How to format a flash drive to save data. The system asks you to format the flash drive: what should you do to prevent the data on the drive from being lost? Standard operating system features

If the computer no longer recognizes a USB drive (popularly a “flash drive”) and “requires” formatting, this does not necessarily mean that the data on the flash drive is lost forever.

If there is information on the drive that is important to recover, you can try successful solutions that have already been tested by users.

This may seem obvious, but the first thing to try is to insert the USB drive into a different USB port. Over time, USB ports become dirty and wear out. Therefore, there is a possibility that the problem is related to the USB port, and not to the flash drive itself.

Updating the driver on your computer

The problem of recognizing a flash drive may also be related to the system where the flash drive is connected, and not to the drive itself.

To check this option, you need to insert another, known working USB drive into the computer port and see if the other flash drive is detected correctly. If not, it may mean that your computer needs to download a new driver.

To check for a new driver, you need to:

1. Open “Computer” (for example, with the keyboard shortcut “Win ​​+ E”, the “Win” key is located between the left “Ctrl” and “Alt” on the keyboard).

   

2. Right-click on the icon of the USB drive that needs formatting and click "Properties".

   

3. Next, you need to click on the “Hardware” tab and find “General USB Flash Disc USB Device”. Click on this device (select it) and click the “Properties” button at the bottom.

   

4. In the next window that opens, click the “Change settings” button.

   

5. The following pop-up window will appear where you need to click on the Driver tab and click on the Update Driver button.

   

6. Then you need to select the first option “Automatically search for a driver for updated software.” And follow the instructions to download the new driver.

   

   

Checking errors on a flash drive via Windows

Windows can detect itself on USB drives using its built-in software tool.

If Windows can identify the problem, you must follow its further instructions.

Checking for errors using chkdsk

You can also check for errors in reading a USB drive through the operating system command line by running the “chkdsk” command.

The "chkdsk" command can also be executed by entering the "cmd" command in the Run window and clicking "OK". After launching the command interpreter window, enter in it: “chkdsk H:/F/R” and press the “Enter” key.

Reference! Instead of the letter “H”, you need to substitute the letter with which the “problem” flash drive is “signed” in “Computer”. Substituting the letter “/F” into the command starts troubleshooting file system errors, and the letter “/R” starts troubleshooting problems with bad sectors.

The “chkdsk” command will check the USB drive for errors and restore the necessary data if possible, displaying a report on the results when completed.

Recovering data from a USB drive using special utilities

There are specialized programs (utilities) designed to scan USB drives without the help of Windows.

Recuva

One of the leaders in data recovery programs is the free Recuva utility. It is easy to install on your computer and quickly and easily performs all the necessary actions.

Features of Recuva:

• user-friendly interface;
• advanced file scanning;
• recovery from damaged media;
• preview of found files;
• recovery from a recent “quick” format.

Using Recuva:

1. Download the program from a reliable source.

   

2. Run the installation file and follow the installer's instructions.

   

   

3. Launch the program and click “Next”.

   

4. Select "All files" to display. Click "Next".

   

5. Select “In a specified location” and find the USB drive by clicking the “Browse” button. Click "Next".

   

6. Select "Enable advanced analysis". Click "Start".

   

7. After the list of found files appears, check the boxes next to the ones you need and click “Recover”.

   

8. Once the necessary files have been extracted, you can format the USB drive for further work.

Handy Recovery

This utility is paid, but it has a free 30-day period of use.

Using Handy Recovery:

Reference! A convenient feature of Handy Recovery is that red crosses in the program mark files previously deleted from a USB drive, which can also be recovered.

Formatting a USB drive

Perhaps the last step, which makes it possible to recover lost files on an “unreadable” USB drive, is formatting it.

Important! By default, Windows performs a “full” formatting of storage media. However, in this case it is necessary to perform a “quick” formatting of the drive. Unlike “full”, it does not erase lost files on the media. It only writes a new boot sector and file system table to the flash drive, restoring access to it.

Reference! After performing a quick format and opening access to the USB drive in Windows, you can try to extract files from it using the special utilities described above.

Low-level formatting

If a flash drive malfunctions, the usual, including its complete formatting, is not always feasible and does not always solve the problem that has arisen with it.

In this case, formatting at a “low logical level” can “cure” the flash drive. However, after such formatting, it will no longer be possible to recover files from the media.

HDD Low Level Format Tool

Using the program:

The operating system will recognize a formatted USB drive as an unformatted USB device with a capacity of 0 bytes.

