Everybody has one or two flash or USB drives for moving and storing data. However, your data is not completely protected from them. Although USB drives are less susceptible to damage than hard drives, they can still be damaged if used with another computer.
This also increases the chance of data loss if you accidentally delete content. Therefore, organized users regularly back up important file data. But many don’t do this. Are there any reliable and efficient methods to recover data from a USB drive?
Disk Formatting: What’s Happening to My USB Drive?
In rare cases, when you connect a USB drive to a Windows system, you may receive an error message that says “USB flash drive is not formatted.” There are various reasons why this problem may occur.
The disc is damaged or corrupted.
- The disk has an unknown file system.
- The disk has never been formatted.
- It can fail for various reasons, including:
- misuse or abuse;
- Malware or virus infection;
- Power failure (detection);
- bad sector;
- Smart mistake.
Can Formatted USB Data be Recovered? Use Reliable Software
To recover a formatted USB drive, you should first clone the drive using a third-party application to avoid further data loss. From then on, you will have to utilize top data recovery programs to rescue your lost information.
Luckily, the FreeViewer Pen Drive Recovery Tool can recover permanently deleted files from the USB drive, but it also includes a built-in backup feature that you can use to clone a USB drive. This way, you only need one program to complete the entire data recovery process.
- Download and install the flash drive recovery application.
- Select any option. Scan: scans for deleted or corrupted data. Format Scan: Format scan for formatted data.
- Next, preview the whole recovered data file on the application panel.
- Finally, click the “Save” button and save the recovered data to any navigation system of your choice.
Recover Data from Formatted USB Drive Using File Recovery Manually
This is easy for users who have already backed up their formatted data. If you have backed up data from a formatted USB drive using the techniques, you can restore the backup files to easily restore formatted USB data in case of data loss.
Follow these steps to recover lost data through File History using Windows Backup.
- Select Control Panel > System and Security > Restore files with File History under File History.
- Choose the Control Panel and select File History.
- Click “Recover Personal Files”.
- Search the required data files and pick the Recover option.
- Select the required files and click “Recover“.
I believe you have successfully recovered formatted data from a USB drive after using the above method. Then follow the steps below to avoid data loss.
Tips for Safely Preventing Data Loss
The most important thing you can do to recover data from a formatted USB drive is to stop using the device immediately! This gives you the best chance to recover your lost data.
- Low-quality USB-E pen drives often fail, so we recommend using a high-quality, reliable flash drive to store your important files.
- Always check your USB drive for viruses before using it. This is especially important if you are using a USB drive that you previously used on another computer.
- Be sure to back up important files on your computer, the cloud, or any external storage device. Just to make sure you have a backup of the files in case the USB drive gets damaged or lost,
Concluding Thought
It can recover files from USB that need to be formatted. If you have formatted your USB drive, you still have the option to recover your data. Please note that files can only be recovered from a quick-formatted USB drive and not from a fully formatted USB drive. To restore your data, you need to use a data recovery tool (if you don’t have a backup).
Read More: How to Recover Lost Data from Seagate External Hard Disk?
