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Is it possible to recover files deleted from a flash drive? File recovery in Unformat. Assign a new letter to the USB flash drive

After a malfunction of the mobile phone software, it often happens that the data located on the memory card cannot be accessed - it is either damaged or completely deleted. If you encounter a similar problem, there is no need to be upset, since in most cases, lost files and folders can be recovered at home.

How to recover deleted data from a phone memory card

If you notice any problems with the memory card (some data is displayed incorrectly, the flash drive is not recognized by a mobile phone or PC), you need to immediately back up files from the card, format the device, check it for malware and errors. If the media is working again, the copied information can be transferred back.

If you delete some or all files from a flash drive, you should try to restore them yourself. This can be done in two ways:

  • software;
  • hardware.

The choice of one method or another depends on what you want to get out of it. If the task is to recover lost data, then it is better to resort to the first method. The hardware method is used when the lost information does not play an important role, and the main goal is to restore the flash drive. At the same time, resuscitating files is much easier than repairing the media.

To return lost information at home you will need:

  • a computer with Windows OS installed;
  • card reader with SD adapter;
  • special resuscitation program.

The sequence of work when recovering deleted files looks like this:

  1. Special software is installed on the computer, which can be paid or free. Of course, licensed programs are considered more reliable, but free software is also quite suitable for home needs.
  2. The gadget turns off, after which the storage medium is removed from it and connected to the PC using an SD adapter and card reader.
  3. The installed resuscitator is launched, with the help of which previously deleted files are saved to the hard drive.

The effectiveness of recovering deleted data largely depends on the software you choose. Therefore, we will consider the most popular programs for recovering lost information.

Recovering the contents of your phone's memory card using the Recuva utility

One of the easiest to use and universal programs for resuscitating information storage media is one that allows you to recover any data from a flash drive. The sequence of work to restore lost information is as follows:

Next, a scan is launched, which can last from several minutes to an hour or more. It all depends on the size of the memory card and the power of the PC. After the scanning is completed, a window with the found files will open. However, not all of them can be restored. A green circle next to the file means complete recovery, yellow - partial, and red - impossibility of recovery. All you have to do is select the required files from the flash drive by checking the boxes next to them.

Review of programs for recovering deleted data from a memory card

R-Studio

After this, you should initialize the scanning process by clicking on the appropriate button. In the window that appears, you can specify the type of files you want to find and the size of the scanned space.

The scanning time depends on the size of the flash drive and lasts on average 10-20 minutes. After this process is completed, virtual partitions with the recovered information will appear in the window. By going to such a section, you can see its contents and save the required files to your hard drive.

RS File Recovery

Allows you to recover files of any type, be it video, music or text. Another positive quality of this utility is that it works with both NTFS and FAT 32. The principle of resuscitation is practically no different from R-Studio.

Have you ever accidentally deleted documents from flash drives? Have you ever lost photos from your camera's memory cards? If not, you are a happy person!

This instruction will tell you how to recover deleted files from flash drives, memory cards of phones and cameras with minimal effort.

1. Introduction

First things first, remember - if you deleted a file, don't write it down nothing more to the flash drive before you restore the files. Create folders too it is forbidden. Delete something too it is forbidden. The more operations with a flash drive are performed, the less chance of successful file recovery. The fact is that when deleting, the file is not actually deleted (such a pun), only the record about the file disappears from the file table on the flash drive. In the future, another file (or part of it) may be written to the location of the file, causing the contents of the file to be lost. This is how information is stored both on the hard drive and on flash drives - nothing is deleted immediately, only overwritten.

Deleted data recovery programs will help you get back a deleted file or part of it if it was overwritten by another file.

2. For fans of video instructions

3. Checking the flash drive for viruses

Perhaps your files were not deleted from the flash drive - they were hidden by a virus. That is, there was no deletion and you just need to make the files on the flash drive visible.

To check this, you need to look for hidden folders and files on the flash drive.

How to view hidden files: click Start - Control Panel - Appearance and Personalization(there may not be such an item, depending on the appearance of the Control Panel) - Folders settings.

