its properties and, having switched to the "Driver" tab, click the "Roll Back" button.
In the event that the button is inactive, click "Delete".
And then through the main menu "Action" perform "Update hardware configuration" and check if the device has become recognizable.
Updating / reinstalling drivers didn't work? Try another option - manually clear the registry keys that store device entries.
Using the method described above, find out the VID and PID of your flash drive, then open and expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEMCurrentControlSet / Enum / USB branch. In the last directory, find subfolders, in the names of which there will be certain VIDs and PIDs and delete all their contents.
Do the same with the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Enum / USBSTOR branch, and then restart your computer. What if none of the above methods helped? The most reasonable thing in this case would be to take the flash drive to a service center, where experienced specialists will help you establish the causes of the gadget's malfunction.
Yours faithfully,
Over the past few years, flash storage media have become very popular and are used by us, literally, every day, due to their advantages over disk media. It is hardly possible to overestimate its usefulness of a flash drive, because you can quickly write information or count on it, it does not take up much space in a portfolio or bag, and the price segment is pleasantly pleasing.
Despite all the positive points, sometimes there are situations when the data cannot be read due to the flash drive itself or the computer. Indeed, at the most important moment, you can lose access to the stored files, and in order to quickly return everything to normal, you need to have certain knowledge. In this article, we will analyze all possible problem situations and find ways to solve why the computer does not see the USB flash drive.
The most common problems why the computer does not see the USB flash drive:
The flash drive itself does not work
This is the worst scenario for a person whose documents are stored on a USB flash drive, because it is practically impossible to bring it back to life. It is possible to disable a USB flash drive by mechanical action on the device chip or its controller, by shorting electrical circuit, damaged contacts on USB board... This is what a USB flash drive looks like after the electrical circuit is closed or moisture gets inside the drive.
Determining if this happened to your drive is easy enough. The very first thing you need to do is check the USB flash drive for mechanical damage, chips, cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement at a computer peripheral store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it with a practical method.
Connect the USB flash drive to the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and on the computer you hear a sound that is typical for connecting a new device, then everything is in order, it makes sense to look for the problem further. If this does not happen, most likely the flash drive is no longer usable.
You can try to take the flash drive to the service center, where the wizard will try to rewire the contacts or replace the controller, but it will cost a lot, and this action will be justified only if you have important documents on it. If no fatal malfunction was found and the flash drive shows signs of life, try the methods to restore its performance, which will be described below.
The USB port on the front of the computer is de-energized
This problem is very common among desktop users. Most computer owners are accustomed to plugging a USB stick into the front USB ports because it's quick and easy.
But there is a situation when, during the assembly of the PC, for some reason, the front panel is not connected to the power system, usually this happens due to the forgetfulness of the computer master. Accordingly, your flash drive will not be displayed, despite its complete serviceability.
This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use the information on removable media, you can connect it to the back of your computer. The front connectors will still be inoperative, but you will get access to the documents. It is impossible to call such manipulations a full-fledged solution, so we will consider the second option.
Method number 2 involves connecting the power cable to motherboard to the front of the computer. The connection connectors may differ depending on the model of your computer case. But do not be afraid, they all have markings and you will not be able to connect the wrong connector due to design features. The most common wires are VCC, D-, D + and GND. Moreover, the color coding of the cable and the connector on the motherboard is the same, but it is better to keep the reference by the inscriptions.
The first step is to gain access to the motherboard, to do this, unscrew the mounting bolts on the case and remove the cover. Find the cable that leads to the bezel and locate the same connector on the motherboard. In the image below you can see how the connector should look like.
It is not recommended to make the connection yourself, it is better to call the wizard. If you connect the cable and connector incorrectly, you can burn these contacts and even devices. If you decide to connect the front USB connectors, then it is better to tell us the model of your case and motherboard, and we will show you how to do it correctly and explain what the connector and cable look like.
Faulty or disconnected USB port on the computer
Sometimes the problem of unreadable information on removable media is associated not with the problem of the flash drive itself, but with the connector into which it is connected. Certain USB port may be inoperative, and this condition can be caused by trivial damage to the connector pins. Then, not only the flash drive, but also other USB devices will not work in this port.