To format a drive in Windows, you can quickly format it following the instructions described above.

On a note! Considering the serious, including financial, costs of restoring lost information, today experts recommend creating backup copies of important data located on any digital media.

Video - How to open a flash drive if it requires formatting

So, if the operating system asks you to format a flash drive, is it possible to ignore this request and open it without formatting? It is impossible to answer unequivocally. In some cases, you can completely restore files, but there are situations when you still have to agree to formatting. We'll look at a few scenarios and give some valuable tips on the matter.

Everyone may one day encounter the error “Before using a disk in the drive, it must be formatted.” A computer or phone asks you to format a memory card when connected for various reasons: from incorrect removal from the connector to natural wear and tear.

In any case, in the absence of mechanical damage to the media, it is quite possible to open the flash drive without formatting and/or restore at least 40% of the information stored in memory. The main thing is not to agree to formatting, put the flash drive aside and carefully read this guide.

What Causes SD Card Error to Occur?

Emergency formatting is needed when the media is damaged mechanically or software. Most often this happens when:

• The flash drive fell
• was deleted incorrectly,
• formatted in an old phone/camera,
• was not removed while resetting the phone to factory settings,
• has exhausted its working resource,
• was formatted in an incompatible file system.

With mechanical damage and natural wear and tear, everything is simple: the more damaged the flash drive is, the less likely it is to pull something out of it. Although, of course, it’s worth trying anyway. Other problems can be fixed in 8 cases out of 10.

Windows asks you to format the flash drive. Do I need to agree?

Agreeing to format when the system leaves no choice makes sense only in one case - you don’t need a single file from the card. You can restore information after formatting using special programs for your computer and applications for mobile devices.

Attention! It is not a fact that any recovery software after formatting will return 100% of deleted files to you.

In a situation where you are not going to part with the information, do not rush with formatting. In addition, it is not advisable to format a mobile flash drive using standard Windows tools.

To check an SD card for reading errors you need to:

1. Insert the card into the card reader and connect it to a computer running MS Windows.
2. On your computer, open the command line (Start → Run → CMD).
3. In the command prompt window, enter the command chkdsk drive letter: /f/r, for example: chkdsk M: /f/r.
4. Upon completion of the check, try to view the contents of the card using the standard method.

If the SD card does not open and requires formatting, despite a successful check in ChkDsk, you will have to make a radical decision - format it and then try to recover the files.

Format a flash drive using SDFormatter

The formatting process through the SDFormatter program is no more complicated than formatting using standard operating system tools. Download SDFormatter and install. Next, you need to connect the flash drive to the computer via a card reader and do the following:

1. In the main program window, select the drive letters of the flash drive (look through “My Computer”;
2. In Option, select the formatting type;
3. Click the Format button.

Once formatting is complete, it is advisable to check the media on your computer. If the media is opened, it will be writable on the mobile device.

The SDFormat utility supports flash drive formatting types: Full OverWrite and Quick. Quick - superficial formatting, which only marks documents in the media memory as available for rewriting; Full OverWrite - deletes the contents of files with writing over zeros (blanks).

Attention! To retain the ability to recover files from a formatted flash drive through special applications, you must select the Quick format mode.

How to prevent a similar error from occurring in the future

The first thing you need to do to avoid the problem of lost files in the future is to train yourself to make backup copies of your files. You can store them on a cloud server, for example, Google Drive, Dropbox AND Yandex.Disk, on a computer or the internal memory of a mobile device.

Following a few simple operating rules will help protect your flash drive from reading errors, converting it to an unreadable RAW format, and extend the life of the device:

• You can use the safe removal function in your mobile phone too - before removing it, you need to disconnect the SD card in the settings (Settings → Memory).
• Do not allow falls, shocks, or water to get on the memory card.
• Regularly, at least once every 1-2 months, you need to copy the content to another location and carry out preventative formatting, preferably in Full OverWrite mode.
• Make sure that applications installed on a smartphone/tablet do not interact frequently with external memory, as this dramatically accelerates the wear of the latter.

And lastly: never store anything particularly important on the SD card, for example, documents or photographs of children. A card is not the most reliable option for storing information; it can break at any moment, and no recovery programs will help.