In the window that opens, select the “ View", uncheck the item Hide protected system files and folders, set active item Show hidden files, folders and drives:

Uncheck

Then open the Computer folder, there is a flash drive in it. If you see translucent icons, including your deleted file, then simply copy it to a safe place, then check your computer for viruses (you can use a one-time antivirus) and install an antivirus for flash drives, which will instantly return to you all files and folders hidden from the flash drive. Also, take care about the anti-virus protection of your computer - your computer may be infected.

Don't forget to return the Folder Options options so that you are not bothered by hidden system files in your computer folders (for example, desktop.ini files) that you don't want to delete.

4. Recovering deleted files using the Recuva program

Whether you deleted it by accident or an evil virus cleaned the flash drive, there is a way out in the form of the program Recuva. It will help you recover deleted files from a flash drive (from other drives too).

In fact, there are a lot of such programs and each has advantages, but I settled on Recuva as the simplest and most universal, suitable for recovering all types of files from flash drives - documents, photos, music, videos and more. The good news is that it's free for home use.

You can recover data from USB flash drives, memory cards, hard drives, even old floppy disks.

After a simple and straightforward installation of the program, you need to complete several steps.

Let's run the program:


The first step is greeting

We choose what we want to restore. It's best to choose " Other» to recover all types of files:


Select "Other" to find all files

Then click " Review" and select the flash drive.


Selecting the disk (flash drive, memory card) from which you want to recover files

« In-Depth Analysis» allows you to detect more deleted files, even completely overwritten ones. Unfortunately, overwritten files cannot be recovered, but in general this option improves the result, so I always turn it on:


Turn on “In-Depth Analysis”. Find more deleted files

We are patient and wait while the program scans the flash drive for deleted files:

We wait.

Then we will see the result. Not all of these files can be recovered - look at the color of the circle to the left of the file name (this is the state of the file).

If the circle is green - probably, the file is not damaged, then it will be restored completely and open without errors.

Yellow circle - only part of the file will be restored. If you need to recover a deleted coursework or diploma, then this result may be acceptable - pieces of text are better than nothing.

The circle is red - such a file once existed, there are “mentions” about it, but it will not be possible to restore it (instead of the contents there will be a mess of data that is not related to the desired file).


Let's mark all files found for recovery

To select all files, just check the box indicated by the red arrow.

You can sort the results by “Status” or other parameters, and manually check the required files.

Click " Restore" and specify the folder in which we want to restore deleted files. The folder where we want to save the recovered files should be on any disk, but just not on a flash drive, the files from which we are recovering.

Depending on whether the files were recovered completely (without damage) or only part of them, the report will be different:

Statistics window

5. About partially recovered files

Fully the recovered files will open correctly. Partially recovered files - from case to case, depending on the type of file. For example, there is a chance to extract several files from damaged archives.

Partially restored documentation(for example, those created by Word) most often contain part of the text, which is quite logical. If a document is badly damaged, then there is a chance to get at least something out of it using special programs. Which ones exactly - see the descriptions in the list here. Some programs from that list are designed to “repair” damaged files, some are analogues of Recuva.

When recovering deleted photos(Jpeg format) you may encounter a problem: corrupted (partially recovered files, indicated by a yellow circle in Recuva) image files of the viewer refuse to open. In this case, try opening them in standard Paint and save it again (preferably to a new file using “Save As”). This often helps restore at least part of the photo, because Paint can “digest” partially damaged image files.

Damaged video recordings it will be possible to view it, but with strong artifacts (digital noise). I recommend using VLC player as it is the most unpretentious to the contents of files.

6. Questions and answers

Question: I want to recover X from device Y. Will Recuva help?

Answer: Until you try, you won't know. Please do not write this question in the comments.

Question: Nothing appeared on the flash drive after recovery. The program didn't work?

Answer: You did not read the instructions carefully. All files detected by the program have been restored to the folder you specified on the computer, not on a flash drive.