Decide this problem it is possible, armed with a conventional soldering iron and minimal knowledge of circuitry. If there is no such knowledge, skill and equipment, then this can be fixed at the nearest service center for a low fee.
However, if no reaction to the connection of a USB device is observed on all connectors, then the problem may lie deeper. Ports can be disabled in BIOS settings.
In order to connect ports in the BIOS menu, you need to get there initially. To enter the BIOS in the first seconds of booting the computer, you need to press the corresponding key on the keyboard, which is responsible for calling the menu. Most often, the F2 or Del key is set by default, but depending on the motherboard company and the BIOS version, it may be different. It is indicated in the first image that pops up when loading.
After you have entered the BIOS itself, we need to go along the following route: “”.
Find the line “USB Controller” so that you are allowed to use the ports, opposite should be the value “Enabled”.
After you have enabled the USB ports on your computer, press the F10 key. This will save the settings you made and exit the BIOS.
The USB connector of the flash drive is dirty
A flash drive is a mobile storage device and therefore is often carried in pockets, briefcases or as a key fob. Due to such operating conditions, dust and small debris can accumulate in the connector. This does not happen often, but it can cause the flash drive to malfunction. Dust and small debris build up on the contact and prevent connections from the contacts in the port on the computer. Such a flash drive may not only not be displayed at all, but also freeze, slowly transmit or read information and not be detected the first time.
To clean the USB connector of a flash drive, arm yourself with a match and a cotton swab. Using a match, remove all debris from the connector, and then moisten a cotton swab with alcohol and wipe the contacts of the flash drive. This will help remove debris and oxidation.
Infection with viruses
In our time, the issue of the security of the storage device is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full swing. You can visit your familiar social networking site on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.
Modern computer viruses can also multiply, no matter how strange it sounds. They infect files on your USB flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.
Very often, the problem of the inoperability of a flash drive is virus infection. The drive is detected by the system, you can hear the characteristic sound of connecting the device to the system, but when you try to read the information, you will see the message "" or " Application not found».
Before solving this problem, it is worth installing antivirus software on your computer and conducting a complete diagnosis of the files. To access the data on the drive, we need to delete the file with the virus and scan it. To do this, go to the "Start" menu and enter the following phrase "" in the search line.
Click on the found element with the left mouse button. You will see a window with the name "Folder Options" open, here you need to do the following:
- Uncheck the " Hide protected system files»
- Check the box ""
After that, be sure to press the "Apply" button and only after that "OK", otherwise the changes will not take effect. It should look like this.
After that, go to "My Computer" and go to the folder of the drive itself. There you will see the "Autorun" file, you need to delete it, and check the flash drive for viruses with one of the free antivirus, the Dr.WEB Cure It utility handles this perfectly.
Now you can fully use the USB flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem lies in the absence of drivers, we will analyze it below.
Driver failure or outdated drivers
A very common problem is when the computer does not want to display a USB flash drive due to outdated drivers or their system failure. Failure can occur due to a power surge or an unexpected shutdown of the operating system. Or, older computer models may not work with drives of 32 GB or more. We can say one thing, the problem is solved only by updating the drivers.
The first step is to go to "". You can do this in several ways, for example, through "My Computer" or find this section in system searchas we will do.
We go into this menu, after which we connect the flash drive to the computer, after which we open the "USB Controllers" sub-tab. Select the line “ Memory device", By clicking the right mouse button opens the system menu and press" Delete ".
Such manipulations allow you to remove the driver installed on the system for your storage device. As soon as you remove it, feel free to remove the USB flash drive from the computer and reconnect it. Then the driver will be reinstalled on the flash drive and the problem will be solved.
If the problem persists, it may be necessary to update the driver of all USB chipsets, this is quite easy to do. You can use special discthat came with motherboard, it contains all the necessary drivers. If you do not have it, download the DriverPack program, it will automatically select all drivers for which there is an update and will carry out this procedure after your agreement.
Moreover, most users have doubts about the correctness of their actions when they learn about different USB formats. Don't be scared!
