How to Undelete Files from USB Drive
USB drive is a portable storage device that can be connected directly into a computer using built-in connector. USB flash drives are also called as thumb drives, jump drives, keychain drives, and pocket drives etc. Sony, SanDisk and Kingston are the popular brands who manufacture USB drives. Flash memory is used in USB drive to store large number of files. USB drives are available in different storage capacities. The maximum storage capacity of USB drive is 256GB. USB drive operates just like any other removable storage device. When USB drive is connected into a USB connection, it will be shown just like any other removable storage device. Mac Operating System displays USB drive icon on the desktop whereas, Windows Operating System detects the flash drive and displays an Autoplay option to quickly access the files stored on USB drive. USB drive does not contain moving parts like hard drive thus they are less susceptible to mechanical failures.
Common scenarios that cause data loss are explained as follows:
- Accidental deletion of files from USB drive: When you delete files from USB drive or any other external storage device, they are not moved to Recycle Bin. Instead, they bypass the Recycle Bin. If you accidentally delete essential files from USB drive, then you cannot undelete files from Recycle Bin resulting in loss of files.
- Data loss due to corruption: USB drive may get corrupted due to virus attacks. In order to remove virus, updated antivirus program needs to be used. But, sometimes antivirus programs can also cause data loss. When you connect USB drive, each folder and file is automatically scanned by antivirus program. If it finds any virus then it may delete entire folder which is affected by viruses resulting in loss of files.
- Abruptly removal of USB drives: Accidentally or abruptly removing USB drives from the computer may cause data loss. You need to use “Safely Remove Hardware” icon in order to properly disconnect USB drive from system. Because, even if you think that you have closed all the files on the USB drive, it is still possible that the USB drive is accessed by system in the background without any indication. Therefore, if you abruptly remove it from the system then it may corrupt the file system of USB drive resulting in loss of files.
- Data loss due to errors: When file system get corrupted, you may encounter error messages like “USB device not recognized” or “USB device attached to this computer has malfunctioned” etc. These error messages do not allow you to access files from USB drive resulting in loss of files. Generally, file system may get corrupted due to sudden power failure or abrupt system shut down while transferring files from USB drives to computer etc.
Although, the files are not permanently lost from the USB drive, you can easily restore lost data from USB drive by using reliable recovery software.
Precautions that are to be taken to avoid data loss are, always take backup, make use of “Safely Remove Hardware” icon to properly disconnect USB drive and while deleting files from USB drive make sure that you are deleting unwanted files. Remo Recover (Windows) Basic Edition quickly recovers lost files from USB drives. This software can recover different types of files like .doc, .xls, .xlsx, .png, .jpeg, .wav, .txt etc. SanDisk, Kingston, Sony etc are the different brands of USB drives supported by this software. This software can also recover deleted files from flash drive other than USB drives. This software performs signature search to locate lost files quickly. The software can undelete files from Windows 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003 and Server 2008
Follow below mentioned steps to recover lost or accidentally deleted files from USB drive ,
Step 1: Download and install Remo Recover (Windows) Basic Edition then launch it. Select “Recover files” option from the main window as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Main Window
Step 2: If you want to recover files that are accidentally deleted then select “Recover deleted files” option and if you want to recover files that are lost then select “Recover lost files” option. Select the USB drive from where you have lost or accidentally deleted the files then click on “Next” button as shown in Figure2.
Figure 2 : Select USB Drive
Step 3: The software scans entire USB drive. Once the scanning is completed, you can view recovered files as shown in Figure 3
Figure 3 : View Recovered Data
Step 4: Now, you can save scanned information using “Save Recovery Session” option as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 : Save Recovery Session
