Recover Data from a USB Flash Drive in Different Data Loss Scenarios

Lost files from a USB flash drive due to accidental deletion, formatting, virus or malware attacks, file system corruption, improper ejection, partition loss, or other logical errors? RecoveryFox AI can help recover deleted, formatted, or inaccessible files from USB drives that are still detected by Windows. Its Quick Scan and AI Scan modes are designed to handle a wide range of logical data loss scenarios and help restore your documents, photos, videos, audio files, and more.

Accidental File Deletion

Shift + Delete

Accidental Formatting

Repartitioned USB Drive

File System Corruption/Errors

RAW USB Drive

Unallocated USB Drive Space

USB Drive Inaccessible or Not Recognized

Lost or Deleted Partition

“You Need to Format the Disk” Error

Hidden or Missing Files

More data loss scenarios…

Recover Various File Types from USB Flash Drives, Pen Drives, and USB Sticks

Whether you lost work documents, personal photos, videos, music, or archived files, RecoveryFox AI can scan a detected USB drive and find recoverable data across common USB file systems, including exFAT, FAT12/16/32, EXT2/3/4, XFS, HFS+, and NTFS. Preview your files before recovery and select what you want to restore.

Check Full Technical Spec >>

Deleted Photo Recovery
PNG/JPG/RAW/ORF...

Deleted Video Recovery
MP4/MKV/AVI/8K...

Office File Recovery
DOCX/XLSX/CSV/PDF...

Deleted Audio Recovery
MP3/AAC/WAV/AC3...

Archives Recovery
7Z/ZIP/ZIPX/RAR/RAR4/GZ...

3D Graphics Recovery
3DS/STL/OBJ/DXF/WRL...

Deleted E-book Recovery
3DS/STL/OBJ/DXF/WRL...

Database Recovery
DEB/RPM/SQL/MDB/DAT/BZ2/ACCDB/...

Internal Hard Disk

USB/SD/TF/CF/...

All Major File System
NTFS/exFAT/FAT/EXT/XFS/HFS+/APFS...

More supported file types and devices…

Now, Get RecoveryFox AI Ready to Unlock

98%

recovery success rate. Ensure no new data is written to the target disk for the best results.

steps only: Select location > Scan > Preview and Recover. Easy peasy!

100+

universal formats that AI scan can precisely identify and rebuild from scattered fragments into complete files.

All

types of files are recoverable in Quick Scan mode (if no data overwriting occurs).

100%

secure. Non-destructive recovery to your original data and drive with read-only mode.

10,000+

found files including images, document files, texts can be restored and saved in minutes.

Free download RecoveryFox AI

Available on: Windows

All Solutions

Deleted File Recovery

Formatted File Recovery

Document Recovery

Photo Recovery

Desktop File Recovery

Recycle Bin Recovery

USB Drive Recovery

Hard Drive Recovery

Partition Recovery

Scan, Recover! See How to Recover Files from a USB Drive with RecoveryFox AI

Part 1. Tutorial Video

Regardless of the cause of your unreadable but detected USB flash drive, RecoveryFox AI can safely scan the drive and recover your data without formatting or repairing it first. In this video, we’ll show you step by step how to easily recover files from a RAW USB drive on Windows using this smart USB data recovery software.

Part 2. Tutorial Article

With AI-powered scanning algorithms, RecoveryFox AI can recover data after formatting a USB drive and help recover inaccessible data from logically corrupted USB drives and other storage devices without repartitioning or formatting the drive first.

FREE DOWNLOAD RecoveryFox AI and follow these simple steps to quickly recover data from a USB drive.

📢 Optimize Scan Settings

To speed up the scanning process, you can go to “Settings” before selecting a location to scan. There, you can enable options such as skipping empty space, temporary files, damaged archives, or embedded files that you do not need to recover.

RecoveryFox AI offers an "Include Existing Files" option. When enabled, the software displays existing files from the selected device in a dedicated Existing Files folder under the File Path tab.

If you choose to show existing files, we also recommend enabling “Group Hidden Files Separately” for easier navigation and comparison. If you do not want existing files to appear in the scan results, simply disable Include Existing Files.

Step 1. Connect Your USB to PC

To recover data from a USB flash drive, first insert the drive into your computer's USB port.

The port is usually on the side of a laptop or on the front or back of a desktop.

Connect Your USB to PC

Step 2. Select File Location

Launch RecoveryFox AI. On the home screen, find and select the connected USB drive. Clicks to proceed.

Select File Location

Step 3. Start Scanning

Then, RecoveryFox AI will begin scanning the USB drive. The scan time may vary from a few minutes to several hours, depending mainly on your drive size and file volume.

You can pause or stop AI Scanning any time if you wish to preview found files early.

Start Scanning USB Drive

Step 4. Preview and Recover

To preview a file, simply right-click the eye icon.

Then, select whatever items you want — whether it's all found files, folders of a specific type, subfolders, or individual files.

Click “Recover”, and then choose a safe location to save your files. To prevent data overwriting, it's best to select a different drive.

Preview and Recover

For Recycle Bin file recovery, the software will run a Quick Scan which usually completes within minutes and even shorter.

For other locations and complex data loss situations, including external USB flash drives, RAW/Unallocated pen drives, AI Scan will automatically go on after Quick Scan ends for a more thorough and in-depth data scanning and rebuilding. With this AI-enhanced ability, even long-term deleted files and partially overwritten data fragments can be retrieved. The AI Scan process may take hours or even days mainly depending on your drive size, the number of files, and PC specs.

Questions? We have answers.

1. Can deleted files be recovered from a USB drive?

Yes. Deleted files can often be recovered if the data has not been overwritten. Stop using the flash drive immediately and scan it before formatting it or saving new files to it.

2. How can I recover my USB device if it is not recognized?

Stop using the USB drive immediately. Avoid saving new files or formatting it, as new data may overwrite the lost files.

3. Can data be recovered when Windows says “You need to format the disk”?

Yes. Recovery is possible when Windows detects the USB drive. Do not format the drive; use data recovery software to scan it first.

4. Can I recover data from a physically damaged USB drive?

If the physically damaged USB is not recognized by Windows, software recovery is unlikely. In this case, professional data recovery services may help.

5. How do I recover files from a corrupted USB flash drive?

Connect the USB drive and check whether Windows detects it. If it is detected, use RecoveryFox AI to scan the corrupted drive, preview recoverable files, and recover them to another safe location.

USB Flash Drive Recovery Software