A USB flash drive is a data storage device which is very useful and convenient for us to store and transfer the computer files. What if you happen to delete the files on the USB? You may wonder how to recover deleted files from USB drive. Here are three easy ways you can give them a try for the Windows users.
Is It Possible to Recover Deleted Files from USB?
The answer would be “Yes”. But you have to make sure that you have not overwritten the USB with new data. Generally speaking, the chance to get them back would be more. So once you find that you need to recover a deleted files from the USB, don’t use it to store or transfer the new data before you recover them by following solutions.
How You Lost Data on USB Drive?
Before we start to recover the deleted files from USB, we should figure out how you get your data lost on the USB. Because for different situations, there might be different solutions. Here we list some common reasons that you might get your files lost on the USB drive. You may have a better understanding of the situations and the corresponding solutions.
The files got deleted accidentally
Unlike the way you delete files from Windows system, if you happen to delete files from USB, The deleted files won’t go to the Windows Recycle Bin. That means you can’t recover the deleted files of the USB from recycle bin directly. It is just like we have been talking about on how to retrieve shift deleted files in Windows.
The USB got formatted
Normally, a USB storage space would not be that large. It is usually from 32G to 128G. So in order to storage more data or transfer them efficiently, we often format the USB drive so that the storage space would be like a new USB. We also have discussed on how to recover formatted files.
The device got damaged or broken, corrupted
If the USB got damaged physically, you should check if you can still use it to connect the computer, if not, you should try to fix the physical damage first, then try to recover the data following our below solutions.
The USB got attacked by virus or malware
This really depends on how much damage caused by the virus or malware. Just make sure that you remove the virus or malware first before you try to recover the lost data. Otherwise, you might get your computer infected by the virus too.
Improper operation for USB caused data lost
These operations like unplugging USB drive without safely ejecting it, removing the USB while data is transferring, etc, will also cause data lost. You can check if the original data still exists on the computer or not. If not, then you can follow our below guides.
How to Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive?
1. Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive Using CMD
Step 1: : connect your USB with the computer
Step 2: : Open the Start menu, type “cmd” and hit Enter.
Step 3: : Type “chkdsk U: /f” in the Command window and hit Enter. Just make sure to replace “U” with the letter assigned to your USB flash drive.
Step 5: : Wait for the process to be finished. Then check if the deleted files have been recovered.
2. Restore a Previous Version Feature
For Windows 7/8/10, it has a feature to recover the data from a previous version. If the system can locate the previous version, you can follow below steps:
Step 1: : Right-click on the USB from which the files were deleted.
Step 2: : Click on Restore Previous Versions
Step 3: : From the listed version, click on a date that is before the files got deleted and click Restore
3. Recover Deleted Files from USB by Wondershare Recoverit
For Both CMD and Previous version recovery, it really depends on whether your computer has the record of the data. If not, they normally fail to recover the deleted files from USB. At this time, we recommend you try a professional data recovery software called Wondershare Recoverit which has many recovery modes to recover any of your lost data. It has a mode which scan your USB data and recover the deleted files. You may follow below steps on how to recover deleted files from USB drive by Recoverit.
Step 1: : Download and install the Software
Step 2: After open the software, you will find that it has a section for the External Devices. After you connect your USB drive with your computer. It will appear and get ready for the recovery. If you find there is no USB device, you may also click the Fresh button as the picture shows below.
Step 3: Once the scanning is over, you may try to find the delete files in the preview list of the USB drive and recover them.
Conclusion
USB flash drive is really a must-have tool in our daily work life. It not only brings us the convenience of storing and transferring data but also is very easy to carry. We should always pay attention to keep the data safe and sound. But once you have a problem of losing data, you can also follow our guide on how to recover deleted files from USB drive to get your valuable data back.
