Kingston formatting program. Program for formatting flash drives. Standard formatting procedures if the flash drive is not formatted

IN Lately Flash drives have firmly won the championship among storage media. They are compact, comfortable, nimble and roomy. For a long time, no one remembers disks and other bulky media. Nowadays, everyone has a flash drive, and not just one. We trust this little storage unit with our valuable data, documents, photos and videos. But many people do not treat such a device with sufficient care. For example, not many people perform safe removal of flash drives. But this has a very detrimental effect on his work.

One day it may happen that, having inserted a flash drive with important documents into your computer, you will simply not be able to read the data from it. Of course, it may not necessarily be the user’s fault that the flash drive no longer works. There is also great amount factors that can disable it. But I good news- if the flash drive is broken and it is impossible to copy from it important information, then this is not yet a reason to panic. Everything can be fixed by flashing the device controller and after that it will be a relief to get your lost data back. This is exactly what we will talk about today.

It is worth noting that you can restore a flash drive at home only if it shows at least some signs of life. In some cases, the device may permanently fail, beyond repair. But fortunately this happens so rarely that you may not encounter this.

You can determine the viability of a flash drive by the following criteria:

• after connecting the device, the computer signals that it has been detected;
• the operating system may offer to format the flash drive (however, when you try to do this, an error appears);
• USB drive was detected, and we see its directory, but if we try to open it, a message appears asking us to insert a disk;
• if you try to drop something onto a flash drive, or vice versa, load from it, various errors appear;
• suspicious slow work devices, low speed writing and reading.

But before you do anything, think about how valuable information is it stored on it? If the data is important, then it would be better to try to recover it before and after the firmware. To do this, you can use the Recuva program, or another similar one. And if extremely important data is stored there, which is very important and valuable, then in this case it is better not to do anything on your own. Take the flash drive to a specialized service center, where specialists can restore it with less high risk for your data.

Restoring a flash drive using the example of Kingston DT

In our example, we will use a Kingston DataTraveler Elite 3.0 16GB flash drive. It worked fine for a while, but then strange things started to happen. When trying to delete or write data, the whole process is so slow that it can be said to not move at all. After reconnecting, the system displayed a message asking you to format the disk.

Considering the low importance of the data on the device, it was decided to format it. The formatting process took a long time long time and was not completed. There was only a message that said unsuccessful attempt perform formatting.

After many attempts, I finally managed to do it. After successful completion of copying, the device will be detected normally. But here’s the catch: data can be copied to a flash drive, but the speed is not higher than 100 kb/s. And this is an eternity and it is clear that nothing was recorded on it. After this, it was decided to reflash the drive controller.

Preparing for flashing

First of all, you should find out the VID and PID. These parameters determine the type and manufacturer of the controller. Using them in the future, we will determine the utility for the flashing procedure. You can find out VID and PID using any small program designed for this purpose. We will use Flash Drive Information Extractor.

We connect our faulty flash drive and run the utility. At the top of the program window there will be a button to receive data, click on it. After this we will see all the information on the device. Pay attention to the values ​​next to VID and PID.

They will be useful to us, so either do not close this window, or copy them somewhere.

Flash drive flashing utility

Now we need to find a suitable utility that can reflash the controller type for our case. For this there is special resource flashboot.ru, where you can find data for many drives. Let's go to this site and top menu click on the iFlash link. Next there will be a page with fields for VID and PID. Enter our values ​​and click on the “Search” button.

A search may return several at once. different types flash drives. We need to find one that has a similar name. There may be a slight difference in the volume of the device, but I think it’s not a big deal.

After being found suitable device, pay attention to the “UTILS” column. There will be the name of the utility we need for flashing. Copy it, then follow this link http://flashboot.ru/files/. Enter this name there and click on the search button.

Alas, in our case, this utility was not found on this site. But this does not mean that you should not try to find it there. In your case, success is quite possible. After you find the desired program, it must be downloaded to your computer. Well, in our case, we resorted to the help of the all-knowing Google. Thanks to his help, she was found on another site. You can download it.