Question: The program did not recover anything or did not recover all important information. What to do?

Answer: Make sure you did everything correctly - read the article again. If Recuva does not display a single file found after scanning - either you selected the wrong disk for scanning, or the flash drive (or hard drive - depending on what you are recovering data from) was completely formatted - in this case there is still a chance to recover files, but for To do this, you will have to contact specialized data recovery companies.

Question: The flash drive is asking for formatting or you need to restore data after formatting. What to do?

Answer: If the flash drive is opened via Recuva, try restoring it through it. If it requires formatting, do not format it under any circumstances! It's better to use other, more powerful (and complex) programs like the free PhotoRec. Such programs ignore the file system, which allows you to find data on a disk with deleted partitions.

Question: Is it possible to recover files from a flash drive that were deleted 2 (3, 4, 5 - any number to your taste) years ago?

Answer: Time doesn't matter. All that matters is the fact that the files are overwritten with new data. Those. if something was written after the files you needed were deleted, it may not be possible to restore the files (or partially possible). Until you try to restore it, you won’t know.

Question: If a file was deleted to the Recycle Bin and then the Recycle Bin was emptied, is it possible to recover the deleted file?

Answer: Yes, there is a chance to recover such a file. The Recuva program, which I described above, can do this. But there are nuances (applies to all programs for recovering deleted data):

1. If you deleted a file from the Recycle Bin, remember: on a hard drive (especially the one where Windows is installed), files are constantly written and overwritten, so there is a very high chance that your file will be overwritten in the near future and its contents will disappear forever. Act quickly. If you download Recuva from the Internet, it is better to download it onto a flash drive - this way there is less chance that the downloaded file will end up exactly on the disk where the file deleted from the Recycle Bin is located.

2. If you have a second operating system on the wrong disk (or on the wrong computer) where the file was deleted, boot into it and restore the file from there.

3. If the data deleted from the Recycle Bin is truly valuable, you should immediately turn off the computer and take its hard drive to a specialized company that specializes in data recovery. The longer the operating system runs, the less chance there is of recovering a valuable file. So it’s better to act for sure.

Question: Is it possible to recover recordings from the hard drive of a camcorder, phone memory or other devices using Recuva?

Answer: If the device’s memory appears as a hard drive or flash drive when connected, then there is a chance to recover the data. Try it - it might work. If you need to recover data from memory cards phone or camera (not internal memory), it is better to connect the card through a card reader. The fact is that when cameras and phones are connected to a computer by wire, a flash drive is often identified not as a flash drive, but as a media device that will not be seen by any data recovery program. The card reader will allow the card to work like a regular USB flash drive and Recuva will see it.

Question: Is it possible to recover deleted contacts and SMS from your phone using Recuva?

Answer: No. An explanation of why this is impossible is in a separate note.

Question: Only photos (music, documents - i.e. files of the same type) were recovered from the flash drive. How to restore everything else?

Answer: Make sure you select "Other" in the File Type window. Also read the answer to the second question (above).

Question: The program recovered the files, but some cannot be opened. Is there any way to open them?

Answer: This means that the files were too damaged. As I said in the previous chapter, there are programs for restoring (or rather, “fixing”) damaged files, but the chance of successfully repairing a damaged file is low. So nothing can be done at home.

Question: The program restored the document, but it turned out to be empty. What to do?

Answer: Most likely, the file was too damaged. But there is a chance that your document was recovered under a different name. In the “File Type” window, select “Other”, then check the “In-Depth Analysis” box and restore all the files that were found, then open all the documents in a row and see their contents. One more point: if there is no text in the document, but the file is not zero size, see the previous chapter “About partially recovered files” - perhaps the text is still in the document file and it can be restored with programs specially designed for this.

Question: The program saw only photos, other types of files do not see. What to do?

Answer: Read the instructions more carefully - in the Recuva Wizard you need to select the “Other” item instead of “Pictures”.

Question: Where can I find these “specialized data recovery firms” you are talking about?

Answer: Look for them using Google or Yandex - maybe there is one in your city, ask about such a service at service centers where computer equipment is repaired.

