A pen drive is a handy tool for people with several devices. It serves to store and efficiently transfer files between devices. Sometimes data stored in the drive may get lost either due to accidental deletion, virus infection, formatting Pendrive using CMD, or in rare cases, a damaged file system. Luckily, you are not doomed if you have lost data that was previously in your pen drive. In this guide, we will show you two methods you can use to effectively recover files from a pen drive.

Before getting into the process, you must know that 100% of data recovery is only possible if the files have not been overwritten. We recommend that you stop using the affected pen drive as soon as you notice some or all of your data are missing.

Also, it would be beneficial if you could maintain a preservative habit for your pen drive.  This means proper handling of the device which includes, but is not limited to:

  • Regular file back up
  • Sharing the pen drive across devices, you can trust (personal devices)­
  • Habitual copy-transfer of files–for files being moved from one device to another
  • Always remember to eject before removing your pen drive from a computer.

Even though these practices may not eliminate the chances of data loss, they may significantly help to reduce them and retain your pen drive in a usable condition for longer.

Here is what you can do in the unavoidable situation that data in your pen drive gets lost.

Method #1. How to recover data from a pen drive using Windows CMD

CMD is a powerful tool for file management, among other activities. However, it is not the most straightforward method since only a few non-programmers will willingly opt for it. We have illustrated how you can use a graphical tool to achieve the same results in the second method below.

Follow the following steps to recover files using CMD

Step 1. Mount the pen drive on your computer.

Step 2. Hit Windows key+R, type CMD in the popup window, and press enter to run CMD.

Open CMD using Search

Step 3. Use the graphical file system and note the letter assigned to your drive. Now go to the CMD window and type “chkdsk E:/f” and hit enter (replace the E with the letter for your drive).

Write Command To Recover Data

Step 4. Now enter the letter for your drive again; E for my case.

Enter Your Pendrive Name

Step 5. Type “attrib –h –r –s/s /d *.*” and press enter to finalize the file restoration process.

Enter Command

Done!

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Method #2. How to recover files from pen drive using EaseUS software

Download the EaseUS software for windows if you do not have it installed. Follow the steps below to recovered files.

Step 1. Mount your pen drive to your computer/laptop. Select the pen drive from the available disks and hit “Scan”.

Easeus interface

Step 2. After the scan process is complete, the lost files will be displayed on the next screen. Use the filter functionality if you are looking for a specific type of file.

Easeus for Pendrive Files

Step 3. Select files to recover and save

The file preview gives you a list of lost files. It is possible that you only need to recover a few files. Mark all the files and folders you would like to recover and click on the “Recover” button on the lower right part of the screen. We recommended that you choose a destination for the recovered files other than the affected pen drive. This could be your PC hard drive or another pen drive.

Select Pendrive

Step 4. Confirm that your files have been restored.

EaseUS is an efficient file management software that can find and recover deleted files on pen drives as well as those deleted from your computer hard disk. Further, you can use the program to formatted pen drive data.

A software recovery method like the one we have described above is much easier to use as compared to CMD file recovery. The recovery wizard on the program can help you recover files lost due to accidental deletion, virus infection, OS crash and reinstallation, and formatting, to mention but a few.

Also, the procedure for using a graphical tool is very straightforward, unlike with CMD, which is disadvantageous and may not be useful for everyone. Unlike the CMD file recovery method, with EaseUS software, you can choose to filter and recover selected files only. This is an excellent reprieve if you are working with a pen drive/disk with a large volume of deleted files. 

Conclusion

We have mentioned two file recovery methods, but there are other ways you can get deleted files back on your hard drive. Third-party data recovery software is much easier to use compared to CMD. However, there are scenarios that CMD will be most efficient. For instance, if you suspect there are hidden files that have been lost. Following the proper disk handling tips we provided earlier in this article, you can minimize data loss. And as people in the health industry would put it, prevention is better than cure.