Question answer

1. I have a large flash drive (drive) with more than 15,000 photos and videos. Once I wanted to open a flash drive, they asked me to format it (I didn’t click). Mom, frightened, took the video to M., and when she brought it back, she said that everything inside had been removed. Is there a chance to get everything back?
2. The computer asks you to format the flash drive. The phone and tablet indicate that the flash drive is damaged; photographs of the child are stored on it for all 9 months of his life and they are very important to me. Please help me remove the files from the USB flash drive, after that I won’t use it anymore, the main thing for me is to extract the baby’s photos from its memory.

Answer. You did the right thing. If the computer persistently asks you to format the flash drive, you do not need to immediately agree to the offer. It is advisable to think before you click OK and the files will disappear forever.

So, connect the USB flash drive to your computer, then download and install the Unformat program. Further steps to return files are described in the article at the specified link; video instructions are also posted there on how to recover files deleted on a flash drive and how to use the application as a whole.

There is an SD card, there is only music on it, I listen to it through a portable speaker. I want to transfer music to a PC or phone, but PCs and phones either don’t see the microSD card or ask me to format it. I don't want to lose what's on the map. What to do?

Answer. Sometimes a formatting request appears when reading errors occur on a flash drive. You can try to resolve these errors using the utilities that come with Windows. One of them is the console utility chkdsk, which also has a convenient graphical shell. Read about error checking at this link:

After reading errors are identified, you can reconnect the flash drive to the computer/laptop and check if the formatting request appears.

If all else fails, you'll have to agree to formatting

1. Need help recovering files on a flash drive. There is a lot of important information on it. When I insert it into the computer, it prompts me to format it. All the programmers I know also say that nothing can be restored. Please provide a link to the program, if there is one. Is it possible to recover deleted files from a flash drive?
2. Phone Samsung Gakalsi A3 (2015). The flash drive is asking for formatting. I insert the card into the phone, when installing the SD card it says that it is empty and asks whether to format the flash drive or not. What to do? Please advise how to recover photos from a flash drive.
3. Samsung J7 2016 phone with a Samsung 64GB flash drive - stopped seeing the flash drive after taking a photo, it says - DAMAGED. There are a lot of photos on the flash drive that I would like to return. The computer asks you to format the flash drive. Tell me what to do and is it possible to return the photo?

Answer. When asked to format a flash drive, do not agree to the offer. Install the Unformat program and, after reading the instructions and video, try to recover files on the flash drive. Your friends may be wrong, because the files on a flash drive can be kept safe and sound until you try to format the drive or overwrite old files with new ones, and the likelihood of getting them back on the flash drive will decrease many times over.

If checking for errors does not help, and it is not possible to restore the files, well, there is nothing else left, you will have to format the flash drive. To avoid problems in the future, we recommend reading our manual, which describes all the stages and nuances of formatting:

The problem is this - Samsung tab tablet, marshmallow, the flash drive stopped working, Sony Micro SD 32GB 70MB, I insert it - it says damaged and asks to format it, it reaches 20% and crashes and the tablet does not see the memory card.

Answer. If the SD card on the tablet is not detected, you should check it for errors. This can be done via a computer. If the chkdsk utility did not find errors or did not fix them, you can format the memory card using SDFormatter. Most likely, this utility will help. Formatting on a tablet is not very efficient.

My Galaxy Grand Prime phone does not see the micro sd. I tried another one - it shows that it is empty and asks to format it, although there are files on it. I confirm, but the card is not formatted. I try another one - it sees it, but does not open files (such as photos). It says “not found”.

Answer. The SD card may have read errors. You should check it using chkdsk, and then format it using the sdformatter program. Of course, you can format it via your phone, but it is better to carry out all operations on a computer.

Qumo memory card 16 GB. Purchased for a Samsung Galaxy Tab s 2 tablet. The files are recorded from the computer, everything is fine. Time passes (1-1.5 hours), files disappear, the memory card cannot be read by the tablet. When connected to a computer, the card does not open, but asks to format it immediately. Full formatting helps. After re-downloading the files, after 1-1.5 hours the same thing happens. What could be the reason, the memory card or the tablet is faulty? Everything is fine with the built-in memory of the tablet.

Answer. The memory card needs to be removed after turning off the phone, and on the computer you need to use safe removal (icon in the notification area). As a result of hot eject, read errors may occur in the future. It is unlikely that the problem is with the tablet, although it is possible that some applications on the device use the memory card for their work, and you interrupt the process or do not wait for the copying to finish and disconnect the cable or card reader from the PC.

The old phone had a micro sd. But the phone is broken. When I try to move it to another phone, it says that the card is not supported and asks to format it. Is there any way to avoid losing data from it? There are books there that were thrown there by a man who is no longer there. I wouldn't want to lose them.

