Hello everyone... Today we will talk about how you can recover a damaged flash drive. Due to their versatility, ease of handling and compact size, removable flash drives or otherwise flash drives have become widespread.
Unlike obsolete optical disks, flash drives allow you to store a larger amount of information. They have a higher data overwriting potential and retention period. And also better protection from external damage.
Alas, although flash drives are considered quite reliable devices, they are not ideal. There are many reasons why a flash drive can fail. Physical failure of components. Controller failure. Damage to the file system due to the device being removed while recording. Depletion of the potential of memory cells - all this can lead to the flash drive becoming unreadable or simply no longer 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 disk”, etc... However, this does not mean that the drive itself and the data written to it are irrevocably damaged.
If the flash drive does not have severe physical damage, in most cases it can be recovered. Below we will describe the most common problems with flash drives. I will also try to restore the damaged flash drive in various ways, if one does not help, another will. 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. The reason for converting the file system of a flash drive to RAW is most often logical errors. In this case, the media is recognized by the OS. However, its contents are inaccessible, and when you try to open it, the system prompts you to format it.
Indeed, formatting can restore a damaged flash drive, but this method is unacceptable if it contains important files. Here you can go in two ways: restore the damaged file system or the data itself, using programs for recovering deleted files such as Transcend RecoveRx or.
After recovery, the flash drive can be formatted in any way convenient for you. To reconstruct the file system, we use the standard Chkdsk utility. Launch a command prompt as an administrator and run a command like this: chkdsk T: /f
The letter T in this example has a flash drive, you will have your own letter. In most cases, this simple trick allows you to 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 disks.” In this case, we perform data recovery using the first method, and then format the flash drive.
The flash drive is recognized by Windows, but there is no access to data
If the media is recognized, but shows the wrong capacity, when trying to view the contents, errors “No access to the disk”, “Insert disk”, etc. are displayed, the firmware (firmware) is most likely damaged.
Such breakdowns most often result from power failures or unsafe removal of the device from the USB port. Also, the errors described above can be caused by failures and damage to the flash memory itself. In such cases, when trying to format the drive, the message “The disk is write protected” is displayed.
The case is more complex than with the RAW file system. However, with the right approach, a non-working drive can be restored. For these purposes, special programs of the MPTool class are used, which allow performing 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 a minimum, you need to know the device identifier (PID) and manufacturer identifier (VID).
Connect the flash drive to the computer, open 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 elements VID_XXX; PID_XXX, where XXX is the manufacturer ID and device ID, respectively.
If you do not have the specified parameters, use the utilities to obtain complete information about the removable media: Flash Drive Information Extractor.
Or CheckUDisk
After receiving the information, go to the specialized website Flashboot, enter the resulting VID and PID in the appropriate fields and perform a search. You will receive a list of utilities for disk recovery.
If there is no utility that exactly matches the VID and PID of your flash drive, refer to the manufacturer of the removable device. It is not possible to give consistent instructions for using each utility. Because they are all different from each other. The main thing when using them is to strictly follow the instructions of the master.
However, you can use universal flash drive recovery software, for example, D-Soft Flash Doctor. This free program is not tied to a specific manufacturer or type of controller. And therefore can be used to treat flash drives of various types.
Additionally D-Soft Flash Doctor Supports creating disk images and scanning for logical errors. Using the utility is simple, you just need to select a non-working flash drive in the window and click the “Recover media” button.
The flash drive is not recognized by the system
In the cases discussed above, the flash drive, although unreadable, was still recognized by the system. But what to do if Windows cannot recognize the connected drive? It doesn't show up in Explorer, nor does it show up in Disk Manager. And the only indication of the connection is a window with the notification “USB device not recognized.”
And also an item marked with a yellow warning icon in the device manager.
The cause of the error in this example can be either software problems or physical damage to the components of the flash drive. It is important to exclude hardware failures here. Since this almost always means that the flash drive will either have to be sent in for repairs or simply replaced.
First of all, try connecting the problematic drive to another USB port, or even better, to another computer. If the error does not occur, you need to look for the reasons on your computer. Most often, such reasons are damaged or incorrectly working external drive drivers.
