How can I repair my USB flash drive Windows 10?

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How can I repair my USB flash drive Windows 10

A USB flash drive, also known as a thumb drive or USB stick, is a portable storage device that plugs into a computer’s USB port. Like all storage devices, USB flash drives can sometimes malfunction or become corrupted, preventing you from accessing the data stored on them.

The good news is that Windows 10 has built-in tools to help diagnose and repair problems with USB flash drives. In this guide, we’ll walk through the steps to try recovering your flash drive and data in Windows 10.

Quick Fixes for USB Drive Issues

Before we dig into more complex troubleshooting, here are some quick things to try if your flash drive is having issues:

  • Try plugging the flash drive into a different USB port on your computer. Some ports may not make proper contact.
  • Check for physical damage like broken connectors. A physically damaged drive needs professional data recovery.
  • Reboot your computer and try the flash drive again after rebooting.
  • Try your flash drive on a different computer. This helps rule out OS issues.

If those basic steps don’t fix your flash drive, don’t worry – we can try some more advanced troubleshooting next.

Check for Errors with Chkdsk

The first troubleshooting step in Windows 10 is to scan for and repair errors on the flash drive using the built-in chkdsk utility.

Here are the steps to run chkdsk:

  1. Open File Explorer and right-click on your flash drive.
  2. Select Properties > Tools > Check.
  3. Check both checkboxes for “Automatically fix file system errors” and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors”.
  4. Click Start. This will schedule a chkdsk scan on your next reboot.
  5. Reboot your computer and allow chkdsk to run.

After chkdsk finishes, check if your flash drive is now working properly. Chkdsk will fix common file system errors like bad sectors that can prevent access to the drive.

Format the Flash Drive

If chkdsk doesn’t resolve your USB issues, the next step is to completely format and re-create the file system on the flash drive.

Warning: This will erase all data on the drive, so be sure to back up your files first if possible.

To format the flash drive in Windows 10:

  1. Open File Explorer and right-click on your flash drive.
  2. Select Format…
  3. Choose FAT32 as the file system.
  4. Check the Quick Format box.
  5. Click Start to begin formatting.

Once completed, your flash drive will have a fresh, empty file system. You can then try adding files again to test it.

Formatting fully resets the drive and clears out any corruption, so there’s a good chance this will fix your issues if chkdsk did not.

Update or Reinstall USB Drivers

Problems can also arise if your Windows USB drivers become outdated or corrupted. Updating these drivers may help:

  1. Open Device Manager (right-click the Start button and select it).
  2. Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.
  3. Right-click on any USB device like a USB host controller and select Update driver.
  4. Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.
  5. Follow the prompts to update the driver.
  6. Repeat for other USB devices like the USB Root Hub.

If updates don’t help, you can try uninstalling the USB controllers completely, rebooting to let Windows reinstall fresh versions.

Disable USB Selective Suspend

Another setting that can sometimes cause USB problems is USB selective suspend, which allows Windows to temporarily shut off power to USB ports to save power.

Disabling this feature prevents Windows from interfering with your USB devices:

  1. Open Power options in the Control Panel.
  2. Click Change plan settings for your current plan.
  3. Click Change advanced power settings.
  4. Expand USB settings and USB selective suspend setting.
  5. Change the setting to Disabled for both battery and plugged in.
  6. Click OK to apply.

With selective suspend disabled, your USB ports will remain powered on constantly. Try your flash drive again to see if this fixes any issues.

Run Antivirus Scan

Viruses or other malware could have corrupted files on your USB drive and be causing problems. It doesn’t hurt to scan the drive with antivirus software.

You can use the built-in Windows Defender Antivirus:

  1. Open Windows Defender Security Center.
  2. Click on Virus & threat protection.
  3. Select Scan options.
  4. Under Select locations to scan, choose Custom scan.
  5. Select just your flash drive to scan.
  6. Click Scan now to start the antivirus scan.

This scan will detect and remove any malware found on the drive which could resolve corrupting issues.

Use DiskPart to Clean the Drive

DiskPart is a powerful Windows command-line tool for managing disks and volumes. We can use it to fix a corrupted flash drive.

Warning: This will erase all data on the drive, so back up first if possible.

  1. Type cmd in the Windows search box and run Command Prompt.
  2. Type diskpart and press Enter.
  3. Type list disk and note your flash drive’s disk number.
  4. Type select disk x replacing x with your disk number.
  5. Type clean to erase all data and partitions.
  6. Type create partition primary to recreate a new partition.
  7. Type format quick fs=fat32 to quick format the drive FAT32.
  8. Type exit to close Command Prompt.

After cleaning the drive with DiskPart, all data is erased but you have a like-new empty partition for storing files again.

Try Professional Data Recovery

If all else fails and you absolutely need to recover data from the damaged flash drive, you may need professional data recovery services.

Data recovery pros have specialized tools and clean room facilities to physically repair drives and recover data. However, it can be expensive, costing hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Some reputable data recovery companies include:

  • Drivesavers
  • Gillware
  • Secure Data Recovery
  • Ontrack
  • Stellar

Look for a company with a good reputation that offers free evaluations. They will diagnose if your drive is recoverable before any payment. This should be your last resort for important irreplaceable data.

Avoid Future Corruption Issues

Once you get your flash drive working again, you’ll want to be careful to avoid any further data corruption or damage.

Here are some tips to use flash drives properly:

  • Eject the drive safely before unplugging it.
  • Don’t remove flash drives when files are open or transferring.
  • Store and transport flash drives carefully.
  • Don’t expose flash drives to liquids, heat or dropping.
  • Scan for viruses if used on untrusted PCs.
  • Back up important data regularly.

Following best practices for flash drive use will help avoid any further issues with your USB drive in Windows.

Conclusion

Repairing a corrupted USB flash drive in Windows 10 is possible using the built-in tools like chkdsk, antivirus, and DiskPart. Formatting or data recovery may be necessary for severe issues. Using proper precautions when handling flash drives can help you avoid data loss and damage in the future. With the steps in this guide, you should be able to revive your dead USB drive.