Formatting a USB drive and its data is essentially a cleaning of the visible file space with loss of access to the files. But do not worry; this does not mean that the data has disappeared forever, as many users used to think. First, it all depends on which formatting mode was selected: fast or full. So, let's look at this in more detail and discuss the problem. Most often, quick formatting is recommended. It takes much less time than a full one, but the result is the same. During quick formatting of a pen drive, a boot sector and an empty file system table are written to the drive. All the space of the drive is marked as unused. Moreover, with this formatting, recovering data from the formatted pen drive is not difficult.
Full formatting means that not only are a boot sector and an empty file system table written to the drive, but all sectors of the disk are overwritten with zeros. It also checks the pen drive for bad sectors and marks it to not use them in the future. Accordingly, it will take much more time and, unfortunately, it will become much more difficult to restore files on a formatted USB drive. Nevertheless, by all means, it worth a try.
In this writeup, you will find out a complete tutorial on how to recover files from formatted USB flash drive using reliable methods.
Two Free Solutions To Recover Data From Formatted USB/Pen Drive
Method 1. Recover Data from Formatted USB Drive with EaseUS Data Recovery Software EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard should be your first port of call, as not only is it an easy-to-use solution for recovering data but it's also free, so there's no financial risk involved. Other than USB flash drives, it also allows you to recover files from a formatted computer hard drive, external hard drives, SD card, memory stick, and other PC-compatible storage devices. Here are the reasons why we recommend this tool.
- Recovers data from formatted USB drives in three simple steps.
- Recovers data from deleted, hidden, lost or RAW partition.
- Supports users previewing the recoverable files.
- Provides two scan modes: quick scan and deep scan.
- 100% secure and works well on both Windows PCs and Macs.
This case, you can use this program for free. Actually, we usually recommend backing up your data on 2 USB Sticks. USB sticks do not have a very long life.
