# [SOLVED] USB Drive &quot;corrupted and unreadable&quot;



## Adam31478 (Feb 18, 2011)

As a teacher, I share classrooms and move around a lot. Today, one of my fellow co-workers removed my Lexar 16GB flash drive without properly "ejecting" it. Normally this is no big deal, but now when I try to access my files, I get a message saying that the files/directory is "corrupted and unreadable". Here's what I have done thus far:


I have checked the disk manager, and the flash drive is recognized.
I have, after reading some threads, gone into my command prompt and run chkdsk /r. I am returned a message that the USB drive is in RAW format and cannot by scanned.
Losing the files on my flash drive would be a major problem. Yes, some are backed up, but I don't which one's aren't. Is there a solution that does not involve reformatting and losing my data? Thanks.

Adam

PS - Assuming I can get access to my flash drive again, is there a utility (freeware preferably) that will sync a flash drive to a folder on my laptop?


----------



## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

*Re: USB Drive "corrupted and unreadable"*

Try Recuva which is a free program.

Recuva - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com


----------



## Adam31478 (Feb 18, 2011)

*Re: USB Drive "corrupted and unreadable"*

Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately, Recuva did not find any damaged files.


----------



## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

*Re: USB Drive "corrupted and unreadable"*

Have you tried using another machine just to rule out any issue with your system's hardware or software?

Try the demo version of GetDataBack and see if any files are discovered. Unfortunately the data may just be lost.


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: USB Drive "corrupted and unreadable"*

Have you tried running checkdisk on the flash drive?


----------



## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

*Re: USB Drive "corrupted and unreadable"*



Rich-M said:


> Have you tried running checkdisk on the flash drive?





> I have, after reading some threads, gone into my command prompt and run chkdsk /r. I am returned a message that the USB drive is in RAW format and cannot by scanned.


----------



## Adam31478 (Feb 18, 2011)

*Re: USB Drive "corrupted and unreadable"*

With GetDataBack, I was finally able to make a copy of the disk image and use that to recover the files. However, the flash drive is hopelessly lost. Thanks for all the help.


----------



## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

Glad to hear it worked out for you.


----------