Go to device manager and find your flash drive among devices. Since it will be marked with a yellow exclamation mark, this will not be difficult to do. If the flash drive ends up in the “Unknown Devices” category (which is most likely), try updating its driver. Using the context menu.
If the driver update for an unknown device fails, 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 shows up in the “USB Controllers” category, open its properties and, switching to the “Driver” tab, click the “Roll Back” button.
Did updating/reinstalling drivers fail? Try another option - manually clear the registry keys in which device entries are stored.
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 the subfolders. Which names will have specific VID and PID and delete all their contents.
Do the same with the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Enum/USBSTOR branch, and then restart the computer. What to do 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 determine the causes of gadget malfunction...
Hi all! It’s not for nothing that I decided to write an article on how to flash a flash drive – I have experience. Yesterday I restored my flash drive Kingston DT Elite 3.0 16GB. Everything worked out, and I thought, why not write similar instructions, and tell me what and how to do, in order to give the flash drive a new life :).
Nowadays, probably every house has a flash drive and very rarely just one. It’s convenient to transfer information onto them, they’re beautiful, and besides, they’re not expensive these days. But very often USB drives fail. If we talk about why this happens, then we ourselves are in first place. Do you always do a safe removal of your flash drive? So I rarely do. There may, of course, be other reasons why flash drives simply “die”.
One point needs to be clarified here. It happens that the flash drive really “dies”. In this case, it is impossible to restore it. At least at home. But if the USB drive shows at least some signs of life when connected to the computer, then you can try to restore its operation using the controller firmware.
What signs of life might there be for a USB drive?
- When you connect the flash drive to the computer, the computer signals that the device is connected - that’s good.
- When connecting Windows, it asks you to format the removable drive (but during the formatting process there are problems and errors such as “Windows cannot complete formatting”).
- The flash drive is detected and visible in Explorer, but when you try to open it, the message “Insert disk...” appears.
- Errors occur when copying information.
- Very slow speed of writing/reading information.
If there is valuable information on the flash drive, then you can try to restore it before and after the firmware. This can be done using different programs. I advice Recuva, here is the article but there are many other good programs.
If the information is very valuable, then it is better not to do anything yourself so as not to make it worse. Contact special service centers that specialize in data recovery.
Let's now look at the entire process of flashing the controller using a real example, using my Kingston DataTraveler Elite 3.0 16GB flash drive as an example. My flash drive broke down. It’s interesting. I needed to upload files to it and delete those that had already been recorded. I connected it to the computer and started deleting the folder. But the folder was deleted very slowly. I unplugged and plugged this flash drive back in, a message appeared that the disk needs to be formatted “Before using the disk...”.
Since there were no Important files on the flash drive, I started formatting without hesitation.
But the process itself lasted a very long time and never ended, I forcibly stopped it. The message “Windows could not complete formatting” may also appear.
But still, I formatted it, the tenth time, and only in FAT 32. After which the USB drive was detected normally and I was even happy. But it was not there. I started copying files onto it, and the recording speed was approximately 100 kb/s. I decided to flash it, which I did.
Determining the VID and PID of the USB controller
First we need determine VID and PID. This is data about the model and manufacturer of the controller, which is located in our drive. Using this data, we will look for a utility for the firmware. There are many different programs that can be used to determine VID and PID. I recommend the utility Flash Drive Information Extractor You can download it from the link.
Connect the USB flash drive to your computer and run the Flash Drive Information Extractor program (extract the program folder from the archive and run the GetFlashInfo.exe file).
Click the button at the top of the program “Get data about the flash drive”.
The program will give us the result. We look at the information that is located opposite VID and PID.
You can copy these numbers, or leave the utility window open, we will now need the received data.
We are looking for a utility for flashing a flash drive
Based on the VID and PID data, we need to find the utility with which we will flash the controller. There is a good website flashboot.ru, which contains a database of flash drives and utilities for their recovery.