Drivers for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are installed according to the same principle. And the only difference between the ports is the maximum read and write speed.
Filesystem errors
The computer may also not detect your flash device due to file system errors. Let's check if this is so, go to "", as described above. Now you need to open the sub-tab “ Disk devices", If you see your USB flash drive there, it means that it is working properly, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in the explorer. In my case, the flash drive was displayed, which means it is working.
To fix this problem, you must format your flash drive, but this action has several nuances, so we will consider this process in the next paragraph of the article.
If you do not see your drive there, then the problem lies in the malfunction of the flash drive itself, which means that either the controller has burned out or the contact is unsoldered. Experts in service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive task, it is easier to buy a new one, of course, if it was not recorded on the faulty one. important information and you need to restore data on a USB flash drive.
File system conflict
Quite often, the contents of a flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict between file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if the computer operates on a file nTFS system and the flash drive uses FAT32, a conflict situation is not excluded. Moreover, this problem is widespread not only in windows environmentbut also Mac OS. For example, if you format a USB flash drive on your Mac device to ExFAT or the standard MacBook file system, then the USB flash drive is unlikely to be read on Windows devices.
The very first thing to do is find a computer that uses a different file system, open the USB flash drive and save the information that is important to you, because after formatting it will be lost.
To solve this problem, we need to carry out the process of formatting the flash drive. First you need to find out what file system is used on your computer. Go to "My Computer", right-click on the hard drive, open the submenu and select "Properties" in it.
In the window that opens, you will see information about the free and used volume disk space, and also find out which file system is used. In my case, the NTFS system is used.
After you know the file system of the computer, we need to format the flash drive to the same system. To do this, right-click on the flash drive and open the "Format" tab.
In the tab that opens, select the file system into which we will format, put a checkmark in front of the "Fast" attribute and click "Start".
A few words about why we are using the Fast attribute. First, the formatting of the flash drive will be much faster. But there is another side to the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with a quick format can you recover this data using special utilities. If you have not checked the box, then the information that was on the flash drive will be lost for you forever.
The flash drive is not formatted
A fairly common problem is when you insert a USB flash drive into your computer (mostly a new USB flash drive and its first use), and operating system will give you a warning which says that before using, removable drive need to be formatted. And if the flash drive was used earlier and data is recorded on it, then you will not be able to access them. Moreover, the volume of the flash drive becomes 0, i.e. as if there is nothing at all, not even a drive.
If you have already used a USB flash drive and this is not its first connection, then try connecting it to another computer, perhaps the problem will go away and you can save the data. But in any case, the flash drive must be formatted. How to do this was discussed in detail in the section "Conflict of file systems".
But I want to draw your attention to two points. So that after formatting there are no problems with the file system (FS), find out which FS is used on the computer and install the same for the drive. And second, if the flash drive had the information you need, then be sure to use the "Fast" attribute, so the formatting of the flash drive will only go through the tables of contents, and the lost information can be returned using special utilities.
A problem with a partition or a USB flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter
There are situations when the operating system incorrectly detects your removable media... It seems that everything is fine, the device connection is highlighted and the flash drive icon appears in the tray, but you cannot use it for its intended purpose.
The problem may be that the system has not assigned the partition a letter under which the removable drive will appear, or it has assigned it, but this letter is already taken, and this results in an address conflict.
The solution to this problem will be the forced assignment of the partition letter that we choose, everything happens in manual mode... So let's get started.
First of all, you need to hold down the "Win + R" key combination, a window with the name "Run" will open in front of you.
In the line we need to enter a simple command diskmgmt.msc , which will transfer us to the section for managing disks and drives.
In the opened storage media manager, we need to define our USB device. This can be done simply, disconnect the USB flash drive and reconnect it, the partition that first disappears and then appears is what we need.
In my case, the flash drive is a drive named "20151114_17", you can also identify it by a special icon. Now you need to click on it with the right mouse button, and in the menu that opens, select the "Change letter" item.
Now another additional window, smaller, will open in front of us. In it you need to click on the "Change" and "OK" button.
