What Causes Data Loss In USB Drives?

Although USB drives are very reliable and durable storage devices that come in handy while transferring data from one device to other, they are not exempt from issues like data loss. As a matter of fact, data loss issues are very common in USB drives and you need to act quickly to recover data from USB drives. Here is a list of factors that results in data loss on USB flash drives:

Accidental Deletion Of Files
Files Lost Due To Virus Attacks
Files Lost Due To Corruption
Files Lost Due To Interruptions
Formatting Of A USB Drive
Bad Sectors On USB Drives

Note: Before you go ahead and start USB recovery process, it is recommended to stop using the USB drive completely. Using the device further will overwrite data and drastically reduce the chances of a successful USB data recovery.

Quickest Way To Recover Data From USB Drive, Pen Drive, Or Flash Drive

If you are new to USB data recovery and looking for the safest way of recovering data from a USB drive, we recommend you make use of USB data recovery software by Remo.

Remo Recover is an acclaimed tool by critics and users to easily recover deleted or lost files from USB drives. Whether your USB drive is not recognized or a corrupt pen drive with your important data in it. Remo USB drive recovery tool can recover everything without any hassle. Download the tool and try it for yourself now.

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User Reviews

...Remos Recover 6.0 was able to retrieve 100% of the photos that I had accidently deleted. I tried another product before them that did not have success and I was delighted that this product did work! I usually am very careful about accidental delitions but accidents do happen and I was thankful for the great result!...- Jon Webb
Purchased Remo media version for my computer repair company. First time use and it worked flawlessly - I'm VERY satisfied and the price was great...- David Pakus
... Tried other software from other vendors but none of them were able to see the now 'invisible' drive. Remo found all the files on the stick and recovered all but a couple, which were not important ones. Also it started showing up again so I was able to do a Quick Format on it and am now using it again!...- Mike Mortensen
... Excellent software that allowed me to recover my data on a drive that developed a damaged partition and folder/file structure. Due to the nature of the damage software was required to actually scan and recreate the files from the data and not from the directory tree. Remo Software did this job admirable...- David Treau

What File Formats You Can Recover From USB Drive?

Remo Recover can recover everything from documents and file archives to images, movies, and audio files as USB drives are used to store a variety of file formats. The USB data recovery utility can work with over 500 different file types in total, which is more than most users will ever need.

Documents:

DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, RTF, HTML, PDF, ZIP, RAR, JAR, PST, DBX, OST, MDB, FLV, SWF, PSD etc.

Image File Formats:

JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, CR2, CRW, NEF, ARW, SR2, ORF, MRW, 3FR, RAW, X3F, PEF, DNG, RAF, KDC, K25, DCR, etc.

Video File Formats:

AVI, MP4, MOV, MPEG, MPG, M4V, 3G2, 3GP, RM, WMV, VOB, OGG etc.

Audio File Formats:

MP3, MP4, WAV, MIDI, M4b, M4A, AIFF, AIF, AIFC, RA, AMR etc.

Steps To Recover Data From USB Drive Using Remo USB Recovery Tool

Download and Install Remo Recover Tool

Get started by downloading the Remo Recover utility. To finish the installation procedure, run the setup file.

Connect USB Drive

Has the USB Drive Recovery Tool been installed successfully on your computer? Great! Now you can proceed and attach your USB drive to your computer. Before proceeding to the next step, wait until you see the USB showing up on the screen indicating that it has been successfully mounted.

Can’t Find your USB drive?

If you are unable to locate the USB Drive, click on Can't find drive? option and choose the USB flash drive from which you wish to recover data from.

Click on the Scan button to Initiate Automated Dual Scan

Choose the USB drive you want to recover and click on the Scan button. The tool will automatically initiate Quick Scan. Once the Quick Scan is completed, the tool automatically runs the Deep Scan where it restores data sector by sector and lists recovered data in Dynamic Recovery View.

Verify the Recovered Files

While the Deep Scan is still running you can check for the recovered files simultaneously in the Dynamic Recovery View and find the list of recoverable files listed with the help of iDS (Instant Data Sorting Technology) which sorts files instantly in a structured view to help you find any files easily.

Make use of Advanced Filter

You can also search for the specific file format in the search bar with the the Advanced Filter option. The advanced Filter option lets you find the particular file you are looking to recover.
For example; if you just want to recover photos from USB Drive you can simply input the file format, modified date, or even size of the file if you remember. The tool will locate the file for you in no time.

Preview the Recoverable Files

You can easily evaluate recovery results with the Augmented Preview option. This Preview feature provides you with the exact identification of the file format you want to recover such as image, documents, video, audio, etc.

Click on Recover

Select the files you want to recover. Then click the Recover button under the list of recoverable files and enter the recovery path to recover the selected files. Never restore any deleted data to the original storage device where they were originally stored because you can risk overwriting them instead choosing a different location.
Choose the files from the USB drive, and click on Save a browse for a location to save the recovered data.

Important Note: Do not Save the recovered data from USB on to the same drive this will overwrite the data and might result in permanent data loss

Restore Accidentally Deleted Files from USB Drive from Previous Versions

With the help of Restore feature in Windows you can recover deleted files from USB drive. Do follow the below mentioned methods to restore USB drive files from previous versions:

Make sure your USB drive is connected to the computer
Click on This PC, under that right click on your USB drive, select Properties
Click on Previous Versions Tab, click on the available version of the files and hit Restore

How To Recover Data From USB Drive Using Microsoft Windows File Recovery?