In the search results we look for a flash drive similar to ours. The list may include devices from other manufacturers. They just have the same controller, it was identified by VID and PID. You may have noticed that I have a 16 GB flash drive, but in the list I highlighted 32 GB. I think there's nothing wrong with that (just where the name of the utility is not indicated on 16 GB). You try to choose a more similar device from the list.
We are interested in the field UTILS(utility), copy its name in full.
Unfortunately, the utility that I need was not found on this site. Perhaps you will have better luck and you will see something in the search results. Download the utility to your computer.
But I didn’t stop there and started Googling. I just asked “SK6221 MPTool 2013-04-25” and found this utility on some other site. If you have the same flash drive, then this utility is . True, the name of the archive is different, but this did not stop me from successfully curing my flash drive.
USB drive recovery process
Disconnect the flash drive. Extract the folder with the utility from the archive and run .exe file. In my case it is the MPTool.exe file. Also look at the text file readme.txt. Perhaps there are instructions there, or a link to a site with instructions. If the instructions are in English, then translate it using the same translate.google.ru.
I'll tell you how I did it (you just may have a different utility and everything may be different there, but it shouldn’t be very different).
The utility is running. We connect the flash drive. I have information about the flash drive in two lines in the program. Press the button Start. In my case, the yellow strip signaled the firmware process. We wait.
When the process ended, I saw a green color, everything seemed to be fine.
A Windows message should immediately appear asking you to format the disk. But most likely nothing will work out the first time. Unplug the flash drive and plug it back in. The driver should be installed and the removable drive should appear in Explorer. You can format it.
I checked the recording speed, everything is as it should be for USB 3.0, everything is fine!
You need to be prepared for the fact that the actions may differ from those I described. And not everything can work out the first time. The main thing is not to give up and everything will work out!
Hello everyone dear friends! One of our visitors had a very interesting problem after upgrading to the new Windows 10 operating system.
The problem was that when connecting any portable device media, such as a flash drive or hard drive, Windows simply did not see it.
It is worth noting that this problem also occurs with earlier versions of Windows 7/8/8.1.
Today we will try to figure out this problem and help not only our friend, but also everyone else who has a similar situation.
Windows does not see the flash drive - reasons
So, let's first figure out what could be causing this problem.
There are four reasons in total:
- In Windows, the USB port driver is installed incorrectly or the driver is disabled;
- Inoperative/defective USB port in the case itself;
- Incorrectly installed drivers for the flash drive itself;
- The flash drive is simply broken (its physical body is damaged);
- The flash drive was formatted incorrectly.
Let's look at each of the reasons separately.
Problems with port drivers
Of course, first you should check what exactly the reason is: in the flash drive or in the computer.
To do this, you should try several different ports. If, after connecting to at least one of them, the flash drive appears, then the problem is in the PC. If not, then the problem is with the flash drive itself.
You can also verify this by going to disk management. You can enter this section of the management console by pressing the Win+R key combination and entering this code without quotes into the window that appears: “diskmgmt.msc”.
If, after opening Disk Management, you see that the removable disk is displayed in the program, then most likely there is a problem with the media itself.
You should definitely try connecting the flash drive to another computer.
What to do if the flash drive is not seen by any port?
You should make sure that the ports are enabled and the drivers are installed correctly.
To do this, open the Taskbar, find Hardware and Sound there, and in the “Devices and Printers” section select Device Manager (there is another way: Win + R and enter devmgmt.msc).
After opening Device Manager, we are interested in the “USB Controllers” tab. All devices on your PC that are responsible for accepting the connected USB device will be shown here.
If you see a circle with an arrow pointing down next to at least one of the icons, this means that this device is not turned on.
Right-click on it and select “Engage”. For example, as a Bluetooth radio module.
If you see a yellow triangle next to the icon, this means that the driver is not working correctly or is missing altogether.
In this case, you will have to use the standard driver update and installation assistant.
First you should try updating the drivers. To do this, right-click and select “Update drivers...”.
If the program says that no drivers were found, then you will have to look for the drivers yourself on the website of your motherboard manufacturer.
If, after all the above steps, you find that one of the ports still does not work, then the problem is probably that the port’s contacts have simply come off the motherboard (the result of careless handling of the computer).