Now another auxiliary window will open, where you must select any letter of the English alphabet, and after clicking on the "Ok" button, the letter will be assigned to the section.
It is worth paying attention to one important point! When choosing the letter assigned to the partition of your flash drive, look at which letters are already used by the system. This is very important, because we can not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if, for example, you designate a flash drive partition through the letter “D”, which is already assigned to the local disk.
Power supply malfunction or excessive overcurrent of the USB port
This problem is very common nowadays. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the USB flash drive due to a faulty power supply. Let's figure it out in order, the power supply consumes electrical energy from the network, and then converts and distributes it to all nodes of the computer. It has a power limit, for example, a 400W power supply will not be able to give you 600W. This means that the consumption of the entire system must be balanced.
Such a problem may appear if you have recently replaced some important node in the system, let it be a processor. Now it consumes much more energy, in comparison with the past, which means that it simply does not reach somewhere, and in this case this “somewhere” is the USB network of the computer. Accordingly, the power consumption parameter must be calculated in advance, and if such a situation has already occurred, you will have to replace the power supply unit with a more powerful one.
Moreover, the problem may lie in a malfunction of the power supply, it can produce much lower power potential than it was stated and than it did before. You will not be able to solve such a problem, since you risk the performance of the entire computer. The only solution would be to replace the power supply.
There is one more feature of this issue. IN recent times USB devices for computers have become very common, for example, such devices are now powered: a mat for heating a cup, a table lamp, wireless mouse, removable hDD, and in addition, the smartphone is also charging. And you still want to connect a USB flash drive, but bad luck, the computer sees it. The fact is that there was an overcurrent on the USB ports. Those. all your devices already consume the maximum amount of current and you will not be able to connect another one. Therefore, in order to use a USB flash drive, you need to disconnect several devices from the USB ports of the computer and then the problem will disappear.
If the computer does not see the USB flash drive in Windows XP
There are many reasons why a flash drive may not be detected in windows system XP. Moreover, the problem may lie both in the operating system itself and in the malfunction of the flash, and even in the computer hardware.
If the problem is related to the operating system, then it can be eliminated only by making additional changes to the settings; it is best to do this in manual mode, despite the abundance of special utilities that can help in this matter.
However, if the drive itself is faulty, then the only thing left for you is to try to save the data recorded on it. And then purchase a new and more reliable device.
If your computer cannot identify the USB flash drive, then it notifies the user with the following signals:
- Your flash drive is inserted, and you are trying to access the data on it, the message "Insert disc" pops up.
- The system notifies about the mandatory formatting of the drive for further use.
- Errors about the impossibility of accessing the data pop up.
- The system may freeze as soon as you plug the USB flash drive into the USB port of your computer.
In this section, we will consider all the most common reasons for the non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical advice by their decision. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, proceed to the next step until the problem goes away. The first thing to do is try to determine if the flash drive is working properly. This is indicated by a light indicator located on it. If you connected a drive and it blinks or is on, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or in the hardware of the computer.
Try changing the port to which you connect the USB flash drive or even the computer, perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, and the flash drive will work properly on another PC. For example, if, when you connect a flash drive to a port, you observe a complete system freeze, this means that this port is faulty and it is better not to use it.
If you are using USB hubs or extension cords and the flash drive is not displayed, perhaps the problem lies in the device itself, and not the flash drive. If so, you can take the hub to a service center or try to repair it yourself. To do this, you need a soldering iron, solder and a little experience, because most often you just need to solder one or two contacts and everything will work as expected.
Perhaps the problem lies in the lack of electric current in uSB system ports. To check this, you need to disconnect all USB devices on the computer (camera, printer, lamp, etc.), leave only the keyboard and mouse. If after such manipulations the flash drive is displayed in the system and you can access it, then the problem lies in a weak power supply. This problem can be solved only by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but using a USB hub with its own energy source will help to delay the purchase of a power supply.
However, if the problem has not been resolved after disconnecting all other devices, the problem with a lack of power supply and an outdated USB port may still be relevant. In other words, on older laptops, you won't be able to open a 36GB or larger flash drive. There will be no way to solve the problem, you can only buy a more modern laptop or computer.
