How to Recover and Repair USB Drive/SD Card Partition in 2022
With the widespread use of USB and SD cards, partition loss or corruption issues are no longer uncommon. Despite taking precautions, they can still occur. Fortunately, solutions are available to recover and repair USB partitions, making it possible to retrieve lost data and restore functionality.
Part 1: How to Recover USB Lost Partition
Data loss issues with USB drive partitions often occur due to various reasons, including accidental deletion, formatting, or corruption of the partition table, which can be caused by improper shutdown, software glitches, or physical damage to the drive.
- Deleting partitions from a USB drive can be a mistake, as it's easy to accidentally wipe an entire volume instead of just the intended partition. This can lead to the loss of important data.
- Power failure. Sometimes, power failure may cause partition inaccessible.
- Repartitioning a hard drive will erase all existing partitions, effectively deleting any data stored on them. This means that any files, folders, and operating systems currently residing on the drive will be lost. It's essential to back up any important data before repartitioning to avoid losing it.
- Formatted or reformatted USB drive or SD card partitions.
Tips for USB Drive/SD Card Partition Recovery
If the whole partition is lost, you may lose your data. To recover data and the partition, you need to use data recovery software, such as Deep Data Recovery Wizard, to scan the entire disk and recover your lost data. Additionally, you can try to re-partition the disk and re-format the partition to make it accessible again. However, be aware that re-partitioning and re-formatting may erase any existing data, so make sure to back up your data before proceeding.
① Do not write any data to the USB drive or SD card, and instead, use a different storage device to store the data. This could be a hard drive, a network drive, or even a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox.
After data loss from the USB drive, your data is not protected by the Operating System as it was before. The OS thinks the drive is free, allowing the next operation to potentially overwrite the lost files.
② Find effective USB/SD card recovery software to restore data
To recover data from a USB drive or SD card, use partition recovery software, a safe and efficient solution to recover deleted partitions and protect your data.
How to Perform USB Drive/SD Card Partition Recovery
Qiling Partition Recovery software can recover deleted or lost partitions, including FAT, NTFS, HFS, and others, in Windows systems, and can also recover data from USB/SD cards with a simple process.
Connect the device - To recover a lost partition on an external hard drive, USB, or SD card, it's recommended to connect the device to your PC before attempting any recovery. This allows you to scan the drive for any remaining partitions or data, which can increase the chances of a successful recovery.
Step 1. Run Qiling Partition Recovery on your PC.
Select the device - Connect an external hard drive, USB or SD card where you lost partition(s), click "Proceed" to continue.
Step 2. Wait for the scanning process to complete.
The program will scan the selected device to locate and recover lost partition(s).
Step 3. Preview and restore lost partition(s).
Double-click on the partition which is marked as "Lost" with "Good" recoverability.
Preview the lost partition to see its contents, then click "Recover" to start the recovery process.
If the program warns you of a conflict, back up the listed partition with essential data to another secure location on your PC. Then, execute the final operation to restore your lost partition.
Part 2: How to Repair Corrupted USB Drive/SD Card
If your USB or SD card gets corrupted or damaged, check if it can be detected by your Windows PC, which can help determine if it's recoverable.
If yes, follow the methods below to repair it immediately.
If the USB drive is not showing up, you can try the solutions mentioned in the article "USB not showing up" or "USB not recognized" to troubleshoot the issue.
1. Check USB Errors and Repair
Windows has built-in tools that can be run from the "Properties" section to check for file system errors on a drive.
- Step 1: To access the properties of your USB or SD card, open Windows Explorer, right-click on the removable disk that represents your USB or SD card, and choose "Properties".
- Step 2: In the Tools tab, click "Check" in the "Error checking" area.
- Step 3: Complete the scan & repair process.
2. Repair Corrupted USB Using CMD
- Step 1: Connect the Android SD card to your PC using a card reader.
- Step 2: On the PC, click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt. To open the Command Prompt, you can also press the Windows key + R, type "cmd" in the Run dialog box, and press Enter.
- Step 3: To run a check on a USB drive, type the command "chkdsk [USB drive letter]: /r/f" in the command line, replacing [USB drive letter] with the actual letter of your USB drive (e.g.
Syntax note:
- /f -- Will attempt to fix any errors on the disk
- /x -- The command will first force the USB drive to be dismounted before initiating the scan, ensuring that the drive is safely removed from the system before the scan begins. This is a precautionary measure to prevent any potential data loss or system instability.
- /r -- This feature will scan for and attempt to recover bad sectors on the device, which may take longer but can be useful in identifying and potentially fixing issues with the device.
If your USB is physically damaged, you can try fixing it with the help of Qiling, which offers solutions to repair damaged USBs.
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