In the modern world, people are used to using flash drives to transfer information. A few years ago there were disks, and before that, diskettes at all. Compared with these already obsolete devices, a flash drive is much more productive and less in volume. Of course, with such popularity, they began to develop rapidly, and now you can already find an external drive from 1 GB to 516 GB.
Unfortunately, they, like any other technique, can break. This happens for various reasons: they got a flash drive while recording or it broke due to heavy loads, etc. Users began to look for options on how to repair a flash drive. If the problem is hardware related, then you can simply throw it away. Another case is software crashes. In this case, you can try to restore the external drive. You should not immediately bring your USB-drive to the service center, since it is not difficult to bring the flash drive back to life, the main thing is to follow the rules. Let's look at how to repair a flash drive yourself.
The flash drive does not open
Perhaps you connected a USB flash drive, the computer sees it, but errors occur when you try to open the contents. If the computer displays “No access”, then most likely you need to clean the external drive from viruses.
What is the problem? After malicious files entered the USB flash drive, they created the autorun.inf file. It is the reason why the external drive does not start.
How to repair a flash drive? In this case, you need to check the external drive with antivirus software. After you delete the malicious files, we need to manually delete the autorun.inf file. We go into "My Computer" and right-click on the USB flash drive. Then select the item “Open”. A flash drive will open in a new window, we just have to delete the malicious file.
USB drive is not formatted
The reason why the flash drive does not open may be a memory failure. How to repair a flash drive? In this case, it is enough to format the external drive. Unfortunately, all content will be erased.
We go into "My Computer" and right-click on the external drive. Next, select the “Format” item. Unfortunately, this method does not always help. If you could not restore the external drive, then you must try the second method.
So, we need to go to the "Disk Manager" directory. To do this, press the key combination Win + R. In a new window, enter the command diskmgmt.msc and click "OK." The "Disk Manager" will open, where we need to select a USB flash drive and click "Format".
The flash drive is not detected on the computer
To make sure that there is a problem with the external drive, you need to get it and try to insert it into other USB-connectors that are on the motherboard. If the problem persists, then you need to check the USB drive on another computer.
How to repair a micro-USB flash drive? First you need to check it in other USB-connectors. If the problem persists, then perhaps the malfunction lies in the card reader. Try to change it.
If the external drive is detected on another computer, then you need to try to remove the driver. How to do it? Go to the "Control Panel", where we select the "Device Manager" directory. In the new window, look for the line “USB memory device” and delete the driver.
After the actions done, turn off the USB flash drive and restart the computer. After that, we connect the USB-drive and install new drivers.
If the reinstallation does not bring results, then you need to clean the registry branches. They contain all the information about your device. First we need to collect this information, or rather, find out several parameters (PID and VID). To find out this data, you need to return to the "Device Manager" directory and right-click on the USB flash drive. Go to the "Details" item, where the device code is displayed.
After that, press the key combination Win + R, in the new window, enter the regedit command. So we open the registry editor where you need to find two parameters, the first ends with the word USB, and the second USBSTOR. We open these directories and look for identifiers, and then delete them. We reboot the computer and check the operability of the external drive.
External storage is detected, but dimensions are not displayed
If you find yourself having such a problem, then there was a malfunction in the memory. How to repair a flash drive? In this case, you need to download the ChipGenius program. So we can find out the VID and PID of your external drive. After you find the model of the flash drive chip, you need to go to flashboot.ru, where you need to enter the data. We start the search. So what have we found? These are suitable drivers and utilities for your removable disk. After installation, your flash drive should work.
How to repair a USB flash drive if all else fails
Of course, there can be various problems with the external drive that do not allow you to restore the USB flash drive from the problems already described. There is another way to bring a removable drive back to life. However, this method is suitable specifically for flash drives, memory cards will not work this way. If you are tormented by the question of how to repair a Transcend flash drive, then try this method.
Where to start? We take our USB-drive and remove the plastic cover. We need to put our device into test mode. Flip the flash drive as shown in the picture. In the corner is a small button that you will need to close. As a rule, it is necessary to close contacts 29 and 30. How to do this? Take the needle and press in the right place.
We insert the removable disk into the USB port so that the computer detects the USB flash drive and it becomes available. Only after that we open the contacts. However, do not disconnect it from the computer, as it will not work yet. Next, you need to install drivers and utilities, how to do this, we have already considered.
Output
After doing this, your USB device should work. If this does not happen, then there may be a hardware problem. In this case, it is easier to throw it out than to restore it. As you already noticed, it is not difficult to repair a flash drive if the problem lies in the software part. However, in order to quickly and accurately restore your device, you must immediately identify the problem.