How to Recover Data from Pen Drive Using CMD

Updated to File Recovery Tips by Nancy on Mar 11, 2024 | Approved by Anthony Spadafora

"Is there a way to do pen drive recovery using CMD? I know it is able to use CMD to recover files on computer easily. However, I don’t know how to recover data from pen drive using CMD since I noticed even you delete photos from pen drive, it doesn’t end in the trash can at all :("

Yes, compared with doing the file recovery at the desktop, it seems it isn’t easy to recover pen drive data using CMD. But actually, you can do it. Here in the following, we’re going to talk about how to recover deleted files from pen drive using CMD or how to recover formatted data from pen drive using CMD. Choose the right way to flash drive recovery according to your situation. Before you get down to the task, please make sure how you lost the files from Pen Drive. Different scenarios need different pen drive recovery CMD solutions.

Quick Navigation
Part 1. How to Recover Deleted Files from Pen Drive Using CMD
Part 2. How to Recover Virus-infected/Formatted Data from Pen Drive Using CMD
Part 3. The Ultimate Way to Recover Deleted/Formatted Files from Pen Drive (100% Effective)

Part 1. How to Recover Deleted Files from Pen Drive Using CMD

If you accidentally deleted files from Pen Drive, you can try the following steps to perform pen drive data recovery CMD.

1. Connect your pen drive with your computer, making sure your computer can recognize the device.

2. Go to the Start menu. Click it and in the search box, please enter "cmd" and click Enter.

3. Type "chkdsk E:/f" and click Enter. Here the "E" means the pen drive letter. You’re supposed to replace it with your pen drive letter from which you want to recover deleted data.

4. Type "E" and click Enter again (E stands for the drive letter of the pen drive).

5. Type "E: \>attrib -h -r -s /s /d *.*" and click Enter.

That’s it! It is the guide for how to recover deleted files using CMD. If you still failed to recover the data or unexpectedly format your flash drive, please try the following methods for how to recover pen drive data using CMD.

Part 2. How to Recover Virus-infected/Formatted Data from Pen Drive Using CMD

If your pen drive is attacked by a virus, then the first thing you need to do is to find the malware or virus and using the professional security software to clean up the pen drive. After then, try the following steps to pen drive recovery using CMD. This mode can also recover files from a formatted flash drive using CMD.

1. Connect the virus infected pen drive to your computer.

2. Click the Start button at the bottom left of the main screen. Type in the "cmd" in the search box and click Enter.

3. Type "attrib -h -r -s /s /d E:\*.*", press Enter(E stands for the drive letter of the pen drive). Check the pen drive, and your files would be restored.

Part 3. The Ultimate Way to Recover Deleted/Formatted Files from Pen Drive

To be honest, it is feasible to recover data from pen drive using CMD. If you try the above 2 pen drive recovery CMD methods, it still doesn't help you recover the lost files. You should try iBeesoft Data Recovery. It’s a great tool to help you completely recover pen drive data, either the files lost due to formatting, corruption or deletion. Here are the simple steps for how to recover files from pen drive with the software.

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Step 1. Connect Pen Drive with Computer

Connect your pen drive with your computer, making sure it is detected by your computer, meaning it appears as a drive letter on your computer. Then download and install the latest version of the pen drive recovery CMD alternative software on your computer. It’s fully compatible with almost all the versions of Windows/Mac OS. After then, launch it.

Step 2. Select Pen Drive to Scan

In the next window, please find the flash drive letter that represents your pen drive. Select it and click "Scan". It means the alternative program to recover pen drive using CMD will scan the pen drive, looking for the file types you’ve selected.

Step 3. Preview and Recover Data from Pen Drive

It takes a few minutes to finish the whole scanning process. After then, you can select file types from the left panel, then preview the details in the right panel. When finding the right files, select them and click "Recover" to save on your computer.

By default, the pen drive data recovery CMD alternative tool scans your pen drive swiftly. However, the results are not as good as the ones scanning by Deep Scan. You can try the Deep Scan in the result window to scan more files.