A very common situation is when a user plugs a USB flash drive into the front port of a PC, but the system does not see it. This means that either the ports are not connected to the power supply on the motherboard, or too little power is allocated to them. You can connect the front panel yourself, using the instructions located above in the section of the same name.
Doesn't see the USB flash drive due to Windows XP errors. Troubleshooting
The flash drive may also not be detected due to operating system errors. For example, Windows XP SP2 lacks updates and software packages to keep USB devices working properly. Moreover, a situation is possible when only a few USB devices can work in one port.
The solution to this issue will be to upgrade the system to SP3 and install the necessary updates. Even a new user can do this, since we only need a couple of clicks, and the system will automatically download, install and launch the update. So, let's get started, we can move in two ways - this is the official download from Windows Update or installing SP3 from a disk or flash drive. The first step is to check which package you already have installed.
Click on the "My Computer" icon with the right mouse button and select "Properties". The following window will open in front of you, where information about your system will be indicated.
To install SP3, we need to allow the operating system to search and update the computer system. To do this, just go from Control Panel to Windows Update.
As soon as you do this, the system will start searching for updates, after which it will offer you to update everything at once or select only the ones you need. If you do not understand what update, what changes, then it is better to let the system update completely.
After downloading all the updates, the operating system will require you to restart your computer in order to apply the new settings. Click "OK" and wait patiently. That's all, now you can connect a USB flash drive and use it.
If you decide to choose which updates should be installed, rather than downloading them all to automatic mode, then here's a guideline that will help improve your perception USB drives system.
Driver conflicts in Windows XP
There is also a driver conflict problem. The fact is that some already outdated drivers can cause errors at the system level, moreover, they can interfere with the normal operation of new drivers. A striking example of such a problem is the situation when a user inserts a USB flash drive into a computer, tries to access data on it, and the system immediately knocks out an error message asking to insert a disc. Or, the system simply freezes, and even assigning an already existing letter to a flash drive partition is real.
The reason for these errors is as follows. Let's say you have two flash drives, you connected one of them to the system. In automatic mode, all the necessary drivers for this device are immediately installed. You have done the necessary manipulations for writing or reading files and pulled out the drive. After that, you insert a second USB flash drive, which is completely functional, and one of the above errors pops up. This means that the system is trying to use the already installed driver from the first flash drive to run the second, but they are not compatible.
Reinstalling Windows XP USB Drivers
This problem can be easily fixed in several ways. Reinstalling drivers in automatic mode or manual. Let's analyze a little theory, a driver from one USB device can be mistakenly used by the system to start another USB device. To eliminate these problems, we need to first uninstall all existing drivers for USB drives, and then reinstall them.
Such a problem may display the message "USB device not recognized", or unexplained processes occur at the system level that block access to data or cause the system to freeze.
Delete via DriveCleanup
You can effectively remove all existing USB device drivers using the DriveCleanup utility. Its advantage is that it searches the entire system for installed drivers and only then removes them.
First of all, turn off the computer, disconnect all USB devices from it in order to avoid conflict situations while the program is running. We turn on the PC, go to the official website of the program and download the executable file. The utility is compatible with any version of Windows, including different bitness. When downloading, pay attention to the file version.
Automatic installation
You have removed all drivers from your computer. For the device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. Process automatic installation The driver is incredibly simple, you just need to plug a USB flash drive into the USB port, and then the installation will start immediately. A window will pop up that will display the progress of the installation; on some systems this may occur in a mode invisible to the user. Installation is complete within one to two minutes and you can use your device.
Manual installation
Manual installation means installing drivers not directly from the media itself. We can also install drivers for the flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but to avoid conflicts, we will install the drivers for the flash drive using another computer.
So, we take our problematic flash drive, insert it into another computer, where it is recognized. A prerequisite for this process is coincidence windows versions on both computers. We use the search system and find two files.
By any means we transfer them to the problem computer, be it sending by mail or using other removable media. You need to place these files in a folder with the same path that was on the first computer and confirm the replacement when the corresponding window pops up. We reboot the computer and enjoy its performance with FLASH disks.
