Checking the flash card for errors. How to check a flash drive for errors using the chkdsk application

We choose the best programs for flash drive recovery. We tell you how to recover a USB flash drive and revive it using free utilities.

Flash drive– a small device for storing information (documents, music, videos, files), convenient for carrying and connecting to a USB port, or removing from a computer or laptop. It contains a controller and special chips that store information inside the microcircuits.

Sometimes we copy files and forget about them, and when we remember, we find that valuable files have either been erased or permanently deleted. Either the device is broken, you formatted the partitions. What can you do, often the digital flash drive (most often, the controller in it) breaks down, generates errors, the flash drive does not open on the PC - not even a month will pass. One day the flash drive may need to be restored. The reason for this may be:

• incorrect, careless operation of the flash drive
• incorrect formatting of the storage medium
• low-quality flash drive, bought on the market or cheaply from a Chinese (probably by mistake)
• physical or software failure of the flash drive (the most likely reason)
• Also, the reason for inoperability can be an incorrectly removed flash drive from a computer or laptop. This happens when an impatient user literally rips the flash drive out of the USB slot while copying or transferring files.

There are many reasons when it is necessary to restore a flash drive that does not open on the computer or is recognized with read errors. Fortunately, today specialists from service centers will help you return valuable files and restore the functionality of your device without any problems or errors. Recovery programs will return files safe and sound or at least partially restore data on a USB flash drive. The flash recovery procedure costs a lot of money, which makes you think about recovering a USB flash drive yourself. Alas, free utilities are not always useful.

Flash drives and SD memory cards are equally characterized by all the symptoms and consequences of deleting digital information. This could be accidental erasure, unconscious or deliberate deletion of files from a USB drive, damage to the structure, physical or mechanical damage to the controller or memory chips... One way or another, restoring a flash drive and SD card is a more than relevant task for PC owners. Therefore, first of all, read the contents of this section.

The flash drive does not open: we study the symptoms of damage

In the recovery section, we will talk about the main problems associated with recovering information on flash and secure digital drives. As a rule, this is due to hardware or software damage to the flash drive - if it does not come off or is not recognized correctly. Sometimes the memory wears out, sometimes the controller fails. And the USB controller drivers have nothing to do with it. In some cases, you can solve the problem yourself and, as a result, save the files on a flash card or repair the chip or device, ignoring reading errors on the computer. Here are just a few of the symptoms that indicate a drive failure:

• The PC does not see the flash drive in the list of readable devices
• The flash drive does not appear when connected to a laptop or computer (OS does not matter)
• The flash drive is not readable: although the files can be seen on the USB drive

Help with the contents of the section "Recovering a flash drive" (Flash Recovery)

• A small guide related to the question of how to find the reasons why the card does not work or the PC does not see the flash drive along with other drives (the device is not recognized, has problems being read, requires formatting, freezes, gives an error when copying to the card, etc.) flash drive -storage device. Diagnostics of malfunctions is important in such situations, because without identifying the disease, it is impossible to cure the patient, or even easily ruin his life, using the wrong tools, using the wrong methods and programs that can revive the drive. In this article, we analyze the causes of damage and possible symptoms that lead to the need to restore a flash drive, secure digital, controller, memory chip and flash card.
• We try (with the help of instructions and utilities posted on the site) and at the same time qualitatively - how to solve problems with our own hands - fix a breakdown on the sd card, revive the controller, correctly format, solder the loose contact or memory chip, scan information and process bad sectors on flash "ke, sections with reading errors. However, the described methods require certain dexterity and experience in using the specified tools.
• , if it does not open on your computer or does not display correctly. What is “VID&PID”, what does this abbreviation stand for and what to do when the device is not recognized or cannot be opened. Explanation of terminology, without which it is difficult to imagine recovery for flash drive, data and digital information on it.
• - testing 5 good programs, each of which has remarkable features when working with memory or a drive chip.

Recovering USB flash drives and memory cards. Formatting utilities

One of the best ways to resuscitate a Jetflash flash card is to reformat it again, at a low level. As a rule, such measures are taken when the flash drive is not readable. If possible, you should ask the memory manufacturer (say, A Data, Seagate, Transcend SD, Datatraveler, etc.) if they have proprietary utilities or fresh drivers for reconstruction. Scroll through the contents of this section for help and you will see several articles on the topic of low-level drive formatting. Fortunately, the Windows 7 and higher operating systems have tools for formatting a flash device without using third-party computer applications. One such program for a flash drive is HP USB Disk Storege Format Tool.

