Repair a defective USB stick - how it works
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Supposedly defective USB sticks are often thrown away, although they can still be repaired. In this practical tip, read how, with a little luck, you can get your USB stick up and running and save your data.
Repair USB stick with Windows standard tools
With a bit of luck, the error checking tool integrated in Windows could make your USB stick fit again.
- Insert the defective USB stick into a free USB port.
- Open Windows Explorer; Your USB stick should now be visible on the left.
- Right click on it and select "Properties".
- In the following window you will find the "Tools" tab, select it and click on "Check" under "Error Checking".
- Select one of the options offered to you, such as "Scan and Repair Drive".
- Now the desired procedure is carried out on your USB stick. At best, go through all the options.
- Then all file and sector errors on the USB stick should be fixed.
Repair of the USB stick fails: what to do?
In the case of particularly serious defects or damage, you can then resort to formatting. Read how to format a USB stick in one of our other practical tips. However, if you still have important data on the stick, you should refrain from formatting it, as all files will be lost. Instead, seek out a specialist and instruct him to recover the data.
Repair USB data with rescue service on the Internet
You will find various providers on the Internet for saving your data stored on the USB stick. You will only incur costs if it is certain that the data is not lost and should be saved.
- Deadhardrive, for example, provides you with a free check of your stick. This way you can find out whether the data can still be saved.
- The costs for this are set out in a fixed price list and can be viewed on the website.
- The use of the Internet services is usually cheaper compared to specialty shops.
Sometimes other problems lead to defective USB sticks. In the next practical tip, you will read how to deactivate the write protection of USB sticks.