We have considered only the most common reasons why the flash drive is not displayed on the computer. In fact, there are many more of them. Moreover, there are problems that are expressed by other system messages, and their solution is already described in the paragraphs of the article.
The message "Insert disc" appears, even if the flash drive is already connected to the USB port
This system error occurs if drivers overlap and interfere with the normal functioning of USB devices. In order to fix this error, you need to remove all drivers for USB devices and reinstall them. This process is described step by step in this article.
Disk formatting message
This message appears if you are using a USB flash drive for the first time or a system failure has occurred in it. In addition to the message, you can make sure that it is not usable, because it does not display either free space or occupied space. The solution to this issue is described in detail in paragraphs 8 and 9.
Data error message
This problem pops up in 3 cases. This is a driver conflict, a file system conflict and a failure of the flash drive itself. It is solved by reinstalling the drivers, if it did not help, then quick formatting in order to preserve the ability to recover data on a USB flash drive. See above for step-by-step instructions.
Complete system freeze immediately after connecting the flash drive to the computer
This issue has already been discussed in the article, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this error can occur for two reasons:
- Driver conflict.
- Bad port.
It is easy to check what problem you have, insert the USB flash drive into another port, if the hang continues, then there is a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them have been given within this article.
Why the computer does not see the USB flash drive when the indicator on it is on
The contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for the transfer of information, may be damaged. It is possible that there is a conflict of drivers and the assignment of an occupied letter for a partition. If the problem persists, after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try to check the availability of the partition. If everything is in order here, then reinstall the drivers and the flash drive will work.
Error 43 / Error 43
This error immediately stops reading information from a removable device, which means that we will not be able to access the data immediately. There are several problems that Error 43 can cause.
- The failure of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer to see if this situation occurs again.
- Driver Conflict - Solution described above.
- Updating the hardware configuration - you just need to roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.
conclusions
We got acquainted in detail with the reasons that can prevent the computer from reading the flash drive and the information on it. Described solutions with step by step instructions will definitely help you get rid of this problem. The unreadable flash drive can be a verdict only if the flash drive is faulty. In other situations, this is an easily reversible process. If you have any questions or you could not find a solution to your problem in the article - leave comments, we will try to clarify the situation together.
Despite their manufacturability and a number of undeniable advantages over optical storage media, USB flash drives are still at risk of failure. When a user is deprived of confidential data, exclusive photos or a single copy of an electronic key, it's time to think about the meaning of the word "disaster". However, even in the most unfavorable events, there is always a place for hope. In our case, the reanimation of the flash drive acts as the latter. A pleasant miracle awaits all the dejected and those who once disdained the elementary rule of safely removing the device. Really working technologies for recovery will become available and understandable to you immediately after you read this life-saving collection of information. Quit your shivers and get rid of your anxiety - your flash drive will work again!
Memory that fails people
In order for the resuscitation of a flash drive to become a successful recovery process, it is necessary to understand what exactly caused the digital sabotage that occurred, and you should also know exactly the model of the memory device (often it is enough to have information about the manufacturer). Perhaps it will help you to relieve yourself of some guilt from the fact that the manufacturer's promised reliability and safety of storing data on mass storage devices such as USB Flash driver are more relative concepts than a proven truth. This can be confirmed by a number of reasons that significantly affect the efficiency and long-term use of the specified drives.
Main technological limitations
There are some other specific limitations. However, in the context of this article, mentioning them will be just unnecessary information - let’s ignore the terminology that is difficult to understand ...
Under what conditions does resuscitation become inevitable?
In the process of using a Flash drive, an unlucky user often makes a mistake, which is quite common for a beginner - he removes the storage device, so to speak, on the go, forgetting that it must first be disabled using software tool OS. This ultimately leads to the complete or partial inoperability of the flash drive, which is expressed in the following:
- The storage device is recognized by the OS as unknown.
- Flash file system changed to RAW.
- When you open a flash drive, the folder is empty.
Otherwise, there is a certain tendency to standardize risk factors, since mechanical damage or critical exposure to water will negatively affect absolutely any electronics.