Question: Does Recuva recover videos/photos/music/anything else normally?

Answer: Success in recovering files erased from a flash drive does not depend on the file type. However, there are specialized programs that can “repair” partially recovered files of a certain type so that at least part of the data can be “pulled out.” For example, if a photo file cannot be recovered in its entirety, it will be possible to see at least a portion of the photo. I will not give examples of specialized software, because almost all such programs are paid, the algorithms for their operation are incomprehensible, and it is impossible to test them thoroughly. For example, they may be useless. Unfortunately, the free Recuva cannot do this - it recovers the data that remains on the storage medium without trying to “repair” the contents of damaged files.

Question: I want to open a flash drive, but some error appears. What to do?

Answer: There are many reasons for such problems. Use Google or Yandex to find a solution.

Question: When saving recovered data, the error is “The path is too long.”

Answer: Save all data to a folder at the root of the disk. For example, create a “Recovered” folder on the C: drive and save the recovered files there.

Question: Recuva found months-old photos, but not recently deleted ones. What to do?

Answer: Most likely, after deleting, you wrote down some kind of file that “overlaid” the recently deleted files, erasing them forever. Try restoring with another program - PhotoRec, link below. If it doesn’t find it, it means there is no chance to recover such files.

Continuation of Questions and Answers in the article about the PhotoRec program.

If the Questions and Answers chapter did not help, ask in the comments.

7. Other programs for recovering deleted files from flash drives

If Recuva doesn't help, try PhotoRec- it searches for files regardless of the disk file system, scanning each memory sector, which gives a different result.

There are many data recovery programs. I will not give a list here, because there is already a ready-made one that is constantly being updated. Less complete, but with a description in Russian - link. You can also select programs from this list.

Materials from https://glashkoff.com/ were used to create this article

Advantages

Partition Recovery is a professional utility for recovering photos, documents, music from any media. This can be a hard drive, flash drive, memory card and other removable storage devices. The program allows you to repair damaged files and entire sectors, returning the original structure of the disk partition table. Thanks to a convenient wizard and the presence of a preview function, the entire process of recovering lost files is very simple and clear for the user. After launching the application, first of all, you need to select the desired device.

Start scanning

The recovery wizard starts automatically. In the first window you need to select the type of scan - a full analysis takes longer, but gives more accurate results. Then click “Next” and wait for the process to complete. As a result, the drive structure with a list of deleted files will be displayed on the screen. To more conveniently find the necessary data, you can go to the “Deep Analysis” submenu.

Start of recovery

Now you need to select a specific file or folder, right-click and select “Recover” from the drop-down list. Specify the saving method (to hard drive, CD/DVD, virtual image or FTP) and click “Next”. Don't forget to check that you have enough free disk space.
The final stage is to indicate the path to the save folder and some other parameters (restoring the folder structure and alternative data streams, replacing unknown characters). Click the “Restore” button.

Today, flash drives are used by millions of people. After all, on such a storage medium you can store any files - films, photos, documents, music and many others. etc. In addition, flash drives are installed in a variety of devices - tablets, cameras, smartphones (both Android and Windows), etc., expanding the memory capacity of such gadgets. Naturally, from time to time the user erases unnecessary information from the card. At the same time, important information is sometimes accidentally deleted. What to do in such a situation? Is it possible to somehow recover deleted files from a flash drive? Let's look into this.

So, files have disappeared from the flash drive of your phone, camera or any other device. Or you deleted them yourself, but now you realize that you shouldn’t even need them. What to do? Remember, first of all you need to:

  1. Don't write anything else to the flash drive. This will prevent you from recovering deleted files from the memory card.
  2. Don't create new folders. Otherwise, the information cannot be returned without losing any data.
  3. Don't delete anything else.

