How to Make My Usb Drive Work Again

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This wikiHow teaches you how to fix a malfunctioning flash drive. For software or commuter problems, you can browse and repair your flash drive using your figurer's congenital-in repair utility. If your drive isn't working because of an improper formatting or corrupted data, you tin reformat your drive—but keep in listen that reformatting your USB flash drive will erase all files on it. Finally, if the flash drive won't piece of work because of physical damage, you should take it into a tech department or data recovery professional; if that's non possible, you may exist able to set up it yourself by soldering the broken USB drive's circuitry to a working USB cable. However, attempting repairs yourself is not recommended as there is a high risk of destroying the flash bulldoze.

Windows

1. 1

   Plug your flash drive into your figurer. The flash drive should fit into one of the rectangular ports on your PC's housing. If yous're encountering errors on your flash drive or it won't display its contents, you may need to update its drivers or software using your computer's repair characteristic.

2. two

   Press ⊞ Win+E to open File Explorer . This opens File Explorer on Windows. You can use File Explorer to navigate to your flash bulldoze.

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3. 3

   Correct-click your wink drive's icon. This displays a carte to the correct of the drive.

   • You may need to click > next to This PC kickoff in order to view the flash drive.

4. 4

   Click Properties . It's at the bottom of the card that appears when you lot right-click a drive.

5. 5

   Click the Tools tab. This option is at the top of the Properties window.

6. 6

   Click Check . You'll run into this button at the top of the Tools tab in the "Error checking" section.

7. 7

   Wait for Windows to repair your bulldoze. You may also demand to follow some on-screen instructions during the repair process.

   • For example, you might need to confirm that you want to repair the drive by clicking Scan & Repair.

8. 8

   Click Shut when prompted. If your flash drive's problems were driver- or software-based, information technology should work now.

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Mac

1. 1

   Plug your flash drive into your computer. The wink drive should fit into one of the rectangular ports on your Mac'southward housing. If you lot're encountering errors on your flash drive or it won't display its contents, you may need to update its drivers or software using your estimator'due south repair characteristic.

2. 2

   Open Finder. This resembles a bluish face up. You'll notice information technology in the Dock.

3. three

   Click the Go menu particular. It's in the upper-left side of the screen.

4. 4

   Click Utilities . It's a folder nearly the bottom of the Become drop-down menu.

5. five

   Double-click Disk Utility . It resembles a stethoscope on summit of a hard drive icon.

6. 6

   Select your flash drive. This is the indented icon below the "External" heading.

7. vii

   Click First Assistance . Information technology's at the meridian of the Disk Utility window.^[one]

8. 8

   Click Run when prompted. It's the bluish push button on the pop-upwards window.

9. ix

   Wait for the scan to consummate. Disk Utility volition repair whatsoever software- or driver-related problems.

10. x

    Click Washed when prompted. If your flash drive'due south problems were driver- or software-based, it should work now.

11. eleven

    Click . When you lot are finished using a flash drive on a Mac, always eject it before removing it. This prevents harm from being done to your wink drive. To eject information technology, click the eject icon next to the drive in the Finder, or click and drag it to the Eject icon in the Dock when on your desktop.

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Windows

1. 1

   Connect the USB flash drive to your estimator. Plug it into 1 of your PC'south USB ports.

2. 2

   Press ⊞ Win+E to open up File Explorer . This opens File Explorer on Windows. Yous tin use File Explorer to navigate to your flash bulldoze.

3. 3

   Right-click your flash bulldoze's icon. This displays a carte to the right of the bulldoze.

   • You may demand to click > adjacent to This PC first in gild to view the wink drive.

4. 4

   Click Format . It'southward in the menu that appears when you right-click the drive. Doing so opens the Format window.

5. 5

   Select a file system. Employ the drop-downwards carte beneath "File Organization" to select a file system to reformat the drive in. Your options are every bit follows::

   • NTFS - The default Windows operating arrangement format. This format only works with Windows.
   • FAT32 - The most widely uniform format. Works on Windows and Mac, just has a storage limit of 32 gigabytes.
   • exFAT (Recommended) - Works on Windows and Mac, and has no storage limit.
   • If you've formatted your bulldoze before and you're positive that information technology isn't broken, yous can likewise check the Quick Format box.

6. 6

   Click Get-go , then click OK . Doing this will cause Windows to brainstorm formatting your flash bulldoze for yous.

7. 7

   Click OK when prompted. Your flash drive has successfully been formatted.

