The data stored on flash drives is like air and water: invisible but very important to us. However, it happens very often that accidental formatting erases files on the USB flash drive. If you have recently encountered the same problem, don't be afraid. It is a common problem, and there are multiple ways to unformat a USB drive on both Windows PCs and Macs. This article provides detailed steps on these solutions.
Additionally, we will also introduce how to repair the USB required formatting before access issue without losing data and how to format it correctly.
Although accidental formatting has already happened, if you know the reasons, then you may avoid the same problem in the future.
No matter how a Flash drive is formatted, we will see that all the data are cleared. However, the processing methods of quick formatting and full formatting are different. By knowing them, you can better understand the possibility of recovering these files.
This is the default method of the computer operating system, and it is also the most widely chosen by users. It only "logically resets" the device, that is, creates a brand new, empty file allocation table (FAT) without deleting the data in it. It's like you delete the shortcut desktop icon of a program on your computer; it still exists, but you can't find it. Therefore, we can use data recovery programs to find and retrieve these files with a higher success rate.
It is carried out by using erasing software or unchecking the "Quick Format" option when formatting a USB drive. Based on the quick format, it also overwrites all previous data with zeros and marks any damaged sectors. Therefore, this will make it difficult to recover files from the formatted USB drive, but there is still a little chance.
As we said in the previous section, most users use the default formatting method to erase or reformat a flash drive. It does not delete the files themselves but only makes them invisible by deleting the indexes. This way makes it much easier to retrieve them. However, some factors will also directly affect the data recovery success rate. Therefore, You’re supposed to check the following precautions before starting the USB stick unformat:
Now, you should know that after formatting the USB drive, the files are actually still there, but they are not indexed and become invisible. If you continue to connect it to the computer, there is a chance that new files will be written to the USB drive accidentally, which will overwrite the previous files and make them unrecoverable.
Without a backup or copy, the only way to rescue files in a formatted USB flash drive is to use recovery data software for the PC. So try to quit other applications to free up more memory to make it run at its best.
If you save recovered files to the same location, it will inevitably cause some of the original data to be overwritten and corrupted. Therefore, it is very necessary to choose another disk to save them.
Although the flash drive will become "empty" after formatting, there are usually 2 ways to get back these disappeared files. Next, we will introduce them one by one, and you can choose the appropriate one.
Are you wondering why there is no recommended program for "reversing formatting"? Honestly, if there is such a tool, it would be very efficient for users to rescue important data lost due to formatting. But unfortunately, it is not available at present. Therefore, to achieve the same goal of recovering data from the formatted flash drive, using recovery software should be the best DIY alternative we can use.
There are many data recovery programs available for download on the Internet. If you try them one by one and then choose a suitable one, it will be time-consuming. After several days of testing, we recommend using the following 3 options.
This is your preference because, in our performance test, iBeesoft Data Recovery recovered almost all the sample files. The only drawback was that some file names were changed. In addition, it provides detailed instructions in each step, and the free version can help you recover 2GB files for totally free.
It is also a powerful tool. Stellar Data Recovery recovered 99.2% of the sample files, of which 1.8% could not be opened. Since it can only recover 1GB of data from a formatted USB drive for free, we ranked it in second place. Here are the steps on how to use it:
We Rank PhotoRec in the third place, not because its performance is lower than the above 2 options, but because it does not have a graphical interface. It is not user-friendly for most people. The good aspect is that it can help users recover more than 2GB of data for completely free.
PhotoRec will read every sector of the USB drive to find the erased data, which is a very slow process. The flash drive we tested was 7.65GB, but it took more than an hour for the scanning. Fortunately, it successfully recovered the files in the end.
In most cases, using software to unformat USB is useful. However, sometimes it doesn't work, especially when you have applied full formatting. At this point, asking for help from professional technicians is the last resort. You can enter "Data Recovery Services" in the map application and select one near you to get help.
When we need to exchange files between different computers, flash drives are the choice of most users. However, due to the frequent plugging and unplugging, the probability of it malfunctioning is much higher than that of a computer's hard drive, such as "You need to format the disk before you can use it."
After reformatting, using the above methods to unformat the flash drive can ensure that it works properly without losing data. Although these are effective solutions, they will undoubtedly consume a significant amount of our time, and there is also a risk of file recovery failure. Is there a better way? Maybe the following steps are what you need.
If the above command doesn't work for you, here are some ways to convert RAW to NTFS without losing data. If you want to set its file system as FAT32 or exFAT, please replace the corresponding steps in the file system converting process.
An unformatted drive refers to a storage device whose file system cannot be recognized by the computer. Usually, it is caused by corrupt sectors, partition table issues, improper ejection, etc. When you access the flash drive, you will see error messages such as "The disk is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?" or "Do you want to format it? Drive H cannot be accessed."
The following method can help you reformat the USB drive, but it will erase all the data. Before you begin, please use the recovery software for Mac or Windows that we recommend above to retrieve the erased files. In addition, learning the differences between different file systems will also help you choose a suitable file system for your flash drive.
| Maximum File Size | Maximum Partition Size | Compatibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAT32 | 4 GB | 8 TB | Windows, Mac, and Linux |
| exFAT | 128 PB | 512 EB | Windows, Mac, and Linux |
| NTFS | 16 EB | 8 PB | Only Windows |
| HFS+ | 8 EB | 8 EB | Only Mac |
The command line is more flexible to format unformatted USB drives. If you want to try it, please see the following steps.
Whether we have outlined the methods to unformat a flash drive to retrieve lost files or fix the error that it needs to be formatted before use or is not formatted, they are all remedies. Therefore, to prevent similar errors from happening again, be sure to follow the above tips. Finally, if you encounter any problems while trying the above methods, feel free to let us know. We will continue to update this guide and hope it can help more users.
PhotoRec can be used in Linux, and the instructions are the same as those listed in this article. The only thing to note is that you need to root, i.e., sudo photorec_static, when you want to run it
Excluding cases of physical damage, it is possible to retrieve files from an unrecognized flash drive using recovery software. However, before starting, you can also check out the details for how to fix the USB not showing the problem. Maybe this can make it work properly again.
It will make your storage device inaccessible again. You can just use disk management tools or the command line to format it again.
Of course. Here are some of them. Be careful; there are some limits for the below-mentioned data recovery software.
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