Reflash a faulty Kingston flash drive

For now we disconnect the drive. We launch the utility for flashing (our program is called MPTool.exe). If the application comes with a file called readme.txt, then look into it. Most likely there are instructions there. Please note that there are different utilities and everything may look slightly different for you. But in general, the interface and operating principle should be similar.

After starting the flashing program, you need to connect the flash drive again. After this, the utility will detect the device. Now all that remains is to click on the start button for rewriting the firmware. Let's wait a little until the process is completed.

Upon completion, the program will let you know that everything was successful.

Then a system message will immediately appear that before working with the device it needs to be formatted. But it’s better to immediately disconnect the flash drive and then connect it again. And only after that begin the formatting process. After completing all these procedures, you can check the operation of the flash drive. Everything works as quickly as it should and files are adequately copied and read. Do not forget that some steps may be slightly different from those described in this article. But in general the whole process looks exactly like this.

That's all. Take care of your flash drives and remove the device safely.

Good day everyone!

You can argue, but flash drives have become one of the most (if not the most) popular storage media. It is not surprising that there are quite a lot of questions regarding them: especially important among them are the issues of recovery, formatting and testing.

In this article I will present the best (in my opinion) utilities for working with drives - that is, those tools that I have used myself many times. The information in the article will be updated and expanded from time to time.

The best programs for working with a flash drive

Important! First of all, if you have problems with a flash drive, I recommend visiting the official website of its manufacturer. The fact is that the official website may have specialized utilities for data recovery (and not only!), which will cope with the task much better.

For testing

Let's start with testing drives. Let's look at programs that will help determine some of the parameters of a USB drive.

H2testw

Very useful utility to determine the actual volume of any media. In addition to the storage capacity, it can test the actual speed of its operation (which some manufacturers like to overestimate for marketing purposes).

Check Flash

A free utility that can quickly check your flash drive for functionality, measure its real read and write speed, complete removal all the information from it (so that no utility can recover a single file from it!).

In addition, it is possible to edit information about partitions (if they are on it), make a backup copy and reanimate the image of an entire media partition!

The speed of the utility is quite high and it is unlikely that at least one competing program will do this job faster!

HD Speed

This one is very simple, but very convenient program for testing flash drives for read/write speed (information transfer). In addition to USB drives, the utility supports hard disks, optical drives.

The program does not require installation. Information is presented clearly graphical representation. Supports Russian language. Works in all Windows versions: XP, 7, 8, 10.

CrystalDiskMark

One of best utilities to test the speed of information transfer. Supports various media: HDD (hard drives), SSD (newfangled solid state drives), USB flash drives, memory cards, etc.

The program supports the Russian language, although running a test in it is as easy as shelling pears - just select a carrier and press the start button (you can figure it out without knowledge of the great and mighty).

An example of the results can be seen in the screenshot above.

Flash Memory Toolkit

Flash Memory Toolkit - this program is a whole set of utilities for servicing flash drives.

Full set of functions:

• a detailed list of properties and information about the drive and USB devices;
• test to find errors when reading and writing information to the media;
• quick data clearing from the drive;
• search and recovery of information;
• backup of all files to media and the ability to restore from a backup copy;
• low-level testing of information transfer speed;
• measuring performance when working with small/large files.

FC-Test

Benchmark for measurement real speed read/write hard drives, flash drives, memory cards, CD/DVD devices, etc. Its main feature and difference from all utilities this kind is that for work he uses real samples data.

Of the minuses: the utility has not been updated for quite some time (problems with newfangled media types are possible).

Flashnul

This utility allows you to diagnose and test USB Flash drives. By the way, during this operation, errors and bugs will be corrected. Supported media: US and Flash drives, SD, MMC, MS, XD, MD, CompactFlash, etc.