Microsoft Windows File Recovery tool is an open source tool by Microsoft which can help you recover your data. However, this open source tool has some limitations like:

You can only recover data which is accidentally lost or deleted.
If the data is lost due to severe data loss scenarios like formatting, corruption or unrecognized USB, etc., then the Microsoft Windows File Recovery tool cannot recover the data.
The tool is compatible with Windows 10 and the higher versions.

Step 1: Download and install Microsoft Windows File Recovery tool on your Windows 10 / 11 and open it.

Step 2: In the common line window type winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches] and hit Enter.

Now you will be able to recover the data, in case you were not able to recover the files then you can bet on the USB recovery tool by Remo.

Why Use Remo USB Drive Recovery Software?

You can recover documents, PDFs, notes, images, music, videos or any file type from your USB drive.
Remo Flash Drive Recovery Software helps you recover data from flash drives under any data loss situation including recovery from formatted USB drives or damaged flash drives.
Great history of seamlessly recovering data from various USB drive brands like SanDisk, Corsair, Samsung, Transcend, Kingston and many more.
Free Preview of the recovered photos or media files from USB drive to verify the success rate of recovery.
The tool is compatible on all versions of both Windows and Mac OS and a well trained team is available round the clock to help you with USB data recovery.
The tool is also capable of recovering data from deleted, formatted exFAT partitions

How To Avoid Data Loss From USB Drive?

You can prevent USB flash drive data loss and all the inconvenience that comes with it by taking a few precautions.

Formatting Must Be Done With Care

Formatting the drive is an easy way to erase the data and optimize the drive. When working with a USB drive one must be extra cautious. Making sure you have chosen the correct drive before formatting it clean.

Back Up Your Important Files

The safest method of preventing data loss on USB drives is by far backups. Backup your USB drive as frequently as you can to a separate storage device, and periodically check to see if your backups can be restored.

Install A Reliable Antivirus Tool

You should always have a trustworthy antivirus program installed on your computer because some malware and computer viruses have the ability to completely wipe out data from USB drives.

Defend It Against Physical Harm

Considering how delicate they are, USB flash drives are easily broken if not handled carefully. Although it's rarely possible, specialized tools are frequently needed to retrieve data from a physically damaged USB drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to a file deleted from a USB drive?

When you delete a file on USB drive, the file is not immediately deleted from your USB drive. The space where the file is residing will be marked as ready to be overwritten. Hence, when you accidentally delete a file on USB or any other storage device, it is recommended to immediately stop using them. This will increase the chances of recovering the deleted files from USB drive.

How to Recover Data from USB Drive?

To recover data from USB drive, You have to make use of a powerful USB drive recovery software like Remo Recover. Download and install Remo USB Drive Recovery software and follow the below mentioned steps:

Launch the Remo Recover, make sure your USB drive is connected to the computer. Click on Recover Partitions, select the usb drive from which you want to recover data and click on Scan.
The software will scan the usb drive and return you the data you are looking for in a file type view and data view.
You can verify the recovered files using Preview feature and if you are satisfied with the recovery process, save the files on to desired location.

Which is the Best USB Flash Drive Recovery Software?

The below mentioned are some of the best USB flash drive recovery software that can help you recover data from USB drive under severe data loss scenarios:

Remo Recover for Windows and Mac.
Recuva.
Stellar Data Recovery.
EaseUS Data Recovery.
Yodot Data Recovery Software.
Recoverit Data Recovery Tool.

How can I recover permanently deleted data from a pen drive?

To recover permanently deleted data from Pen drive, You have to make use of a powerful Pen drive recovery software like Remo Recover. Download and install Remo Pen Drive Recovery software and start recovering the data as discussed in the above section of the article.

How do I fix Corrupted USB Flash Drive?

To fix the corrupted USB flash drive connect the USB drive to the Windows computer and follow the steps below:

Go to File Explorer and go to This PC and right click on the USB drive and select Properties.
Now navigate to the Tools tab and select the Check option.
Select the Scan and repair the drive option and click on the Start option to start with the repair process.

How to Recover Hidden Files from USB?

To recover hidden files from the USB drive you can connect your flash drive to the computer and follow the steps below:

Go to the File Explorer and go to the Search option and click on the Change Folders option.
And go to the View tab and click on the Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
Select the option Hide protected Operating System files and click on the Apply option and click on the OK option.

How to Recover data from Unreadable USB?

Before you try to recover the data do the following things to fix the unreadable pen drive.

See if your USB is connected properly
Check if there is any dust or debris stuck in the USB port or the USB.
Try to connect your USB to the other USB port or the other Computer and see if it is working.

Now you can try and recover your data from an unreadable USB drive using the USB recovery tool as well as we can get back the data from an unrecognized USB.

How to fix a RAW USB Flash drive?

To fix the RAW pen drive follow the steps below.

Connect the RAW usb to the Windows computer.
Go to the File Explorer and go to This PC and Right click on the USB drive and click on the Properties.
Click on the Tools and click on the Check button and select the Scan and repair drive option.

Can you Recover Files from USB Drive Using CMD?

Contrary to popular belief, Command Prompt, or CMD, cannot recover deleted or lost files or folders from any storage device. The CHKDSK command is used to fix issues with the storage device, and the ATTRIB command is used to change or modify the attributes of the files.

Refer to this article, if you are curious to know what Command Prompt can do also find out can Command Prompt recover files.

USB Flash Drive Recovery Software | Recover Data from USB Flash Drive or Pen Drive