Resuscitation of a USB flash drive, or Ways to restore it
Depending on the above "symptoms of electronic illness", there are several algorithms of action. It is worth noting that some recovery methods may either not work at all, or give a positive result only after certain time... However, if you follow these guidelines, your chances of success are incredibly high. Believe in luck, and it will certainly smile at you!
Method number 1. Situation resolution
A single copy of archival information is a significant reason to try to extract data hidden in digital depths. The main rule in such a situation is to do nothing at all with the Flash drive until the start of the immediate recovery process (meaning attempts at rash experiments: formatting, recording, etc.).
- In the next window of the program, in the block where it is written, specify the initial value "0" in the "Start" check-box, and in the area below "Size" - the nominal capacity of the recovered flash memory.
- Make sure Known Files is checked.
- Then feel free to press the "Scan" button.
- After a while, the program for reanimating the R-Studio flash drive will complete the recovery process and require some actions from the user.
- In particular, it is necessary to re-indicate your USB drive in the area on the right and call the context menu using the right mouse button.
- In the list, select "Show content ...". A list of reanimated files will appear on the right, among which you will surely find lost data.
- Right-clicking and selecting "Restore" is the penultimate stage of digital reincarnation.
- The final is to choose a directory to save.
- Enter the Start Menu.
- Place the marker on the "Computer" section and by long pressing the right mouse button bring up the context menu - select "Device Manager".
- In the list of displayed system components, make your choice on the item "Universal Serial Controllers ...".
- So, the next step is to open the "Universal Controllers ..." section.
- Among the displayed devices, select "Storage ...", which, in general, is the designation of your flash drive.
- Using the same manipulation (right button + long press), call the pop-up menu, in which activate the "Properties" item.
- In the window that opens, go to the "Information" tab, where in the check-box you need to set the parameter - "Equipment ID".
- As a result, in the area below you will see the information you are interested in in the form of numeric and symbolic values, which is the required component for determining the corresponding utility.
You will need a special program. Reanimation of the flash drive (the process of data recovery on it) will be carried out using the R-Studio software. Why this particular program? It is free and, despite its simplicity, quite effectively returns lost (even formatted!) Information from digital oblivion. Among the "free" software, this is the best tool for data recovery.
After you have downloaded and installed R-Studio, it is recommended to close all active applications before starting the software.
Select your USB drive on the left in the main program window.
Then activate the Scan tab.
As a rule, such a program for reanimating a flash drive is used once, since after some stress the user becomes prudent and in the future always duplicates valuable information on the computer's hard drive.
Method number 2. Software glitch
When the Flash drive is incorrectly detected by the OS or the operating system refuses to work with the device, a specialized utility for reanimating the flash drive can help. Depending on the type of controller involved in the memory device, an individual microprogram is used, which works with specific identifiers of the control chip. Due to the specificity this method here is a step-by-step action plan.
Step # 1. Determining VID and PID Controller
Note: it makes absolutely no difference when a flash drive is being reanimated, a Transcend USB drive or any other modification of a storage device requires identifying identifiers. The scenario described will be identical for literally all types of Flash memory.
Step # 2: Finding the Best Firmware
Reanimation of a Kingston flash drive is implemented using the same low-level utility, because there is simply no more efficient and safer option today! The algorithm for finding the required software corrector is quite simple: you drive into search string copied Vendor ID (VID) and Product ID (PID) identifiers and download the found utility. But the most acceptable option is to contact the manufacturer's official website in the technical support section.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of various Internet resources, the specialization of which is precisely related to this kind of recovery issues. The incredibly popular iFlash service has a truly amazing base of low-level utilities. The best software solutions, most of which are from flash drive manufacturers - and all this is completely free access! With just a few minutes of your time, you will surely get a positive result in the form of a necessary software tool.
Method number 3. Effective resuscitation
Transcend flash drives, however, like many others, can be returned to electronic life using the universal Flash Memory Toolkit or the equally functional HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. These are the best digital resuscitators today. However, let's make a reservation: such software solutions are aimed at total recovery of memory types, that is, directly through the inevitable process of formatting. So if all your attempts to get the lost data out of the digital abyss were in vain, and the price of information is not so significant to contact a specialized center, then it is likely that the performance of the flash drive itself will be a consolation prize for you.
