How to Find Lost Files on USB [4 Ways]

USB flash drives, pen drives, and thumb drives are very common data storage devices. They are plug-and-play, lightweight, and easy to carry. So many users would like to store pictures, videos, documents, etc, important data on it. However, sometimes a very occasional error may cause data loss from the USB.

You probably have a lot of questions, such as, Can you recover lost files on USB drive? Where do files deleted from USB go? How to recover deleted files from USB drive? This step-by-step guide will show you a clear answer and introduce you to 4 effective methods.

The reasons behind USB data loss

There are many reasons for USB drive data loss, the most common of which is deleted by accident. In addition, there are some other reasons as well:

✦ Data is infected by virus or malware
✦ Formatting the disk
✦ Hardware failure
✦ Power failure
✦ Unplugging the USB drive while data is still being transferred

Where do files deleted from USB go? Is it recoverable?

For files deleted from local disks, you can usually find them in the Recycle Bin and restore files from Recycle Bin to where they were. However, the files deleted from external storage devices like USB drives will bypass the Recycle Bin folder and be deleted.

Fortunately, it's possible to recover lost files on USB drive. The files deleted from the USB drive have not disappeared completely, only the used space marked as empty and waiting for new files to overwrite it. It is worth mentioning that the disappeared files may be simply hidden instead of deleted.

Thus, before recovering deleted files from USB drive, you need to check if your files are hidden first.

Part 1: Be sure if your files are hidden (Immediate action)

If your files are simply hidden, try the "attrib" command to recover hidden files from USB using Command Prompt. But if you suspect your flash drive is damaged, you need to scan the USB drive for logical or physical errors and fix any errors found before using the attrib command.

Step 1. Connect the USB drive to your PC. Please make sure there is no connection issue. Then, press "Win + R" to open the "Run" dialog box and type "CMD" and hit "Enter" to open  Command Prompt.

Step 2. Type the chkdsk command to scan the target USB drive and fix any logical errors.

chkdsk “drive letter”: /f 

The “/f” command option will fix any logical error found on this USB drive.

Step 3. Run the attrib prompt and wait for the process to finish. 

attrib -h -r -s /s /d "drive letter":*.* 

Part 2: Recover deleted or lost files on USB drive in 3 easy methods

Here are 3 proven methods to recover lost files on USB drive, e.g, free data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery, previous versions, and Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Please note that the latter two methods require creating a backup first. Be sure you have one if you want to restore files from backup.

⛔What Not to Do with USB after Losing Files: 
✍ Stop using this USB drive immediately or perform any operation on it, such as format disk, add new data to it, or repair bad sectors. Otherwise, your data may be overwritten or damaged.
✍ Safely eject this USB drive and save it to a safe place until you can perform USB data recovery.
✍ Start data recovery as soon as possible. The longer you delete a file, the more difficult data recovery will be.

▶ Way 1. Recover lost files from USB with data recovery expert - All-in-one solutions

Try top-ranked data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery to get your USB files back in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc., and Windows Server. Thanks to its Quick Scan and Deep Scan methods, you can easily recover files in different data loss scenarios, such as accidental deletion, formatting, virus invasion, partition loss, etc. Also, it supports previewing files before recovering.

As for file types, it supports recovering deleted photos, videos, documents, compressed files, emails, etc., without losing quality, more than 1000 data types. And you can choose to recover specific files or folders instead of all.

Step 1. Run Windows data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery. On the main page, hover the mouse over the problematic USB drive, and click Scan. It's suggested to find lost files in the Hard Drive recovery section as it's fast. 

Step 2. It will start Quick Scan (about 3- 5s) automatically to find deleted and other missing files on this disk. You can search for the file name or extension in the search box. Or directly filter the specific data type, e.g, documents, images, videos, etc.

Step 3. Select all the deleted or lost files on the USB drive. If you are not sure, you can click the Preview option to check it or directly double-click to preview. Then, click Recover and select a new location to get them back.

★Tips:

Don’t save the recovered files to original location as it may cause data overwriting.

In the Free edition, it supports recovering deleted or lost files on USB drive for free, up to 500MB in total. To recover unlimited files, try advanced editions

In addition to USB drive, you can also use this tool to recover lost data from hard disk (HDDs & SSDs), SD card, et.

▶ Way 2. Recover deleted files from previous version - with File History enabled

For deleted files, restoring from backup images is one of the most recommended methods. Previous Versions are copies of your files from restore points or File History. Check if there are available previous versions and recover from them.

Step 1. Open File Explorer, go to This PC, and find out the problematic flash drive.

Step 2. Right-click on the drive and select Properties.

Step 3. Go to the Previous Versions tab and select a previous version. Finally, click Restore to recover deleted files from the previous version.

▶ Way 3. Recover deleted USB files with Backup and Restore (Windows 7) - Require Backup first

Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is another backup software for Windows 10 and 11. If you have backed up your USB files with it, you can use it to recover deleted files from flash drive effortlessly.

Step 1. Go to Control Panel and click on Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2. Tap on Restore my files.​

Step 3. Hit Browse for files or Browse for folders to select a backup version. Then, choose a location to save the recovered files and click Start Restore to retrieve lost files on USB stick.

If you don't have a backup, try data recovery expert in Way 1. Free download it right now!

Bonus tips - How to protect files on USB

If you don't want to lose USB files, you need to take some precautions beforehand. Here are some useful suggestions you can follow:

Conclusion

Here are complete guides about how to find& recover lost files on a USB flash drive. It can delete files or other missing files. Regardless of file loss types, data recovery software like AOMEI FastRecovery is one of the most effective methods. Of course, if you have backup images, data recovery will become an easy task.

We hope they can help you get back lost files in time to avoid data loss. In addition, it’s also important to take some precautions to protect your USB drive data, for example, create an exact copy of your files ona  flash drive. It is a quick method for data recovery.

FAQs about data loss on USB

✍ How to recover lost data from a USB drive?

To recover deleted files easily from a USB drive, you can download, and install AOMEI FastRecovery. Next, scan the USB drive and wait for scanning result. Then, select target deleted files and recover files.

✍ What should I do if the USB drive is not recognized by my computer?

If your flash drive is not recognized, you need to plug it into a different USB port or computer and check if there are any problem with this device. If the issue persists, there might be a problem with the USB drive itself. In such cases, you may need to consult a professional device service center.

✍ How do I fix a corrupted USB flash drive?

The simple method is to run disk check and repair the found errors. If it’s not working, try to format USB drive completely. If there are any data on it, you’d better recover files from corrupted USB drive first.

✍ How can I prevent data loss on my USB drive in the future?

Regularly back up your important files to another storage device or cloud service. Safely eject the USB drive from your computer before physically removing it, and avoid disconnecting it during file transfer operations.