List of operations performed:

• reading test - an operation will be carried out to determine the availability of each sector on the media;
• recording test - similar to the first function;
• information integrity test - the utility checks the integrity of all data on the media;
• saving a media image - saving everything that is on the media into a separate image file;
• Loading the image into the device is similar to the previous operation.

For formatting

HDD Low Level Format Tool

A program that has only one task - to format the media (by the way, hard drives are also supported HDDs, and solid state drives - SSD, and USB flash drives).

Despite such a “meager” set of capabilities, it is not for nothing that this utility is in first place in this article. The fact is that it allows you to “bring back” to life even those media that are no longer visible in any other program. If this utility sees your drive, try low-level formatting it (attention! all data will be deleted!) - there is a good chance that after this format, your flash drive will work as before: without failures or errors.

USB Disk Storage Format Tool

Program for formatting and creating bootable flash drives. Supported file systems: FAT, FAT32, NTFS. The utility does not require installation, supports USB port 2.0 (USB 3.0 - does not see. Note: this port is marked in blue).

Its main difference from standard tool in Windows for formatting drives - this is the ability to “see” even those media that are not visible regular means OS. Otherwise, the program is quite simple and concise, I recommend using it to format all “problem” flash drives.

Format USB Or Flash Drive Software

The utility will help in cases where staff program formatting in Windows will refuse to “see” the media (or, for example, it will generate errors during operation). Format USB Or Flash Drive Software can format media into the following file systems: NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT. There is a quick formatting option.

I would also like to note the simple interface: it is designed in a minimalist style, it’s easy to understand (the screenshot is shown above). In general, I recommend it!

SD Formatter

A simple utility for formatting various flash cards: SD/SDHC/SDXC.

The main difference from standard program, built into Windows - is that this utility formats the media in accordance with the type of flash card: SD/SDHC/SDXC. It is also worth noting the presence of the Russian language, simple and clear interface(the main window of the program is shown in the screenshot above).

Aomei Partition Assistant

Aomei Partition Assistant - great free (for home use) “combine”, which provides a huge number of functions and capabilities for working with hard drives and USB media.

The program supports the Russian language (but is still set to English by default), works in all popular Windows operating systems: XP, 7, 8, 10. The program, by the way, works according to its own unique algorithms (at least according to the developers of this software ), which allows it to “see” even “very problematic” media, be it a flash drive or HDD.

In general, a whole article would not be enough to describe all its properties! I recommend trying it, especially since Aomei Partition Assistant will save you not only from problems with USB drives, but also with other media.

Recovery programs

Important! If the programs presented below are not enough, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with a large collection of programs for data recovery from various types media (hard drives, flash drives, memory cards, etc.): .

If, when connecting the drive, it reports an error and asks you to format it, do not do it (it is possible that after this operation, it will be much more difficult to return the data)! In this case, I recommend reading this article:.

Recuva

One of the best free file recovery programs. Moreover, it supports not only USB drives, but also hard drives. Distinctive features: quick scan media, a fairly high degree of search for “remains” of files (i.e., the chances of returning a deleted file are quite high), a simple interface, step by step wizard recovery (even complete beginners can handle it).

For those who will be scanning their flash drive for the first time, I recommend that you read the mini-instructions for recovering files in Recuva:

R Saver

Free* (for non-commercial use in the USSR) program for recovering information from hard drives, flash drives, memory cards and other media. The program supports all the most popular file systems: NTFS, FAT and exFAT.

The program sets the media scanning parameters independently (which is also another plus for beginners).

Program features:

• recovery of accidentally deleted files;
• the ability to reconstruct damaged file systems;
• recovering files after formatting the media;
• data recovery using signatures.

EasyRecovery

One of best programs for data recovery, supports a wide variety of media types. The program works in all versions of new Windows: 7, 8, 10 (32/64 bits), supports Russian language.

One cannot fail to note one of the most important advantages of the program - the high degree of detection of deleted files. Everything that can be “pulled out” from a disk or flash drive will be presented to you and offered to be restored.