Conclusion
As you can imagine, the incredibly multifaceted process of restoring flash drives was presented in a rather capacious version. At the same time, the question of which utility is better can be answered unequivocally with a short phrase: "The one that works!" However, relying on the material of the article, you will definitely achieve the desired result. Good luck and absolute reliability in data storage!
Do you have a USB drive that stores important personal files and business data, but it's damaged? Don't worry, there are a few easy ways to fix this problem.
How to recover data from a USB drive when there is a situation where it is not recognized by the computer
Since the flash drive is not smashed to smithereens, you still have a chance to recover the files written on it. Nothing prevents you from fixing the error and reusing the device. This kind of damage is called logical.
If your USB storage device is not recognized by your computer, check it in the Disk Management section. Then assign a letter or change the connection port. Many hope to fix a damaged USB flash drive without losing data, but how?
Try using MiniTool Power Data Recovery program.
Step 1. Go to "Disk Management":
- In the "Start" menu, left-click on the "Control Panel".
- In the "Control Panel" window, select the "System and Security" section.
- Left-click on the "Administration" section.
- In the "Administration" section, double-click the left mouse button on the "Computer Management" section.
- In the window that opens, click on the item "Disk Management (double click). This is to check if you can find the damaged USB drive.
- After finding it, launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
Important! The flash drive must be connected to the computer without fail, otherwise the data cannot be restored.
Step 2.In the main interface of the program, double-click on the "Repair damaged partitions" function.
Step 3. In the list of partitions, select the USB drive you want to recover. Then, to find lost / deleted files, click the "Full Scan" button in the lower right corner.
Step 4.Wait until the end of the scanning process and select the files you need to restore.
Step 5.Confirm the request and then click the "Save" button. This will transfer your important data to another drive.
If you are careful enough, you will find that general information about the found files is displayed in the lower left part of the program interface. In addition, it also shows the size and number of data selected for recovery. Thus, the resulting picture will make it possible to judge about:
- the number of files that the utility is able to reanimate;
- whether their size will exceed the 1 GB limit.
If the files are larger, you will have to export the scanned results manually. Unfortunately, you need to purchase full version programs.
Error Messages Indicating USB Damage
When trying to access a broken USB flash drive, the following error messages may appear:
As an advanced computer user, you should be familiar with the built-in controls windows disks and CMD (command.exe). Regardless of who you choose to rely on when you get into trouble, the following methods will be of great help. Learn how to properly recover your USB drive using Command Prompt and Disk Management.
Warning!Please do not use these 2 methods if you are not quite sure what to do when you have not finished the process of recovering files from a flash drive yet. All subsequent operations are performed on 64-bit Windows 10.
Method 1. Check and repair the file system using the command line
Step 1.Connect the broken USB drive to the computer and then run "cmd.exe" in the following ways:
Step 2.How to restore :
Method 2. Recovering from Disk Control Panel
Step 1.Preparation . Open Windows Explorer and locate your USB drive, if not, then open Disk Management.
Step 2.How to restore :
How to fix a flash drive that the system cannot read
After you have tried all of the above data recovery or troubleshooting methods on your USB drive, it can still fail. The flash drive can also be physically damaged. We provide you with recommendations for troubleshooting such problems. As a result, you will save on expensive repair services.
Step 1. Prepare the necessary tools to repair the broken connector:
Step 2. Open the case of the broken device with a flat screwdriver.
Step 3. Use a magnifying glass to examine the circuit board and solder pads.
Important! If during inspection you find that printed circuit board damaged, or soldered pads removed, then seek professional help. Otherwise, continue.
Step 4. Cut off the thick end of the cable where it connects to the device.
Step 5.Take a cutter and strip approximately 0.25 inches (0.6 cm) of all four wires.
Step 6.Solder them carefully onto the four pads.
Step 7.Connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer and check the situation.
If this difficult method worked, then congratulations! In any case, it is better to seek help from specialists.
Read useful information with practical tips in the new article -
Video - How to recover a USB flash drive