I have both micro SD flash drives, 64 GB and 8 GB. previously worked on a Sony phone, when installed in a new Nokia phone, it says that the memory card is damaged and requires formatting. Although when connected via a card reader to a TV, both cards can be read normally. The Nokia phone can read a regular flash drive connected via an OTG cable, although it was previously used only with the same Sony phone. What could be the reason and is it possible to restore the functionality of the cards on the phone without resorting to formatting?

I formatted a 16G flash drive on a new phone with Android 6.0 and combined the memory with the phone and it turned out that only the phone sees this flash drive, after some use I forgot and inserted the flash drive into the old phone, it naturally didn’t work, I put it back in the new one and after turning it on it says format and data can’t see it, I need to restore the information, please help me. Very important files on the flash drive: photos, music, documents. Thanks in advance.

smartphone blackview bv8000pro android 7.0 took out a flash card, reset the phone to factory settings, insert the card, it says configure the card and asks to format it. It was previously configured as internal memory, but there is a lot of necessary information on the card, how can I get it out of there?

“I have a new flash drive, it worked for a month and... I made it a system one and a day later my phone writes to me that the card is damaged and needs to be formatted, I format it and it says that formatting is not possible. But the computer doesn’t see it, it’s in the media but it’s as if it’s not there. Help me please!"

I have a USB flash drive (16gb) for a year, there is a lot of music on it, my son took it to listen to music on the speaker, he brought it, put it in the computer and wrote to format it

Flash drive 32 GB. When I opened it, the computer swore that it couldn’t do it without formatting. Some of the files were successfully restored through a program from the Internet. I decided to format it as the computer asked. As a result, Windows wrote that it could not complete the formatting. I tried articles on the Internet where you need to log in as an admin and write “clean” “files” and so on. Did not help. Now it seems like the computer has stopped swearing and started formatting. But the slider hasn’t moved forward for half an hour. He's at the very beginning of his journey. What should I do and is it possible to somehow return the flash drive using free programs? Thank you

Android 6: the flash drive is asking for formatting. Doesn't allow you to open it or do anything with it at all. There is nowhere to copy files. I don't have a PC. What to do then?

Hello! I have a SAMSUNG J2 phone? costs Android 7.1.1. There was a problem with the flash drive. Writes that it is not supported, please format it. When formatting, an error appears: Command 10 volume partition disk: 179.64 public failed with 400 Command failed. Formatting on the computer did not help. I bought a new flash drive, but everything is the same. It is impossible to format. Tell me what to do, how to open a flash drive without formatting it. Thank you.

I connected my 64GB USB Flash Card to Ubuntu 14.04 Mate to copy files. Suddenly the flash drive suddenly disappears from the explorer. In Windows 7 it appears and disappears abruptly in the explorer. It says that the disk needs to be formatted; when I try to format it, it fails when I click on Start, the explorer copies Microsoft Windows etc. repeatedly and then Windows 7 freezes. Perhaps the virus gives an error about some RAW file.

I combined the flash drive with internal memory. Then the phone's performance decreased and I wanted to do everything back. I clicked on storage then on flash drive and on portable storage. They wrote to me that I needed to format the flash drive and I formatted it... Then he started writing, the flash drive does not support this media. Click to configure. I click, there I am given the choice of making a flash drive for internal memory or portable storage. I clicked on one, then clicked next, then formatted it again, it said everything is ready, the flash drive supposedly works, then I see that the flash drive again says the flash drive is not supported, and you can do this endlessly

Today I bought a new microSD flash drive for my smartphone. Installed it. The smartphone allows you to set storage priorities between your own memory and a flash drive. Set the priority of the flash drive. Took a few photos. The photos were copied to a flash drive. Then I looked at the functionality of this flash drive, where in some section it was suggested to format this flash drive to improve its performance. Because I didn’t need photographs, so I agreed. After formatting, I cannot change priorities, i.e. The system writes that the internal memory of the smartphone is used by default. But the flash drive doesn’t seem to exist, although the system sees it. Question: how to recover a flash drive without formatting? Thank you.

smartbuy 8 gb. Works only 2 weeks after purchase, in a smartphone. When I put it in the phone, he suggested that I combine the memory, after which he formatted it, and it turned out that I rolled it back to factory settings, after which the whole problem happened: the flash drive does not open, does not appear as a removable disk, and does not appear in the device manager. Physical impact is excluded. Acronis Disk Director writes that the disk is not initialized, tell me what the problem is and how to fix it.."

