Can not read the USB flash drive. The program for USB flash drive does not see a USB stick

How often did you think about the reliability of your own USB flash drive? As you know, there are no eternal devices. And the most expensive flash drive can break for various reasons at the most inopportune moment. For example, a flash drive is often unreadable due to the expiration of its own resource (the number of read and write cycles is limited by the manufacturer) or because of a virus attack from the infected operating system. In such cases, the user who did not take care of the backup copies of his personal data in advance is asked by the classic's eternal question: what to do? Now we will try to pinpoint the reasons for which the flash drive can not be read on the computer. The most common ones are described below.

Physical damage

This includes problems caused by physical damage to the USB flash drive due to its falling on a hard surface or immersion in a liquid. In the event that recently this happened, most likely, a USB flash drive is not detected due to damage to the connection port or the microcircuit. In this case, do not attempt to repair the drive yourself. It is necessary to address to very skilled experts who are engaged in restoration of the data. They will help to repair the drive and read the information from its memory. Such work can cost about two to three thousand Russian rubles, the price of services depends on the volume of the flash drive and the severity of the damage. Remember, however, that no expert can guarantee complete data recovery.

Electric shock

Often the computer does not see the USB stick due to the fact that it was incorrectly removed from the port or connected to a damaged USB port. In addition, it is possible to accidentally damage the drive by discharging an electrostatic current. From the breakdown
Electric discharge can burn out the controller, which is built into the USB flash drive and is responsible for data transfer. In some cases, the above controller may fail even during normal operation with a USB flash drive. However, the computer's USB port may be burned. But the replacement of the controller is technically very difficult work. It is best to entrust it to specialists from the data recovery center.

Problems with the software

It also happens that due to a logical failure in the operating system or a separate program, the flash drive has stopped reading. In such cases, the computer determines the drive, but does not read it. If this happens, as a rule, the operating system recommends formatting the flash drive to restore the logical structure of the media, but such a solution will destroy the data.

Before formatting, you should use special programs that will help you recover data from readable drives. But even in this case, you can not exclude the option of completely destroying the data due to misuse of professional programs, so it's better to consult specialists.

Port Lock

Sometimes a personal computer does not see a USB stick due to the blocking of PC ports by a virus or administrator. You can try to turn on ports by using Windows Device Manager or the registry. However, you must have the appropriate knowledge and have a PC at the administrator level. Also, the USB port can be completely blocked not by software, but by mechanical means. For this purpose, special stubs are provided. If you are not an expert, you should contact the administrator.

Disabling USB ports through the registry

Prohibits, and also allows the definition of a flash drive special parameter Start in the registry branch at the address:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ UsbStor.

If the value of the Start parameter is set to 3, you can connect the USB flash drive, and if it is not 4, you can not.

Option to disable USB ports through Device Manager

The USB port, which is customary for all users, can also be disabled or enabled via the standard Windows Device Manager. In order to check the status of the port, try to find the serial bus controller.

Contamination of contacts

You ask us: "The flash drive can not be read - what to do?" And we'll tell you that the problem may be the contamination of the ports of the computer or the drive itself. Try rubbing the ports with alcohol. However, you should do this only when the computer is turned off! Otherwise, the port may be damaged or the contacts closed. If after the done procedures the flash drive is still not detected by the operating system, obviously, the problem is caused by another reason.

Incorrect connection

It happens and this: the flash drive is not readable due to the connection of the media to the wrong connector. At certain moments, for example, in the dark, it is possible by chance to "connect" the USB flash drive to the vent or other opening of the computer. So be careful.

Perhaps the next tip will seem obvious, but more often it's too late to remember: regularly back up all the materials from the flash drive. This approach will help to not lose valuable data.

Why can not I read the USB flash drive: other reasons

There are cases when the personal computer does not recognize the USB flash drive, because the drive is trying to connect to the USB connector, which is located on the front panel of the system unit. This occurs often enough. The problem is this: the specified front port may not be fully connected to the power, although the user may not know this. Sometimes the right amount of power does not reach the front connector. If this is the case, you should try to connect the USB flash drive to the USB port located on the motherboard on the back of the system unit.

Sometimes a flash drive and a laptop are not readable due to the too large volume of the drive. Most often this problem extends to obsolete notebook models - they simply can not cope with modern large-capacity storage.

The computer may also not recognize the USB flash drive if there are already many different peripherals connected to it via USB ports. In such conditions, he can easily "not see" another connected gadget. Try to temporarily disable all devices that work with USB. Then try to connect the USB flash drive to the computer.

Programs for flash drives: a few noteworthy examples

RS Partition Recovery

This program will restore a formatted or damaged USB flash drive, as well as any other types of removable media. If you need a program for USB flash drives, Partition Recovery is ideal. This is an affordable, easy-to-use, and reliable tool for data recovery, which is the specified program.

This solution will help quickly recover deleted information from any kind of media at a high level of damage, recreating from scratch the data structure. Thanks to the preview function, you can, even if you do not read the USB flash drive, see the contents of all the damaged partitions, and in the original form, and therefore quickly find the information you need to restore. Depending on the task, the program can restore all deleted files in a matter of seconds or perform the most thorough scanning of all information on the specified medium in order to restore the damaged data to the maximum possible extent.

If you start scanning the media and click on the icon of the required file, you will see its contents in a special window. Deep analysis of information to maximize data recovery will take time, as it involves the search for absolutely all types of materials stored on the damaged media. In case of using such an algorithm, Partition Recovery scans both the file system and the disk surface. The result justifies itself. In this case, you can not be afraid to damage or delete information on the media during its recovery.

The program includes an additional mode for creating a virtual disk, which will completely protect the procedure for data recovery. Thus, you can make a copy of the damaged media, saving its contents, which will be linked to a single file. As a result, you can completely disable the damaged drive and use the program to recover data from the specified virtual image, absolutely without worrying about the security of data that is stored on the original media.

Partition Recovery works with all types of media: hard drives and any removable media (USB flash drives, mobile phone and camera memory cards, SSD) of all models and brands. During the development of the program, almost one hundred different media of different models and brands were tested. Among other things, it supports the restoration of Adobe Reade and Microsoft Office documents (PowerPoint, Excel, Word), digital photos and images of any formats, databases, audio and video files. The program works with common file systems (NTFS5, NTFS 4, NTFS, FAT 32, FAT 16, exFAT) and all current versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Flash Recovery

As for the Flash Recovery tool, it's absolutely free. Program
Supports work with various types of flash cards, including microdrives, Smart Media, Memory Stick from Sony and other USB-drives, as well as FAT 32, 16, 12 file systems. This software will help you to recover deleted documents, video, audio, digital Images, photos and other files.

There are many more programs that will help you overcome all the difficulties with your media. Most often paid counterparts are more functional than their free brothers, but this rule is not always true, because functionality and price (free accessibility) depends primarily on the policy of the software developer, so do not rush to buy a license for the most expensive software package. Qualitative programs for flash drives will help you.