Diagnostic formatting of a flash card in the program for recovering flash drives HP USB Disk Storege Format

Utility for recovering HDD flash drive Low Level Format Tool

Many people know that the HDD Regenerator program is used to help revive hard drives (HDDs), but not many know that it is also suitable for devices such as flash drives. The essence of the program is the detection of bad bad sectors on the device with subsequent processing of the received information, depending on the controller and memory model, at a low access level via USB. As a result, you get a working device that can copy files without read and write errors. This greatly facilitates the recovery of flash drives if the computer does not see them. The HDD Regenerator program is equipped with recovery instructions; in addition, on the recovery website you can find instructions on using the utility and correct formatting (see via search). You can download the flash drive recovery program directly from the link posted on the HDD Regenerator review page.

Open and diagnose the problematic flash drive in the HDD Low Level Format program

By the way, in other sections on the Softdroid website you will find other programs for recovering flash drives (for example, Flash Recovery or JetFlash Recovery Tool), but we advise you to first study all the information collected in this section. We hope that after the measures taken, the computer will see your flash drive.

Why don't you indicate the cost of the product before downloading the flash drive recovery program and installing it?

Answer. You can download all the mentioned flash drive recovery programs on the official website. Only reviews are published on Softdroid - we do not have the physical ability to update information about the cost of the products presented. When you download the trial version of the program, it is free. Next, see information about the cost from the developer, or at the end of the trial period you will receive a notification.

Ask us a question about flash drive recovery

The site's specialists will help you recover your data. You ask a question - we answer it for free (you will receive the answer by mail).

The issue may not be related to file recovery. The main requirement is to describe the problem in detail, formulate it in such a way that you don’t have to decipher your message.

How to recover deleted files from a USB flash drive: step-by-step guide

One of the most pressing problems associated with deleting files relates to the flash drive. Let's talk about how to recover deleted files from a flash drive using the Unformat program. What free software to install on your computer, what program, besides Unformat, is effective when working with a flash drive. The methods described below will be relevant for USB drives, memory cards, SD cards of digital cameras in the Windows OS environment. We will try to help you, even if the situation is difficult.

What to do if the computer does not see the USB flash drive? We solve problems and fix errors

If the file system of the memory card / USB flash drive is incompatible with the computer OS, the contents of this memory card will not be displayed when connected to a PC. Accordingly, you will not be able to work with the device until you correct the format. In addition, there are a number of other reasons why the computer does not display a USB flash drive (SD card) as a separate drive in Explorer.

How to restore a flash drive with your own hands: instructions for owners of flash drives

In this article I want to tell you how to restore a flash drive: about all the available methods for restoring damaged, non-working, faulty, faulty USB drives. I offer the most complete instructions, which includes all available methods, as well as programs that optimize flash drive recovery.

Do-it-yourself USB flash drive repair: troubleshooting hardware and software problems

What to do if the computer does not see the flash drive? We agree: this is a painful and frequently asked question. Another popular issue that flash drive owners face is repairs resulting from a breakdown. A USB drive has its own characteristics for repairing a controller, memory, or failed memory: in some cases, the storage device is not detected by the PC. What to do if the flash drive is not detected on any computer? This guide describes an operation to resuscitate an “invisible” flash drive for correct recognition on a computer.

Review of programs for restoring the functionality of a USB flash drive

Errors in the operation of USB flash drives are not common. Almost all of them boil down to the inability to read or write the necessary information into the device’s memory due to software damage.

Specialized programs provided by device manufacturers will help you fix the problem and restore the memory card.

To restore the operation of noname flash drives and those that do not have their own recovery software, the Chkdsk built into Windows and the formatting system are suitable.

Choosing the best program to recover deleted files from a USB flash drive

Damaged your portable USB flash drive or memory card? These best-in-class programs will help you save and recover information, and here you will learn what is involved in recovering data from a flash drive. Applications include Undelete 360, CardRecovery, PhotoRec, Recuva Professional and other candidates. You will also learn how to revive a flash drive for each program.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free 11 – free data recovery program

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard supports many SSD data deletion scenarios. We will launch the Recovery Wizard and explain in a step-by-step manner how the recovery is performed. The free version of Easeus Data Recovery Wizard Free has limitations, we will tell you more about them. Using the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard program, you can recover files and deleted information from a formatted disk, laptop, or removable devices such as a flash drive or SD card for free.

Where to download PhotoRec for free (for Windows OS)

The free PhotoRec program is designed to recover multimedia data on HDDs, USB flash drives, SD cards and other storage devices. Overview of PhotoRec recovery functions, scanning options. Where to download PhotoRec for Windows and other OS.

How to recover a flash drive using Unformat

I offer you an effective method for restoring a USB flash drive. To use it you will need a specialized utility - Unformat. The program has long established itself in the field of specialized software. In the instructions, I described in detail the entire process of returning files - from scanning the disk to saving files on a flash drive.

Unformat supports recovery of flash drives from almost all manufacturers on the market today.