Perhaps the only negative is that it is paid...

Important! About how to return deleted files in this program you can find in this article (see part 2):

R-STUDIO

One of most popular programs for data recovery, both in our country and abroad. A large number of different media are supported: hard drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SSD), memory cards, flash drives, etc. The list of supported file systems is also amazing: NTFS, NTFS5, ReFS, FAT12/16/32, exFAT, etc.

The program will help in the following cases:

• accidentally deleting a file from the trash (this happens sometimes...);
• formatting the hard drive;
• virus attack;
• in the event of a computer power failure (especially important in Russia with its “reliable” electrical networks);
• in case of errors on the hard disk, if there is large number damaged sectors;
• if the structure of the hard drive is damaged (or changed).

In general, a universal harvester for all kinds of cases. The only negative is that the program is paid.

Remark! Step-by-step recovery data in the R-Studio program:

Popular USB flash drive manufacturers

It is, of course, unrealistic to collect all manufacturers in one table. But all the most popular ones are definitely present here :). On the manufacturer’s website you can often find not only service utilities for resuscitating or formatting a USB drive, but also utilities that greatly facilitate the work: for example, programs for archival copying, assistants for preparing bootable media etc.

Note! If I have left anyone out, I suggest using the tips from the recovery instructions USB performance-carrier: . The article describes in some detail how and what to do to “return” the flash drive to working condition.

This concludes the report. Good work and good luck everyone!

We restore USB flash drives Kingston

Kingston flash drives are very popular due to the fact that they are quite inexpensive and reliable. This is not to say that they are cheaper than others, but their cost can still be called low. But, since absolutely everything breaks in our world, it is not at all surprising that Kingston removable media can also fail.

This happens quite simply - you insert a flash drive into the computer, but it “does not want” to read data from it. The drive can be detected, but everything will look as if there is no data on it. Or simply not all data may be determined. In general, situations can be very different. In any case, we'll look at a few effective ways restoring the functionality of a Kingston drive.

Kingston has its own flash drive recovery tools. There is also universal method recovery removable media, which is relevant for devices from any company. We will analyze all the most effective methods.

Method 1: MediaRECOVER

Method 2: Kingston Format Utility

This is another one proprietary program Kingston. It is suitable for all flash drives of this brand, starting with the DTX 30 series and ending with USB devices Datatraveler HyperX. This utility also formats the flash drive without a chance to save any information. To use Kingston Format Utility, do the following:

Download the program.Run the downloaded file. Unpack - specify the path and click on the " Unzip" IN in this case You don’t need to install anything, just launch this program using the shortcut. Next in top margin (« Device") indicate your carrier according to its letter. File system will be determined automatically, but if this is done incorrectly, indicate it in the “ File system" After that, just click on the button Format" and wait until the formatting and recovery is complete.

Method 3: HDD Low Level Format Tool

Judging by user reviews, this program copes well with damaged Kingston flash drives. Low Level Format Tool works at a low level, so she is quite successful in her business. And this applies not only to removable media from Kingston. But, again, the utility formats the flash drive and restores its functionality, but not the data from it. To use this program, you need to do very little, namely:

In the list of available storage media, select the one you need and click on it. This will make it stand out. After that, click on the “ Continue" It is located in the lower right corner of the program window.

Next, the specified storage medium will be checked. The field at the top will display information that all data from the media will be permanently erased. Click on the button Format this device" to perform formatting.

Method 4: Super Stick Recovery Tool

Another very simple program designed to recover Kingmax flash drives, but it is also suitable for Kingston (although for many this will seem quite unexpected). So, to use Super Stick Recovery Tool, do the following:

If everything is fine and the program can work with your flash drive, information about it will appear in the main window. Click on the button Update" to start formatting. After that, just wait until the process finishes and try to work with the flash drive again.