In this case, you will have to take your computer to a service center or technician so that he can solder you a new USB port.
Problems with flash drive drivers
Now let's move on to the point of flash drive driver curves. Here you should do the same thing as with the USB port.
You can also update the driver from the “Disk devices” subsection.
But first, try formatting the flash drive. This can really help.
WE WARN that all information on the USB drive will disappear (erased), so you perform all actions at your own peril and risk.
So, go to disk management (remember: Win+R> diskmgmt.msc). Right-click on the removable disk and select “Format...”. We select the FAT32 file system and the default cluster size.
In the volume label field you can enter anything: this will be the name of your flash drive in the future.
If quick formatting doesn't help, try unchecking this box. The process will take longer, but deeper.
Now let's move on to reinstalling the flash drive drivers.
Without hesitation, immediately go to the official website of the manufacturer of your flash drive and download the driver for it (usually the drivers are on the Support tab).
When you start installing the driver, you may be asked to remove it first (or maybe reinstall it right away). Do this first, and then install the driver again with the same program.
Checking the drive for errors
This can be done using the built-in capabilities of the operating system.
Right-click on the USB drive and go to the “properties” section.
Go to the “Service” section and click “Run check”.
Check two checkboxes and click “Run”.
After completing the check, click “Close”.
Find out the VID/PID of your flash drive
If the computer still does not recognize the flash drive, then most likely there is a problem with the data located on it.
When you connect a new device, the computer saves all the data about it in the registry, but sometimes registry cleaners try to fix a registry that is already working normally.
We should delete the value of the flash drive in the registry. To do this, press Win+R and enter regedit in the field.
We press Enter and the registry menu pops up in front of us.
We look for these two branches in the registry:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB;
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR.
In these branches, you should delete all folders whose names contain VID/PID. VID is the manufacturer ID and PID is the device ID.
If you know the VID and PID of a specific broken flash drive, you can delete only the corresponding folder.
Deleting these folders will not affect the operation of the USB drive in any way, but the computer will try to read its data again when connected.
You can find out the VID/PID of your Flash memory using a Chinese program such as ChipGenius or its simpler analogue CheckUDisk.
These programs can detect device data even if it is not recognized by the computer.
Mechanical damage and ways to eliminate it
If this does not help you, and the Flash drive is not recognized by any of the ports or computers, then the problem is probably that the device is simply broken.
This is due to careless handling of it (everyone likes to sharply pull it out of the port).
You can repair the device if you have seen the circuit board of an object at least once in your life.
If you have no idea what the inside of a flash drive is, then I advise you to contact a special workshop.
Many such workshops are equipped with special devices that allow you to access the memory of a Flash drive (correctly called a “memory chip”) and thus read data.
Well, if you have at least some idea about repairs, then you can start. We will be repairing the USB “plug”.
You will need a soldering iron, wire cutters, knife and screwdriver. A magnifying glass would also be useful, because everything on the board is very small.
So, first, unwind the device and remove its contents. Look carefully at the board.
If you see even one scratch, you can immediately take it to a special workshop, because there will be no point in repairing it.
If you do not find any irregularities, then you can move on.
Now you should take the old unnecessary wire with a USB plug. Cut the wire a few centimeters from the plug. There will be 4 wires.
Strip them about half a centimeter apart. Solder the wires to the board. To do this, position the flash drive so that its plug is facing you, and the two square holes in the plug are directed upward.
Now we solder the wires to the contacts in strict order from left to right: black, green, white, red. If you solder incorrectly, the device will burn out.
Now insert the soldered plug into the computer, and if the computer detects the flash drive, then instantly backup your data.
In the future, you will no longer be able to use this drive and will have to buy a new one.
If the computer does not recognize the device, then in this case it should also be taken to a specialist.
D-Soft Flash Doctor
Another reason may be that the USB drive was incorrectly formatted or formatting was interrupted.
In this case, the computer will recognize the device, but will ask you to format it.
This is where D-Soft Flash Doctor can help. The software is very convenient, does not require installation, and you can find it on the Internet. The program is absolutely free.