The less manipulations with the flash drive, the easier it is to recover data later. How to explain this? In fact, when you delete a file from a memory card, it is not immediately deleted. Here's a pun. Only the entry about it is deleted. But for the system this means one thing - in the future, when the user starts recording new files, they can be placed in the place where the old and deleted ones were stored. By the way, this is why copying or moving the same movie takes tens of seconds, or even a couple of minutes, while its deletion is instantaneous.

So now you know where the data is deleted from the flash drive. They are simply overwritten. Well, when deleting, the space in the file table is simply marked as free.

In addition, before you start recovering deleted files from a flash drive, we recommend checking it with anti-virus software. Some malicious program can easily “hide” information from the user. It wouldn't hurt to look at the hidden files on the memory card. For this:

For reference! Some viruses delete files from a flash drive so that they can no longer be restored. The fact is that such malicious programs also overwrite files, and do not simply erase the information on the media.

When can deleted files be recovered and when not?

We have figured out what needs to be done first and what should not be done under any circumstances. Now let's talk about what are the chances of successfully recovering files deleted from a memory card.

Let's be honest, they are small. It is much easier and more efficient to recover data from stationary storage devices – that is, hard drives of PCs and laptops. From flash drives (be it an SD card or USB drive) it’s more difficult. The fact is that erased files on them are often overwritten. And rewriting, in fact, puts an end to all attempts to return information.

So the chances of recovery are minimal if:

  • The flash drive itself is faulty. For example, it is not readable on different devices or is recognized as an unknown device. The failure of the media can also be expressed in the fact that instead of GB of memory, the system sees only a few KB. In any case, it is almost impossible to recover a deleted folder or just one small file from a faulty flash drive.
  • The files were deleted using so-called “shredder programs.” The most popular of them is File Shredder.
  • The flash drive has been overwritten. Or it has undergone low-level formatting. After all, with such a procedure, all data is destroyed. Even the partition table is deleted.

At the same time, you can recover deleted files from a flash drive (in whole or in part) if:

  • The flash drive was formatted using the OS.
  • The user manually deleted the data.
  • Information became unavailable after a virus attack (but not all, because some Trojans are capable of overwriting files).
  • The data was lost after trying to partition the flash drive.
  • The file system of the drive has failed (the flash drive is not recognized by the device or is recognized, but it is impossible to write anything to it).

What programs best help recover data from flash drives?

There are a variety of programs for recovering files deleted from flash drives. And both free and paid. We had a chance to try a dozen similar utilities. Everyone has both pros and cons. But, in our opinion, the most effective and convenient are:

  • DMDE;
  • saver;
  • PhotoRec;
  • Wise Data Recovery;
  • Disk Drill;
  • Recuva.

We'll tell you how to use some of these utilities.

You can download the program here http://dmde.ru/download.html. Moreover, there are versions for different OSes. So choose the installer carefully before downloading. Once you download the archive, open it and run DMDE. There is no need to install anything. What to do next?


The only caveat is that the free version of the program does not allow you to restore an entire folder. An error will appear. Therefore, you will have to either buy a program, or restore everything one file at a time.

Quite a popular file recovery program. Its developers are the authors of other well-known software that we often use. For example, CCleaner, Speccy, etc. Recuva is no more difficult to manage than these utilities. In addition, it is completely Russified.

At the same time, Recuva allows you to easily and quickly recover files from any flash drive (including micro SD) and hard drives. Below is a short guide that will tell you how to use the program:


Helpful information

  • If using some program does not work, then do not despair. Try using some other utility.
  • Don't forget that it is easier to prevent a problem than to waste time and effort on solving it. Therefore, make a backup copy of your data from the flash drive.
  • By the way, you can also recover files from memory cards that were deleted a year, two, or even several years ago. Time doesn't matter. The main thing is the fact of rewriting. If no new data was written “over” the old ones, then you can try to return it. And, most likely, successfully.

One fine moment something terrible happened: my The flash drive stopped opening! What to do now?

How to recover (save) files on it? Or maybe it opens, but there is no information on it. It was simply accidentally deleted or the USB flash drive was simply formatted.

Or maybe the child accidentally pressed the camera buttons and accidentally pressed the button to delete all pictures (or worse, format the memory card), but the photos have not yet been transferred to the computer.