Most flash drives are produced by manufacturers already formatted in FAT32 format. We start using them without thinking that this file system has serious limitations. One fine day we need to write a large file with a movie onto a flash drive, but it doesn’t work out for us. What to do? Let's look at this issue from the very beginning.

Surely you have a flash drive? What file system is it formatted in? Don't be embarrassed... Don't know? If you don’t know, then look this way. Open “My Computer” and select the icon of your USB flash drive inserted into the USB port with a mouse click. Look in the sidebar. I even circled it in red on purpose in the screenshot. This flash drive deigns to be in the FAT32 file system. Now I will not dwell on the advantages of NTFS over FAT32. I can only say that if you want to transfer files larger than 4 gigabytes on your flash drive, then its file system should be NTFS or exFAT. It makes sense to leave a USB flash drive with a capacity of less than 4 gigabytes in FAT32 format.

Easy formatting of a flash drive to NTFS

You can simply format a new or empty flash drive, since there is no need to worry about data loss. They simply aren't there. To do this, you do not need any additional programs; the tools built into Windows are sufficient. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to format a flash drive to NTFS from the context menu (called by right-clicking on the disk (flash drive) icon). Even if you select the “Format” item, the window that appears will not have the option of formatting in the NTFS file system.

Therefore, you have to use the format utility, launched from the console. Starting with Windows XP SP3, it is included in the Microsoft OS. To run it, you need to open the console (Win + R and in the window that appears, type cmd) and type the format command in it. This command has several options. In this case, we are interested in the /FS key. That is, the command line should look like:

Format Z: /FS:NTFS

Instead of Z, substitute the letter corresponding to your flash drive in the system. Be careful not to confuse the letter, otherwise you will format another medium, which may be problematic to recover information from.

The format utility can help format a flash drive not only in the NTFS file system. Starting with Windows XP SP3, Windows supports the exFAT file system, which was originally created specifically for use on portable storage devices. I will not dwell on its advantages and disadvantages, I will only say that it, like NTFS, allows you to write files larger than 4 gigabytes, which FAT32 cannot do. In order to format a flash drive in exFAT format, you need to type in the command line:

Format X: /FS:exFAT

After that, just press Enter and the formatting process will begin.

Using the format command, we can format our flash drive in NTFS or exFAT (whichever you prefer), but in this case all files, if any, will be lost. But what to do if the flash drive is full of something useful? Then we will have to use another command.

Converting a flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS without data loss

If we do not want to lose data on the flash drive, then we can use the convert.exe utility to convert its file system to NTFS. It is built-in to Windows XP SP3 and later. To run it, use the convert command. It should also be typed in the console (about launching the console, see above). The convert command can be entered with parameters. It will be better if you familiarize yourself with the capabilities of the utility in advance by entering into the command line:

Convert /?

Help for using the application appears. Before starting the conversion, I would recommend, just in case, copying the most difficult-to-recover files from the media to your hard drive. Failures in this process are almost impossible to predict, but it is within our power to minimize losses. In order to convert a flash drive, you need to type the command in the console:

Convert Z: /FS:NTFS /NoSecurity /X

Instead of Z, we should specify the letter of the volume that we are converting. We use the /FS:NTFS key to designate the destination file system. /NoSecurity allows us to make files accessible to all users (in NTFS, file access is regulated much more strictly than in the archaic FAT32). The /X key allows us to forcefully close all connections to the flash drive so that nothing interferes with the process. After typing this command, press Enter.

This utility can also be used to convert hard drives without data loss. In order to avoid failures and loss of information, you should follow a simple rule - this process cannot be interrupted. That is, you cannot turn off the computer or remove the media during conversion. Therefore, I advise you to do everything carefully and on a PC equipped with an uninterruptible power supply.

Good day.

You work with a flash drive, you work, and then bam.. and when you connect it to the computer, an error is displayed: “The disk in the device is not formatted...” (example in Fig. 1). Although you are sure that the flash drive was previously formatted and there was data on it (backup files, documents, archives, etc.). So what's now?..

This can happen for many reasons: for example, when copying a file, you removed the flash drive from the USB, or turned off the electricity while working with the flash drive, etc. In half the cases, nothing happened to the data on the flash drive and most of them can be recovered. In this article I want to look at what can be done to save data from a flash drive (and even restore the functionality of the flash drive itself).