Flash Doctor looks for errors on the Flash drive bypassing its drivers and fixes them.
The utility can also burn disk images (in case you need a bootable USB flash drive).
Essentially, this utility formats the drive, but as if mistaking it for a regular Plug’n’Play device. After formatting, the device should work.
Recovering lost files
If for some reason you accidentally deleted files from your flash drive, then several programs can help you. One of them is Undelete360.
It can recover files, but only if the USB drive has not been formatted.
Another program, CardRecovery, can only recover files from flash drives. You shouldn't expect more from her.
Another program is PhotoRec. Only professionals can use it, as it is completely Command Line based.
But there is also a plus program that works very quickly and restores any formats.
And finally, everyone's favorite data recovery giant - Recuva from Piriform.
The program is pleasing to the eye and even a novice PC user can understand it. In addition, it is free and there is a version in Russian.
If nothing helps you, then there is only one thing left to do - throw out the flash drive and forget about it, because after so many attempts to restore it, taking it for repairs will cost more than buying a new one.
We hope this instruction helped you. And one more tip: always create backup copies of data from USB drives. See you again!
I would be grateful if you share this article on social networks:Almost everyone uses USB flash drives now. This is a simple and reliable way to transfer and store information. But the malfunction of these devices has become a common problem for many users. Below are all possible causes of problems and options for resolving them.
First, simpler and more effective ways to solve the problem will be described, so you should follow the recommendations in order. But do not forget that some problems, such as severe physical damage, cannot be eliminated.
Reasons why the system does not recognize the device
To operate a USB device, it has a built-in special controller. If there is a certain failure, it may become blocked, which will prevent the computer from recognizing the flash drive.
The reason for the failure may be a power surge, sudden removal of the flash drive, incorrect formatting, etc. Violations of this type can still be corrected, but in case of mechanical or thermal damage, it is impossible to restore the operation of the flash drive.
You can understand that the flash drive is not detected by the computer by the following factors:
- The USB device is connected, but the computer says “insert disk”;
- The message “Device connected, not detected” pops up;
- issues a request to format the flash drive;
- a data reading error message appears;
- The indicator on the drive is on, but it is not displayed on the computer, etc.
The cause of the failure may also be:
- non-working computer USB ports;
- outdated drivers;
- viruses on the device;
- settings failures in BIOS;
- different file systems of the USB device and computer;
- assigning the letter of the connected hard drive to the flash drive, etc.
Driver check
First of all, you need to check whether the driver is installed correctly on your computer.
To do this, go to “Disk Management”:
Now try removing and inserting the USB device and see if it appears in this window. If the flash drive is visible and the status is indicated as “Good”, right-click on it and select “Make partition active”.
If there is a problem, the status will show "Not allocated", "Not initialized" or "Unknown", which means that the device is damaged.
The system may assign the wrong letter to the flash drive, which will also prevent it from being recognized. Right-click on the device and select "Change Drive Letter" and assign a different value:
The flash drive driver itself needs to be checked in Device Manager:
- start;
- control Panel;
- device Manager.
If the driver for the flash drive is not installed, yellow question marks will appear next to one or more USB devices.
Computer hardware errors
When the PC does not detect a new flash drive, insert it into different USB ports. If all ports are operating normally except one, the cause of the problem is a problem in that port.
The same problem can arise when connecting a flash drive not directly, but through a USB hub or extension cable. Try connecting the device directly to the USB port. If everything works, then the adapter is the cause.
It happens that many devices are connected to the computer via USB, then the ports may not have enough power to operate the flash drive. Disconnect other devices from the ports one at a time, leaving only the mouse and keyboard. If the USB drive now works, then the problem is due to lack of power.
Photo: USB hub transformer Apacer PH150
In this case, it is better to install a more powerful power supply or USB hub with a separate power source. But if the size of the flash device is very large, older laptop models simply will not handle its power. With this option, it is almost impossible to solve the problem.
Another problem is the heating of the connected USB device. The malfunction may be a short on the device board.
You can check this on another computer - if it continues to heat up, then the USB drive is faulty. And if everything is fine in other places, then the computer port itself may short out.