Method 5: Search for other recovery utilities

Not for all models Kingston flash drives The programs listed in methods 1-4 are suitable. In fact, similar programs there are a lot. In addition, there is a single database with information about programs intended for recovery. It is located on the iFlash service of the flashboot website. The process for using this repository is as follows:

First you need to find out the system data of the removable storage device, and specifically, VID And PID. Without going into details, let's say that you can find this data standard means Windows. To do this, use the tool “ Computer management" To launch it, open the menu " Start» (Windows menu in more later versions) and click on the item “ Computer» right click mice. In the drop-down list, select “ Control».

In the menu on the left, select “ device Manager" Open the section " USB controllers » and right-click on the desired media. In the list that appears, select “ Properties».

Various problems with USB drives or flash drives are something that probably every owner faces. The computer does not see the flash drive, files are not deleted or written, Windows writes that the disk is write-protected, the amount of memory is displayed incorrectly - this is not a complete list of such problems. Perhaps, if the computer simply does not detect the drive, this guide will also help you: (3 ways to solve the problem). If the flash drive is detected and works, but you need to restore files from it, first I recommend reading the material.

If various ways to correct USB errors drive by manipulating drivers, actions in Windows Disk Management, or using command line(diskpart, format, etc.) did not lead to a positive result, you can try utilities and programs for repairing flash drives provided by both manufacturers, for example, Kingston, Silicon Power and Transcend, as well as third-party developers.

I note that using the programs described below may not correct, but rather aggravate the problem, and checking their functionality on a working flash drive may lead to its failure. You assume all risks. The following guides may also be useful: , .

This article will first describe proprietary utilities popular manufacturers - Kingston, Adata, Silicon Power, Apacer and Transcend, as well as a universal utility for SD memory cards. And after that - detailed description how to find out the memory controller of your drive and find free program to repair this particular flash drive.

Transcend JetFlash Online Recovery

To restore the functionality of Transcend USB drives, the manufacturer offers its own utility - Transcend JetFlash Online Recovery, which, theoretically, is compatible with most modern flash drives produced by this company.

Two versions of the repair program are available on the official website Transcend flash drives- one for JetFlash 620, the other for all other drives.

For the utility to work, you must have an Internet connection (for automatic detection specific recovery method). The utility allows you to restore a flash drive both with formatting (Repair drive and erase all data) and, if possible, with saving data (Repair drive and keep existing data).

Download Transcend utility JetFlash Online Recovery is available from the official website https://ru.transcend-info.com/supports/special.aspx?no=3

Silicon Power Flash Drive Recovery Software

On the official website of Silicon Power in the “Support” section there is a program for repairing flash drives from this manufacturer - USB Flash Drive Recovery. To download you will need to enter an address Email(not checked), then the UFD_Recover_Tool ZIP archive is downloaded, which contains the SP Recovery Utility (requires .NET Framework 3.5 components for operation, will be downloaded automatically if necessary).

Similar to the previous program, SP Flash Drive Recovery requires an Internet connection to work and restoration of work occurs in several stages - definition USB settings drive, loading and unpacking suitable utility for him, then - automatic execution necessary actions.

Download the repair program Silicon flash drives Power SP Flash Drive Recovery Software is available for free from the official website http://www.silicon-power.com/web/download-USBrecovery

If you are the owner of a Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 drive, then on the official Kingston website you can find a utility for repairing this line of flash drives, which will help format the drive and bring it to the condition it had when purchased.

You can download Kingston Format Utility for free from https://www.kingston.com/ru/support/technical/downloads/111247

ADATA USB Flash Drive Online Recovery

The manufacturer Adata also has its own utility that will help fix flash drive errors if you cannot read the contents of the flash drive, Windows reports that the disk is not formatted, or you see other errors related to the drive. To download the program you will need to enter serial number flash drives (so that exactly what is required is loaded) as in the screenshot below.

After downloading, run the downloaded utility and perform several simple steps on restoration USB operation devices.