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Mac

1. 1

   Connect the USB wink drive to your figurer. Plug it into one of your Mac's USB ports.

   • Some Macs don't have USB ports, so you'll need to buy an adapter.

2. ii

   Click Go . It's a menu particular in the top-left side of the bill of fare bar.

   • If y'all don't run into Get, first click the Finder icon, which resembles a blue face up in your Mac's dock.

3. 3

   Click Utilities . This option is in the Go drib-downwards menu.

4. 4

   Double-click Disk Utility . Y'all'll probable observe this option in the middle of the Utilities page.

5. 5

   Click your flash drive'due south proper noun. It'due south on the far-left side of the Disk Utility window.

6. 6

   Click the Erase tab. This option is at the top of the Deejay Utility window.

7. 7

   Blazon a proper noun for the bulldoze. Use the space adjacent to "Name" to blazon a name for the drive once it is done formatting.

8. 8

   Select a file format. Employ the driblet-downwardly menu next to "Format" to select a file format. This will bring upwardly a drib-down carte du jour with the post-obit options:

   • Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - The default Mac format. Just works on Mac.
   • Mac Bone Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) - Encrypted version of the default Mac format.
   • Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) - Version of the default Mac format that treats files with the aforementioned name differently if there are case differences (e.chiliad., "file.txt" and "File.txt").
   • Mac OS Extended (Example-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted) - A combination of the three above formatting options for the Mac format.
   • MS-DOS (Fatty) - Works on both Windows and Mac computers, only has file size limit of 4 gigabytes.
   • ExFAT (Recommended) - Works on both Windows and Mac computers. Has no storage limit.

9. 9

   Click a format option. Click MS-DOS (Fatty) or ExFat for optimal compatibility.

10. 10

    Click Erase , then click Erase when prompted. This will begin the formatting process. Once the formatting is complete, you'll see an icon for your wink drive appear on your Mac'due south desktop.

11. 11

    Click Done . When the reformat is finished, click Done to continue.

12. 12

    Click . When you are finished using a flash drive on a Mac, always squirt it earlier removing information technology. This prevents damage from being washed to your flash drive. To eject it, click the eject icon next to the drive in the Finder, or click and drag it to the Squirt icon in the Dock when on your desktop.

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1. ane

   Understand that physically repairing a flash drive is unlikely to work. Unless you have professional person experience in repairing physically damaged wink drives, do not try to open information technology.

   • If the flash drive's internal storage is damaged, your just viable option is to take the drive into a professional repair service.
   • The prices for data recovery can vary from $20 - $850 based on the severity of harm done to the drive, and the type of recovery required.

2. 2

   Look for grit or foreign objects in the USB drive'due south rima oris. Information technology may non be able to connect to your figurer because of an easily-removed blockage. If you see something inside of the USB drive's oral cavity, gently swab it out with a toothpick or a q-tip.

3. iii

   Endeavor testing the wink bulldoze on another USB port or figurer. It may exist the USB port that isn't working rather than the USB drive itself.

4. 4

   Get your repair tools for soldering a broken connector. If you lot decide y'all are comfy risking your files, you will need:

   • A soldering iron with solder and flux
   • An sometime USB cable
   • Wire cutters/strippers
   • A pocket-size flathead screwdriver
   • A magnifying drinking glass or jeweler's loop

5. 5

   Remove the wink drive's casing. Practice so with your flathead screwdriver.

6. 6

   Use the magnifying glass to inspect the circuit board (PCB) and solder pads. If the PCB (the green circuit board) itself is damaged or the solder pads are lifted, yous will probably need the help of a professional.

   • Solder pads are the 4 bits of solder that connect the prongs of the USB connector to the copper lines in the circuit board. If the connector has broken away without causing damage to the PCB or solder pads, keep to the next step.

7. 7

   Ready the flash bulldoze on a hard surface. Place the connector end facing toward you and the solder pads facing up.

8. 8

   Utilize wire cutters to cut one end off of the USB cable. Make sure y'all cut the USB end if the flash drive cable is an adapter.

9. ix

   Strip away a section of the USB cable's wire. Effort to betrayal about 0.25 inch (0.6 cm) of each of the four wires within the cable that's attached to the USB cablevision.

10. 10

    Solder each of the four wires to the four solder pads. Take your time while doing this, since failing to fairly secure the connection will nearly likely render your flash drive inoperable.

11. xi

    Plug the other terminate of the USB cable into a computer. It should fit into one of the rectangular slots on your calculator'due south housing.