Flash Memory Toolkit - checks flash drive for errors and speed test. Flash drive treatment program

Flash Memory Toolkit is a free program for flash drives. Combines a wide range of functions that allow you to return a usb flash drive or sd memory card to a working state. If you can’t determine why the computer doesn’t see the flash drive, you don’t have to think about repairs. The Flash Memory Toolkit will help you fix the problem and diagnose the flash drive.

See also other programs for flash drive recovery for Windows.

Disk Drill for Mac - recovery program for recovering SSD disks and partitions on Mac OS X

Disk Drill is a relatively new data recovery program developed for two platforms - Windows and Mac OS X. Like any other recovery program of this class, it covers a wide range of devices from which the user can perform recovery: computer and laptop, Windows and Mac, phone and tablet, HDD (SSD) drive or flash drive, etc.

17.04.2017

In the exchange of digital information, flash drives have practically replaced floppy disks due to their ease of rewriting, compactness and durability. But the last point can be undermined at the most inopportune moment, and the media will stop working when it is not needed at all. Fortunately, in many cases you can check the performance of a flash drive on your own, and it is likely that you can also restore it without the help of repair services.

The meaning of checking a USB drive

Contrary to popular belief, a failure of a flash drive cannot always be associated with technical problems or a breakdown of the device at the physical level. Often problems can occur in the cycle of writing and reading information. Without going into long and tedious details, it must be said that this algorithm can go astray in its operation in the same way as the process of performing tasks in any other program. The cause of the failure may be:

• Frequently removing the flash drive while ignoring the “Safely Remove” option;
• Flash drive exposure to electromagnetic radiation;
• Long service life (flash drives have their own lifespan and after prolonged use they begin to fail);
• Virus activity;
• Failures while working with files (for example, the device was removed before the data was copied), etc.

Of course, there are a number of ways to check that these cycles are running properly. With their help, you can most often find out whether it will be possible to return the flash drive to service without repair.

Method 1: Check Flash

Check Flash (aka ChkFlsh) is a program created by Ukrainian independent programmer Mikhail Cherkes. It is quite popular due to its small size, high speed and free distribution model.

The main disadvantage of the program is that it completely clears the flash drive during operation. It is suitable for assessing the state of a device in conditions where there is no important data on it. In other cases, it is better to resort to the following method.

Method 2: Through the command line

The most promising method in terms of saving information on media is to use the Windows console (command line).

All that remains is to close the window. This method is faster and safer than using the program described above, but there is an opinion that the check is not as thorough.

Method 3: Standard Windows diagnostic program

The latter option is suitable for cases where using the console or other tools causes difficulties. You can use Windows built-in software to diagnose problems.

This method is the simplest, but is not highly accurate in performing the test. The main advantage is also that after a certain period of using the flash drive, the system itself will begin to require a check.

If none of the above methods produced any errors, then the problem is not in the memory usage algorithms. This could be either technical damage to the device or a problem with the socket into which it is inserted. You should try inserting it into a different USB port. If this does not solve the problem, then you should take the media to a repair service, or simply replace it.

By downloading free programs for repairing flash drives, you can restore and regain the ability to use it for writing and reading.

In this case, you will have to sacrifice data, which may not be recovered later.

But the alternative to using these applications is both non-working and lack of information.

Diagnosis of the problem

The main signs that a flash drive requires repair are:

• Issuing messages about USB media copy protection or about an unidentified device;
• The drive cannot be detected by any computer;
• Absence from the list of disks;
• Inability to read (and, of course, write) information;
• Negative results when attempting to restore or format.

Sometimes the problem may be a USB connector or a lack of drivers on a particular computer. But when problems occur on every device, most likely the problem is with the drive.

Utilities for flash drives

You can try to restore the functionality of the USB drive using system utilities.

But when the problem is serious, the best option is to restore it through a program specifically designed for repairs.

Some manufacturers produce their own applications that are best suited for repairing these particular brands.

Although with their help you can restore a USB drive of any brand.

Advice: Special programs are designed for repair, not restoration. It is not recommended to extract information using them.

JetFlash Online Recovery

To restore non-functioning Transcend drives, the manufacturing company has created a special utility that can be found and downloaded for free on its official website.

Adata

The manufacturer Adata also has a freely available program for restoring USB drives on its official website.

In some cases, the application manages to save part of the data, even if the USB drive has been formatted.

Unlike most such programs, recovery can be performed not only on video, audio and photo files, but also on Word documents, e-books and spreadsheets.

Universal programs

In addition to specialized software that mainly repairs drives of its own brand, there are several applications that can restore the working condition of most devices.

One of them is the D-Soft Flash Doctor program, which provides the following benefits:

• Menu and documentation in Russian;
• Lack of localization for individual brands;
• Creating a flash disk image for further work not on the drive, but on its virtual copy.