1) Disk check (Chkdsk)

If your flash drive starts asking for formatting and you see a message like in Fig. 1 - in 7 out of 10 cases, a standard disk (flash drive) check for errors helps. A program for checking the disk is already built into Windows - it is called Chkdsk (when checking the disk, if errors are found, they will be automatically corrected).

To check the disk for errors, launch the command line: either through the START menu, or press the Win + R buttons, enter the CMD command and press ENTER (see Fig. 2).

Next enter the command: chkdsk i: /f and press ENTER (i: is your drive letter, note the error message in Figure 1). Then the disk check for errors should start (an example of work in Fig. 3).

After checking the disk, in most cases all files will be available and you can continue working with them. I recommend making a copy of them immediately.

Rice. 3. Check the disk for errors.

By the way, sometimes administrator rights are required to run such a check. To run the command line as an administrator (for example in Windows 8.1, 10) - just right-click on the START menu - and in the pop-up context menu select " Command Line (Administrator)«.

2) Recovering files from a flash drive (if the check did not help...)

If the previous step did not help restore the functionality of the flash drive (for example, sometimes errors like “ File system type: RAW. chkdsk is not valid for RAW disks"), then it is recommended (first of all) to restore all important files and data from it (if you don’t have them on it, you can proceed to the next step of the article).

In general, there are a great many programs for recovering information from flash drives and disks, here is one of my articles on this topic:

After installing and launching the program, you will be asked to select a disk (flash drive) and start scanning it (we’ll do just that, see Fig. 4).

Next, a window with scanning settings will open. In most cases, you don’t have to change anything else; the program automatically selects the optimal parameters that will suit the majority. Then click the start scanning button and wait for the process to complete.

The duration of scanning depends on the size of the flash drive (for example, a 16 GB flash drive is scanned on average in 15-20 minutes).

Important! You need to restore files not to the same flash drive that you scanned, but to another physical medium (for example, to a computer hard drive). If you restore files to the same media that you scanned, then the recovered information will overwrite sections of the files that have not yet been recovered...

Rice. 6. File recovery (R-STUDIO).

There, points that were omitted in this section of the article are touched upon in more detail.

3) Low-level formatting to restore a flash drive

I would like to warn you that you cannot download the first utility you come across and use it to format a flash drive! The fact is that each flash drive (even from the same manufacturer) can have its own controller, and if you format the flash drive with the wrong utility, you can simply disable it.

For unambiguous identification, there are special parameters: VID, PID. You can find them out using special utilities, and then search for a suitable program for low-level formatting. This topic is quite extensive, so I will provide here links to my previous articles:

• - instructions for restoring the flash drive:
• - flash drive treatment:

That's all for me, good work and fewer mistakes. Best wishes!

Thank you in advance for your addition to the topic of the article.

All computer users use flash drives from time to time. This is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to move data from one PC to another. Flash drives have become so widespread due to their speed and versatility. But they also have their serious drawbacks. Surely every user knows of cases when a flash drive does not open and asks to format it. In this regard, many people have a question about how to restore an external hard drive without formatting.

Main causes of the problem

If the flash drive does not open, it says format, this is not a reason for concern. The file system is slightly damaged and the computer cannot read it, but this does not mean that the data is lost.

If you hover the cursor over the flash drive and open the properties, the system will show that it is empty. · “Busy” – 0 bytes. · “Free” – 0 bytes.

This indicates that the flash drive is not working and there are errors in it, or the data was damaged, for example, when the device was removed incorrectly.

To avoid problems with your flash drive, always use the safe disconnect method.

How to recover the necessary data?

The simplest solution to the problem is to format the external hard drive. Then it will work again.

If a flash drive asks to format it, how can I recover the data? Many convenient programs have been invented specifically for this purpose. One such program is Active@ File Recovery.

The hard drive is asking to be formatted, how can I recover data using Active@ File Recovery?

1. Let's launch the utility.
2. On the left we find our flash drive.
3. Click “Super Scan” in the top menu.
4. Next, a window with all the necessary settings should open. In this window, select the file system of our external hard drive.

If you do not know which system was used, you can mark several at once.

Click “Scan”. Now wait until the utility completes scanning. This usually takes about ten minutes. Next, “Super Scan” will appear on the left, click on it. In the field on the right you can find all the data that was on the flash drive. Select what you would like to restore and click “Recover”. Select the folder to save. The data is restored.

If you had a lot of data on your external hard drive and you don't know exactly what you need, you can restore it all at once. In addition, after scanning, you can use the search based on the data found.