12. 12

    Open your wink drive if possible. If your flash bulldoze is recognizable by the computer, open it and motion your files over onto your estimator as quickly as possible:

    • Windows - Open Commencement, click the File Explorer icon, and click your flash bulldoze'south icon.
    • Mac - Open up Finder and click your wink drive'southward icon.
    • If the wink bulldoze doesn't connect to your computer, you can endeavour taking it to a tech department to run across if they can even so pull the files off of information technology.

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Add New Question

• Question

  My pen bulldoze is not showing my folders, but when I am scanning the pen drive, it is then showing the names of folders. What should I exercise?

  

  The files could have been subconscious as system files. To bear witness the files, go to binder properties and to the display tab. There you will notice the option Show Organization Files and Show Hidden Files. Cheque both of them and apply. Your files should exist visible at present.

• Question

  When I effort to format my pen bulldoze, my PC shows the bulletin "Windows was unable to format this drive". What is the solution?

  

  It is nearly likely that your pen drive is expressionless (really the pen drive's storage may be intact merely the boot/power part inside the chip has failed).

• Question

  I have merely recently bought a USB storage device. When I plug it into my laptop it makes the sound that it'south connected and starts to install, but the folder doesn't show upward in My Estimator. What can I practice?

  

  This is similar to a problem I accept accessing my mp3 player. I have two cables. Both accuse the device just i provides a information connexion then that the device is recognized as a drive on the reckoner, and the other provides no information connection. You could have a cable trouble.

• Question

  My pen drive fell when it was attached to my laptop and it is half broken and not detectable. I want to recover my data. What should I do?

  

  Is the flash retention chip(s) (it looks like the gray squares on united nations-shielded RAM or the wink retentivity inside SSDs) torn into 2 pieces? If so then your data is unrecoverable. If the plug on it is broken simply the inside looks physically intact, accept information technology to a data recovery center and run into if they can set it (this could be pretty pricey).

• Question

  When I try to open my flash bulldoze, my PC shows the message "please insert disk into the removable disk drive." What might be the problem?

  

  Reformat it. Windows is probably thinking information technology'due south a CD or DVD bulldoze because of an ISO on information technology.

• Question

  My pen drive is recognized but after copying files onto it, they show up as being all at that place. But if I eject then re-install the drive, the files vanish. What'southward incorrect with my bulldoze?

  

  Your wink drive probably has a virus. Try to get a new one and if that doesn't piece of work, then there may be something wrong with your laptop or desktop.

• Question

  I know that a "Quick Format" takes just moments to run. How long does a "Regular Format" accept?

  

  It takes from thirty seconds to 2 minutes. Don't unplug your USB drive while it's doing its work.

• Question

  What is wrong if my flash bulldoze is 8 GB, but the reckoner is detecting it as a 2.v GB?

  

  Neon Boy

  Community Reply

  It'southward possible that there was already something on it, hidden away. A wink drive tin never be 100% free, although seeing it as 2.five from 8 is a bit odd. It's possible at that place is a driver fault, depending on the device. Otherwise try plugging it in again, into some other port or computer.

• Question

  The end of my USB drive is bent and the reckoner isn't registering it. The light flashes quickly and then disappears. Tin can this be repaired?

  

  I have had this problem 2-3 times. I have carefully aptitude the USB to (almost) the correct position, and luckily the computer could read it once more. This can go wrong if you utilize likewise much strength. If it is really important data on your wink drive, become to a professional person and allow them do it.

• Question

  When I salve the files on my wink drive, the files are invisible and my music in my drive shows an error when I attempt to play it. What should I practise?

  

  Re-upload them. Remove the drive, delete the files, and reinsert. Or transfer them to another flash drive or upload them to Google or iCloud.

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Advertizement

• If you cull to seek the services of a professional person data recovery company, exist certain to describe your problems to the best of your abilities to ensure they have the tools and feel for the job.

• USB drives are cheap and widely available. If the data on the flash bulldoze isn't of import, consider just ownership a new wink drive.

• If your USB flash drive does contain important data yous would like to retrieve, do not re-format the device.

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• Ever support your important information.

• Formatting will erase all information on a drive.

• If the files are at all important, do not let someone who happens to own a soldering iron convince you that they can ready it. Accept your drive into a professional repair service.

• Always eject a flash drive before removing it to ensure there is no damage to your files or to the drive itself.

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Things You lot'll Need

• Your operating system (restore) disk.
• Your operating system serial key.
• A USB wink drive that is working properly for testing/comparing purposes.

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