We will try to recover information without any interference with the data on the storage device, i.e. if this method does not help, you can use another - all the information on the card will remain intact - it will simply be copied, and then you can do whatever you want with the flash drive...

Let's look at everything point by point.

Recovering information from a USB flash drive (USB drive)

Of course, this method is suitable if there is no physical damage to the flash card, if, for example, it was hit by a car, then any software is unlikely to help.

For the most part, information (files) disappears due to logical errors in data, so it can be restored. Basically, the file allocation table (FAT, NTFS) is destroyed, while the files themselves are quietly stored where they should be.

Therefore, let's try to restore the information ourselves without the help of specialists; of course, for this we will need a special data-servicing program (utility). It’s scary - there’s nothing complicated here. I will try to go through all the stages of data recovery in detail.

Yes, here’s something else I’d like to add: just in case, check the flash drive for viruses before restoring it. Of course, if you are absolutely sure of their absence, then this is not at all necessary. For example, if you erased the photos themselves and then realized it, then this is one thing, but if suddenly something incomprehensible, something strange happened on the flash drive: files or folders disappeared somewhere, then in this case there is not enough confidence, that there are no viruses on the flash drive. Suddenly, recovery is not required, but the files have simply become hidden - the result of malware (viruses). If you want to check, you can use, for example, utility for treating an infected computer Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool. Next we assume that there are no viruses on the flash drive.

Firstly: You should not write any information onto a flash drive., from which the files will be restored: it may happen that new files being written will replace the previous ones and then the old files will be restored almost impossible.

If the flash drive opens and there is nothing on it, then your situation is much better than the one we chose - a USB flash card that does not even open.

A flash drive was taken to restore files Transcend JF V30 8 Gb (Gigabyte) capacity.

We will use a free utility (program) PhotoRec which you can download on our website.

Its size is small, about 1.5 MB, but it works great.

So we connect the flash drive to the computer, try to open it and see the following message: “The disk in device I is not formatted. Should I format it? (see picture)

Select " No", naturally.

As you can see, the file system has become RAW instead of FAT, and the capacity is also zero.

Next, create some folder (in our example this is the folder “ 666 » on disk D:), download the free software package " TestDisk and PhotoRec 6.11.3 for Windows"(this is one zip archive) and unpack it into the folder we created. As a result of these actions, in the folder “666” we created, another subfolder “ testdisk-6.11.3", go into it and then into another subfolder " win" (i.e. the full path is like this : « D:\666\testdisk-6.11.3\win» ). Next, run the file “ photorec_win.exe"with the image of an eye (see figure)

A DOS application window opens with a list of all connected devices, among them, using the cursor arrows, select the disk we need (in our case, it is a Transcend JF V30 8 Gb flash drive) (see figure)

Press the key " Enter"(i.e. continue).

Next, a window opens with a choice of disk partitions (in our case it’s a flash drive), select “ Whole disk", which means " On the entire disk", in all sections and " Enter» (continue) (see figure)

Next, you need to select a directory (folder) to save the recovered found files. By default (without any choice) this directory with the program photorec_win.exe(in our case « D:\666\testdisk-6.11.3\win» ), we are satisfied with everything, we confirm by simply pressing the letters “ Y"(Yes) (see picture).

That's it, after this the file search process starts, all that remains is to wait for it to finish.

While searching for files, the window shows the number of files found and their types (see figure)

After the search is completed, the total number of files found and their types is shown (see figure)

That's it, the data recovery process is complete. You can simply close the Dos application window, or click on the “ Enter» (continue) to exit to the previous menu.

Well, you can look at the results. During the file recovery process, the program created directories with names recup_dir.X, where instead of the letter " X", there are numbers (in our case there are 7). Those. in our case, we recovered 7 directories with a total of 3244 files. (see picture)

Which of them are needed and which are not is entirely up to you. In our case, we restored 2570 photographs, of which about 300 were needed.

Go for it! All in your hands. Do not give up.