If the flash drive and USB port are working properly, the indicator on the device will light up. Then the cause of the problem is systemic, not hardware.
Video: Recovering a flash drive that is not recognized by the computer
Virus check
Then why is the flash card seen by the computer, but not read? One reason could be a virus that infects the boot file of the USB drive. Because of this, the device either does not boot at all or is immediately blocked by the antivirus. And if it is displayed, it displays a warning “Access denied” when you try to open it.
First of all, you should destroy the infected boot file “autorun.inf”. To do this, enter the address of the flash drive in Explorer (for example, G:/):
- "Service";
- "Folder properties";
- "View";
- "Hidden files and folders";
- "Show hidden files and folders."
The download file will now be displayed. It must be removed and data from the entire device scanned with an antivirus.
If the flash drive does not open through Explorer, use the command line:
USB setup in BIOS
The flash drive may not be recognized due to USB ports being disabled in the BIOS. This happens very rarely, but it's best to check your settings just in case. Please note that no device will be recognized in a disabled USB port, so if others work fine, then skip this step.
To enter the BIOS, restart the computer and press the Del or F2 button while turning it on. Different PCs may have different keys, so look at what is written on the screen (approximately “Press F2 to enter Setup”). If a blue table with settings opens, then everything is correct - you have entered the BIOS.
Now you should find the menu item in which the inclusion of USB is regulated. Its name may vary, but most often it is the Advanced (Peripherals, Integrated Peripherals) tab:
In it, look for the item USB Configuration/Controller, etc. There are a lot of BIOS menu options, so it’s quite difficult to specify the exact item. But the word USB must be present. Now make sure that USB support is “Enabled”, if not, then switch them:
Some BIOS versions not only regulate how the controller turns on, but also indicate its operating mode - V1.1 or V1.1+V2.0 (there is already 3.0). Choose the option that supports all directions (V1.1+V2.0). Save the settings and exit the BIOS (most often the F10 key).
USB drive is not detected by the system due to errors
After formatting, which may not have been entirely successful, the operating system may not see the flash drive due to errors. This can be checked in the “Disk Management” item, the entrance to which was described above. If the flash drive says “Good”, but it is still not visible in Explorer, the cause may be a formatting error.
This can be eliminated by new formatting. Right-click on the device and select “Format”. The flash drive should now display and work without errors.
Different file systems of flash cards and computers
To restore the operation of a usb flash that is not detected on the PC, you need to change the file system, which may cause a conflict on the computer. The file system of the latter is most often NTFS, while the flash device is FAT32. In the Disk Management window, you can see the file system types of different PC media.
Correct formatting solves the problem. For this:
In the window that opens, check the compliance of the specified capacity and the parameters of the flash drive. Specify the file system NTFS and check the box next to “Fast (cleaning table of contents)”. Now click “Start”:
Confirm your actions:
After the process is completed, the system will notify you:
Photo: formatting completion message
Required OS updates for operation
When Windows XP is installed, the flash drive may not be recognized due to outdated updates required for its operation. However, some flash drives can work in PC USB ports, while others cannot.
The main updates required for normal operation of USB devices:
- KB925196 – incorrect recognition;
- KB817900 – port operation stops after the device is removed and reloaded;
- KB968132 – errors when connecting several flash drives;
- KB88740 – Rundll32.exe error;
- KB895962 – stops the USB device after turning off the printer;
- KB871233 – the flash card does not work after the PC wakes from sleep or hibernation;
- KB314634 – support only older USB devices;
- KB312370 (2007) – USB 2.0 support.
Recovery methods
When no problems are found with the system, you can use special recovery programs:
- ChipGenius – determines the manufacturer and other information about the device;
- AlcorMP – reflashes usb flash controllers from most manufacturers;
- JetFlash Recovery Tool – flashes flash drives from Transcend.
If your computer says "Insert disk" when booting, the problem may be outdated drivers that should be removed.
