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How to Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive? Get the Complete Guide

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Published By Siddharth Tehri
Aswin Vijayan
Approved By Aswin Vijayan
Published On April 11th, 2024
Reading Time 8 Minutes Reading

Once in a while, every user had faced a data loss issue from a USB drive How to recover deleted files from USB drive is the most frequently asked question by users. Fortunately, USB drive recovery utilities are the most prominent solution in such scenarios. Ever wondered what happens to files deleted from a USB drive? Users typically think that they are permanently deleted. They are not, you can restore them.

Flash drive technology is a very popular way to add additional storage space to your computer or mobile phone. These small devices go by many names, including flash drives, flash drives, thumb drives, and flash drives.

A pen drive is a widely used data storage device due to its durability, portability, and fast transfer speeds. No matter how many precautions you take, the accidental deletion of data from a pen drive is always inescapable.

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Millions of users rely on USB flash drives or similar portable devices to store and protect their data. Music, photos, videos and much more are stored on flash drives in smartphones, cameras and portable devices. Unfortunately, flash storage technology is just as susceptible to data loss as other storage technologies.

Users have Discussed his Accidental Deletion Scenarios:

“I always had two USB drives for personal and professional usage. By mistake, I deleted official documents from the business operational drive thinking it as my personal drive. I did not pay attention while deleting files. How to recover deleted files from USB drive any direct solution. I am not a technical person so suggest me any user-friendly solution only.”

If you are also stuck in a scenario where your files have been deleted due to any reason,. You can directly jump to the next section to recover deleted data from pen drive .

Reasons for Deletion of Files from USB Drive

Here are some of the culpable reasons that can delete the USB drives, irrespective of intentional deletion:

  • Human Erroneous: This is the primary cause of USB drive file deletion. This accelerated due to sharing of the faulty drives with friends and office colleagues. For example, someone tried to make space in the drive to copy images but ended up deleting the important files.
  • Unintentional Formatting: Many users prefer to format files instead of manually deleting them from a flash drive. It is more about saving time by completely skipping the check-out the files. But after a format of the drive, users get to know they deleted files that were actually important.
  • USB Drive Corruption: Ejecting a flash drive without selecting “Safely remove the removable device”. Interrupting the ongoing transfer process is also one of the prime reasons for corruption in USB drives.
  • Malware and Virus Infection: USB drives are portable devices, which is why data transfer is a function performed by them. But this also become the main reason for virus-infected USB drives. Visiting malicious sites and downloading viruses from unauthentic sources.

Before Going For Recovery Process

  • Stop using USB instantly: When you realize the deletion from the USB drive, instantly stop using the flash drive. This is necessary to do, to avoid the overwriting of data. data would be overwritten by the new activity.
  • Disconnect the Drive: Properly disconnect the drive and keep it safe somewhere away from high temperature. Don’t operate it roughly, which can damage the internal component of the device too.
  • Do Not Copy or Delete: Avoid modifying the data stored in a USB drive through any means. It will not leave you anywhere else other than overwriting data and complicate the recovery of deleted files from Sandisk flash drive.

Also read: How to Remove Shortcut Virus from Pen Drive Without Losing Data?

Method Trick to Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive

Once you know the causes of data corruption on a USB drive, you can learn how to recover deleted data from pen drive. So, just see the process given below.

Method 1: Use the Command Line

The reason for using this option is that you don’t need to download third-party tools to use it. Moreover, this is the most effective and easiest way to recover data from a flash drive. However, it has a small limitation: not everyone likes the command-line process.

CMD, also known as Command Prompt, is a program in Windows that allows you to perform many tasks using simple commands. Here’s how to retrieve lost files on USB stick using CMD.

  1. Connect the flash drive to your computer.
  2. Now press Window + R, type “cmd,” and press Enter.
  3. Type “chkdsk A:f” and press Enter. The flash drive will begin scanning.

Note: Here A is used to indicate the name of the flash drive in the system.

  1. After scanning the flash drive, enter “ATTRIB -H -R -S / S / DA A:*.*” and press Enter.
  2. When the whole process is completed, you will see the deleted files on the flash drive.

Method 2: Restore Deleted Files from Thumb Drive with Previous Version

Another useful method for recovering deleted files from a USB drive is the Recovery Version process. This method also allows you to recover data from flash drive without using third-party software. However, this method is only best if the task is opened before data is lost. Here’s how to do it.

  1. Connect USB to the computer.
  2. Go to this PC, right-click the USB drive and select Properties.
  3. On the Menu tab, click Previous Versions and check the available recovery options.
  4. Select the previous entry and click Restore.

If a previous version is not available, you cannot restore the file using this method. In this case, you should turn to a third-party tool that can quickly recover deleted data from pen drive.

Method 3: Automatic Solution to Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive

Pen Drive Recovery Tool is a special tool designed to retrieve lost files on USB sticks. It is integrated with a smart algorithm that allows you to recover all the data stored on your computer.

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However, the easy-to-use interface helped us recover formatted data from a USB drive without damaging the original files and folders. I appreciate the collaboration that led to the creation of this powerful tool. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process of using the tool to recover formatted data from Pen drive.

Steps to Restore Deleted Files from Thumb Drive

  • First, download and launch the USB Recovery Software. On the home page, you will see all the internal drives.

 Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive

  • Attach the USB drive and click on Refresh View to detect the flash drive on the utility page.

 Recover Deleted data from USB Drive

  • Select the USB drive and click on Scan mode to start the scanning to retrieve lost files on USB stick.

Recover Deleted data from pen Drive

  • All the recovered files will be showcased on the recovery panel.

recover lost files from thumb drive

  • Select the files and click on the Save option to start the recovery process to recover data from flash drive.

how to retrieve lost files on usb stick

  • Now you will be prompted to the navigation page, where you can select the destination location to save the recovered files.

restore deleted files from thumb drive

  • After the completion of the export, a confirmation message will be shown on the screen.

recover data from flash drive

This is how to retrieve lost files on USB stick using a direct recovery solution to restore deleted files from thumb drive. This solution is an all-rounder tool that works for external and internal hard drives, as well as USB drives and SD cards. It will recover deleted audio files from pen drive and also retrieve corrupted, formatted files in a single go.

Concluding Words

Deletion of files due to unwanted reasons is a common scenario faced by most USB drive users. How to recover deleted files from USB drive is the question when the user starts looking to recover corrupted PNG file from pen drive.  Having a recovery solution in hand will resolve this issue instantly. If you do not possess a backup solution, then simply go to the official page to download the recovery solution.

Asked Question and Answers by Users

Q 1: What should I do if data is lost from a USB drive?

  1. Do not use a USB flash drive to avoid overwriting the data.
  2. Safely disconnect the drive from your computer.
  3. Do not try to copy USB files to other locations.

Q: How to recover deleted data from a USB?

You can easily recover data from a USB flash drive in three steps using the Data Recovery Wizard.

  1. Launch the Pen Drive Recovery Wizard.
  2. Choose the option to scan your USB flash  drive for lost data.
  3. Preview and recover data from a USB flash drive.
  4. Save your recovered data in desired location