The following programs, not so well known, but also free and quite effective, are:

• ChipEasy, which can not only easily restore a flash drive, but also recognize the manufacturer if its name is not written on the case or has been erased over time;



Now all that remains is to find the corresponding program in the Chip Model column, paying attention to the match of controllers.

You can find and download it for free on the Internet.

The principle of operation for all of them is approximately the same - more emphasis on restoring performance, less on saving data.

Thematic video:

How to recover a flash drive that won't start? it is very easy!

The best free programs for repairing flash drives

There can be many reasons why a computer or laptop does not see a flash drive. And it’s quite difficult to determine what’s wrong. After all, the reason may be related to both the PC and the USB device itself. There is only one way out in this case: try all possible options.

And to make this task easier for you, below are 8 recommendations on how to fix this problem. The tips are universal and are suitable for all PCs and laptops running Windows XP, 7, 8 or 10.

If the flash drive is not recognized by the computer, then first of all check whether it works at all? The easiest way is to connect it to another laptop or PC.

Look at the USB device LED (available on all modern models). If it does not light up, then the flash drive is probably no longer working. Although you could simply extract it incorrectly. In this case, I recommend reading.

Checking USB ports

The second reason why the flash drive is not recognized by the computer is that you connect it to a non-working USB connector. Even if it worked yesterday, it still needs to be checked. To do this, connect another device to the same port - a mouse, printer, smartphone. Or you can connect a USB flash drive to the connector on the rear panel.

Configuration update

If the flash drive is not displayed on Windows 7, 8 or 10, go to “Device Manager” (it can be opened through Start - Control Panel).

After that:

Installing a utility from Microsoft

After this, you need to open the settings (“USB Configuration”). Since there are many BIOS versions, the path will be different in each case. For example, in the screenshot below, the required item is in the “Advanced” section.

Open it and check that next to “USB Controller” the option “Enabled” is indicated. If this is not the case, select the appropriate item.

Changing the device letter

To fix this error:

Driver Update

If the flash drive is not recognized on the laptop, the reason may be outdated drivers. In this case, they need to be updated. Easiest to use (they do everything automatically).

By the way, if you have an old PC, then flash drives with a capacity of 32 GB or more will not be displayed on it.

Good afternoon. I have finally reached civilization and can once again please you with an interesting and, I hope, useful article.

I came across one flash drive from China and it was sold for a rather modest price, like 64 GB. But the person who bought it began to have doubts about its performance, since some of the recorded files stopped opening. Of course, he was not aware that our brothers in communism had long ago learned to flash controllers so that it would show a larger volume than it actually is and write files as if cyclically. The system is very cunning and I don’t fully know how it’s all implemented. I remember at the very beginning, when I first heard about such a Chinese trick, some people on the hub shouted that such a controller would cost much more than a flash drive. But today this occurs on every second flash drive ordered from China. But let's move on to the most delicious part and today the article will be divided into two parts. The first is about how to recognize a fake (which will make it possible to open a dispute on Ali and get your money back), the second is how to get a flash drive into working condition with its real capacity.

We recognize a fake and determine the real capacity of a flash drive

1. To do this, we need a small utility called h2testw, download it from Yandex.Disk and unpack the archive. We launch h2testw.exe and for convenience (I don’t know German) switch to English. Click the “Select target” button.
2. We select our problematic flash drive. Be careful not to make a mistake, otherwise you will lose all the data on the flash drive.
3. Click the “Write+Verify” button.
4. The process of filling the flash card will begin, and then the program will check how much was recorded and how much is actually on the storage media. It took me a little over two hours to use a flash drive with a true capacity of 8 GB (about an hour for writing and an hour for reading).
5. Now let's get the flash card in order so that it can be used without the risk of data loss (as far as possible with a Chinese counterfeit card:) and for this we need one value, which is in the report. So before closing the window, copy or rewrite the number of sectors for the working volume.

Fixing the display of volume for a fake flash card

I should warn you that since we work with fake flash cards, they can break at any time and you use this method at your own peril and risk. If your fake fails after this procedure, then thank the Chinese, not me :)

So, download the second utility from the link. And we launch it. This is a Chinese program and don’t be surprised by the lack of text on the buttons, the main thing is to click on the right ones, and that’s what this site exists for. By the way, I had a problem with it working until I ran it as administrator. The program cursed as if the flash drive was being used for something. Therefore, when starting, close all windows that may be using the flash drive. And if that doesn’t help, use run as administrator.

1. Launched, select the desired flash drive at the top. I don’t advise you to make mistakes, double-check. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chinese increase the volume with the same program.
2. We move the point to the bottom point, this is a low-level formatting mode - just what the doctor ordered for this Chinese fake g...