{"id":32810,"date":"2021-01-07T20:28:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T20:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=32810"},"modified":"2025-02-05T14:25:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T14:25:23","slug":"usb-repair-tool-how-to-fix-a-broken-flash-stick-in-any-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/how-to-fix-a-broken-usb-stick.html","title":{"rendered":"USB Repair Tool: How to Fix a Broken Flash Stick in Any Situation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever inserted a USB stick into your PC or laptop, only to find it unreadable by your system? At that point, you might be wondering how to recover information from a broken flash drive? Before we answer that question, you should know there are a lot of reasons why this can happen. Sometimes your USB flash drive will show up but be inaccessible, other times it may show up as RAW or not initialized.<\/p>\r\n

\"how<\/p>\r\n

When your flash drive is broken, your primary concern will obviously be the safety of your data. Fortunately, you have a few options that can lead you to recover that data from a damaged USB drive. We\u2019re going to list some of the best ways to fix a USB drive that\u2019s not working, as well as how to recover the data from it.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>How a USB Stick Gets Damaged<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

There are a number of ways a USB stick can become damaged. Before we jump into fixes, it\u2019s important to know the problem behind your unreadable card so you know what fixes are appropriate. Here are some common scenarios that can cause your USB drive to break.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Physical Damage<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Any type of storage device is susceptible to physical damage, and it can manifest in different ways. If the metal USB connector is bent, misaligned, or otherwise damaged, it can cause a disruption in communication between your USB drive and the system it\u2019s connected to. The same is true if the circuit board inside comes into contact with water. One Reddit user over on r\/UsbCHardware<\/a> had a bent USB drive that lights up but doesn\u2019t register. Another on r\/datarecovery<\/a> had one that was physically two pieces.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Misuse or Improper Ejection<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Removing your USB flash drive while it\u2019s doing something like moving data, formatting, or playing a file is a fast track to corruption. The Safely Remove Hardware<\/a> option on Windows ensures nothing on your system is in the middle of using the flash drive when it\u2019s ready to be removed. One user found themselves on r\/techsupport<\/a> after prematurely removing their USB drive, thereby corrupting it.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Natural Wear and Tear<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

USB drives store your data on flash memory<\/a>. One limitation of flash memory is that it has a limited number of write\/erase cycles. Although this number is very high, typically in the hundreds of thousands, eventually the memory cells will degrade to the point where they can no longer hold data.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Wear and tear also encompasses the seemingly inexplicable reasons why the USB flash drive broke, as it also includes things like a degraded controller chip, prolonged exposure to harsh temperatures, and excessive heat build-up. One user on r\/datarecovery<\/a> experienced such an issue, which seemed to have happened out of nowhere.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Driver or Port Issues<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Your system relies on drivers to allow your flash drive and operating system (OS) to communicate. The generic drivers that come with Windows will be sufficient for most storage devices you connect. However, if the drivers become corrupted or outdated, it could lead to the drive not being properly recognized. Someone on r\/pchelp<\/a> experienced an issue like this when they updated their drivers, only for their USB ports to stop working.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

💬 It can also be the case that your USB ports are disabled, or the cable that connects the USB ports on your computer case to your motherboard is broken.<\/div>\r\n

<\/span>Malware Infection<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

It is indeed possible for malware to infect your USB flash drive. Worse yet, it can happen in so many ways. You may fall victim to an AutoRun exploit, which takes advantage of the AutoRun\/AutoPlay feature of Windows and automatically executes when the USB drive is connected. Or, it could be a malicious firmware that causes erratic performance in your USB drive. For instance, a user on r\/antivirus<\/a> had their data turned into a file called Removable Disk.exe<\/b>, which even managed to bypass both Windows Defender and Malwarebytes.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Compatibility Issues<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Sometimes your USB drive isn\u2019t broken per se. Rather, it could be using a file system that\u2019s foreign to your OS. One user posted in r\/techsupport<\/a> about their USB not showing up on macOS, which was suspected to be because the USB is using NTFS, a file system that macOS does not natively support.<\/p>\r\n

<\/span>Fake or Modified Hardware<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

If you\u2019ve ever come across a deal that\u2019s too good to be true, it probably is. This is especially true for those ads that market dirt-check USB drives with insane capacities. USB flash drives and SD cards can have their card controller modified to display a larger size that they can support. Once the actual data threshold is reached, your data is constantly overwritten and corrupted. This was the case for a user who posted in r\/Aliexpress<\/a> stating that their 8 TB USB drive was in fact, fake. Thankfully, there are software tools that can check this, but it\u2019s not always the first thing that comes to mind.<\/p>\r\n

We\u2019ve included a table below that will direct you straight to the recommended solutions based on the type of damage that best describes your situation.<\/p>\r\n

⚠️ In any case where your USB drive is considered broken, you should recover the data from it<\/a> first. Attempting to fix it right away could put too much stress on it, damaging it further and causing some data to become unrecoverable. For more severe cases, you should contact a data recovery center<\/a> instead.<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Type of Damage<\/b><\/td>\r\nScenarios<\/b><\/td>\r\nSolutions<\/b><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Physical Damage<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Bent or broken connector<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Water or moisture damage<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Excessive heat\/cold<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Hard impact or cracked casing<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
Misuse\/Improper Ejection<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Removed during a data transfer<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Improper removal of the USB drive<\/li>\r\n\t
  • The device is suddenly recognized as RAW<\/li>\r\n\t
  • The file system keeps recommending you to perform a format<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
Natural Wear & Tear<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Inexplicable corruption<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Sporadic read\/write failures<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Sometimes recognized, sometimes not<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Gradual performance degradation or random errors<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
Driver\/Port Issues<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • USB drive not detected<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Disabled\/malfunctioning ports<\/li>\r\n\t
  • The device appears in Device Manager but not File Explorer<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
Malware Infection<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Files hidden or renamed<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Suspicious shortcuts or files<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Pop-ups or antivirus alerts when connecting the drive<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
Compatibility Issues<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Drive formatted in an unsupported file system (e.g., NTFS on Mac)<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Errors on older operating systems<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
Fake USB Drives<\/b><\/td>\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\t
  • Incorrect capacity displayed<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Sudden errors during file transfer<\/li>\r\n\t
  • Cannot access files after a certain storage limit<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n