For this:
- When the computer is turned off, disconnect all USB devices (except the mouse and keyboard);
- turn on the PC;
- download the DriveCleanup program;
- Depending on the OS version, copy the 32-bit or 64-bit “drivecleunup.exe” to the C:\Windows\System32 folder;
- go to the command line and write “drivecleunup.exe”;
- drivers will begin to be uninstalled:
After this, restart your computer. Insert the flash drive and the system will find new drivers for it.
A flash drive may not be detected for many reasons, the main of which are a malfunction of the device or USB port, as well as system errors, most of which can be eliminated by correct formatting and installing drivers. Some programs can also help restore USB flash, so you should follow the instructions in order.
Read what to do if Windows does not display the connected device. How to restore functionality to such a device if this is the reason. A flash drive or any other USB drive should be automatically detected by the computer and displayed in Explorer and the “This PC” folder after connecting to the USB port.
Content:
Diagnosis of the problem
The first thing you need to do if the connected USB drive is not displayed in the Windows file manager, you need to check the tool Disk Management.
To open Disk Management in Windows 8/10, right-click on the menu Start and choose "Disk Management". In Windows 7, press the Windows key + R key combination to open the dialog box "Run" and enter the command in it diskmgmt.msc.
Check the list of drives in the window Disk Management and find the USB drive that is not detected. It should appear here even if it is not in the folder "This computer", and match in size. Sometimes it is defined as "Removable device", but not always.
If you do not see your disk or flash drive even in Disk Management, then try the following:
- Turn on the disk, if there is such a function. Some external hard drives have a separate power cable or are turned on using a separate key dedicated to this.
- Connect the device to another USB port. Disconnect the flash drive from this USB port and connect it to another. Perhaps one of the USB ports on your computer has failed.
- Connect the device to your computer without a USB hub. If the flash drive is connected to the computer via an extension cord or USB hub, try disconnecting it from it and connecting it directly to the computer. Perhaps the reason is in the hub.
- Try another computer. Connect the flash drive to the USB port of another computer and see if it is recognized by it. If the device is also not detected by another computer, then most likely the problem lies with it.
Solution
If the problem options described above do not apply to your case, then your problem can most likely be solved using one of the methods described below. Depending on what you find in Disk Management, there are options for solutions to the problem that has arisen with identifying an external storage medium.
If Windows sees the disk, but cannot read it, then this means that it has a file system that it does not support. In this case, the operating system will prompt you to format the disk before using it. But don't rush to do it! This will destroy all your data.
If other computers see the flash drive, but yours doesn’t
If other computers detect your USB drive, but yours does not, then most likely there is a problem with the device drivers.
To check this, open Device Manager and look for Disk devices And USB controllers. Look to see if these sections contain devices marked with a yellow exclamation mark. If there is such a device, right-click on it and select Properties. The properties will contain information about the error and driver status.
To fix the driver problem, right-click on the device, select Properties / Driver / Update.
If the disk is visible in Disk Management
If the disc is visible in Disk Management, but it does not have a letter, then it is for this reason that it may not be displayed in Windows Explorer. In order for the system to start displaying it in Explorer, such a drive must be assigned a letter.
To do this, right-click on it and select "Change drive letter or drive path". If there is no such item in the pop-up menu, this may be due to the absence or unsupported file system type of the storage medium.
In the menu that opens, you will see that the drive does not have a letter assigned - assign it. To do this, select Add / / Ok.
If the disk is visible in Disk Management, but it is not allocated
If the disc is visible in Disk Management, but it is not distributed, which means that it is not formatted. In order for such a disk to become operational, right-click on it and select "Create Simple Volume".
Select the maximum suggested partition size and assign a drive letter suggested by the system. After this, the disk will be normally detected by the system and ready for use.
If the disk is visible in Disk Management but cannot be formatted
If for some reason the disk cannot be formatted, then to restore its functionality, you can completely erase it and then re-create the partition.
Note. As a result of such manipulation, all data from the disk (as well as flash drives or memory cards) will be permanently deleted. Therefore, worry about their safety in advance - scan the disk or flash drive using Hetman Partition Recovery, and save your data in a convenient place.
To clean the disk, open Command line as administrator and clean it up using the command diskpart – "clean".