Official page where you can download ADATA USB Flash Drive Online Recovery and read about using the program - http://www.adata.com/ru/ss/usbdiy/

Apacer Repair Utility, Apacer Flash Drive Repair Tool

For Apacer flash drives Several programs are available at once - different versions Apacer Repair Utility (which, however, cannot be found on the official website), as well as Apacer Flash Drive Repair Tool, available for download at official pages some of the Apacer flash drives (search the official website specifically for your USB drive model and look at the downloads section at the bottom of the page).

Apparently, the program performs one of two actions - simple formatting of the drive (Format item) or low-level formatting (Restore item).

Formatter Silicon Power

Formatter Silicon Power - free utility low level formatting flash drive, which, according to reviews (including in the comments to the current article), works for many other drives (but use it at your own peril and risk), allowing you to restore their functionality when no other methods help.

The utility is no longer available on the official SP website, so you will have to use Google to download it (I do not provide links to unofficial locations within this site) and do not forget to check the downloaded file, for example, on VirusTotal before launching it.

SD Memory Card Formatter for repairing and formatting SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards (including Micro SD)

The SD Memory Card Manufacturers Association offers its own universal utility to format the corresponding memory cards if problems arise with them. Moreover, judging by the available information, it is compatible with almost all such drives.

The program itself is available in versions for Windows (Windows 10 is also supported) and MacOS and is quite easy to use (but you will need a card reader).

Download SD Memory Card Formatter available from the official website https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

D-Soft Flash Doctor program

Free D-Soft program Flash Doctor is not tied to any specific manufacturer and, judging by reviews, can help fix problems with a flash drive through low-level formatting.

In addition, the program allows you to create an image of a flash drive for subsequent work no longer on physical storage(to avoid further malfunctions) - this can be useful if you need to retrieve data from Flash disk. Unfortunately, the official website of the utility could not be found, but it is available on many resources with free programs.

How to find a flash drive repair program

Actually this kind free utilities There are much more options for repairing flash drives than are listed here: I tried to take into account only relatively “universal” tools for USB drives from different manufacturers.

It is quite possible that none of the above utilities are suitable for restoring the functionality of your USB drive. In this case, you can use next steps to find the program you need.

Additionally: if all the described methods for repairing a USB drive did not help, try.

Typically, if it is necessary to format a flash drive, we use the standard procedure provided in the operating room Windows system. But this method has a number of disadvantages. For example, even after cleaning the storage media special programs can restore deleted information. In addition, the process itself is completely standard and does not include fine adjustments for a flash drive.

Low-level formatting is used to solve this problem. In some cases this is the most ideal option.

The most common reasons for needing low-level formatting are as follows:

1. The flash drive is planned to be transferred to another person, and personal data was stored on it. In order to protect yourself from information leakage, it is best to perform a complete erasure. This procedure is often used by services that work with confidential information.
2. I can’t open the contents on the flash drive, it’s not detected operating system. Therefore, it should be returned to the default state.
3. When accessing a USB drive, it freezes and does not respond to actions. Most likely, it contains broken areas. Low-level formatting will help you restore information on them or mark them as bad blocks.
4. When a flash drive is infected with viruses, sometimes it is not possible to completely remove the infected applications.
5. If the flash drive served as an installation distribution for the operating system Linux systems, but is planned for further use, it’s better to erase it too.
6. For preventive purposes, to ensure the reliability and performance of the flash drive.

In order to perform this process at home, you need a special software. Among existing programs 3 copes best with this task.

Method 1: HDD Low Level Format Tool

Method 2: ChipEasy and iFlash

This utility is very helpful when the flash drive fails, for example, it is not detected by the operating system or freezes when accessing it. It’s worth saying right away that it does not format the flash drive, but only helps you find a program for its low-level cleaning. The process of using it is as follows:

You can read more about using the iFlash website in the article on restoring Kingston drives (method 5).

If there is no utility for your flash drive in the list, then you need to choose another method.