List of allowed flash drives program. How to use the Flash Memory Toolkit during recovery. Repairing a flash drive using a utility from Transcend
Probably not left in ours modern society those who would not use USB drives, MP3 players and other devices that use flash memory. And probably everyone has encountered various problems regarding these media: “Device not recognized”, “No access”, “The system cannot finish formatting” and so on, etc.
In this article we will try to answer the main questions that owners of damaged USB drives face - flash drive repair and resuscitation. We will describe the most common mistakes users, coupled with real advice and sequence of actions in certain cases.
But first, it’s worth clarifying some nuances. Restoring and repairing media are different things, which means the approach and results will differ from each other. Repairing a flash drive with your own hands is fraught with data loss, but in the end you can get a fully functional device that will serve you for a long time (if used correctly), and the recovery process only includes the return of information without “surgical” intervention.
Symptoms of a damaged USB drive
- Not detected by the operating system.
- Message like: “the drive is copy protected.”
- The flash drive is “not visible” on more than 3 computers.
- The LED does not light up or blinks.
- Windows Explorer cannot display the content.
- The file system recognizes the device as a virtual drive or does not see it at all.
- The structure of directories and files is damaged (noted when attempting to format).
- Every second or third attempt to install the drive ends with the message: “unidentified USB device.”
The list of problems when flash drive repair is required is quite impressive, but the basic approach is quite universal and can generally be reduced to just two main steps.
If you are able to read similar drives on the same computer on which you are trying to work with a problematic flash drive, then the problem rests only with the media. There may be a problem with the USB connector, a damaged port (this is the reason Kingston flash drive repair always starts) or a faulty memory chip.
First of all, you should try reading your drive on another computer. Some types of flash drives are sensitive to USB connectors, for correct operation they need a special receiver. If the media is readable on other computers, then some “upgrading” of your USB port may be required.
If none of the options gives results, then you can try to read the device on the most “clean” operating system without installed drivers, software and other programs that may conflict with the flash drive. To do this, just start the system in safe mode, where all devices operate in their basic state. If in this case the flash drive is visible and the information is readable, then the problem should be looked for in third-party software, and not in the drive.
If even this method could not bring any results, then the problem is in the software part of the drive. Also, before repairing a USB flash drive, you need to understand that there are frequent cases of factory defects and the end of its service life, i.e. rewrite cycles are exhausted (for a standard drive this cycle is limited to approximately 100 thousand records). In these cases, you need to contact the manufacturer or simply change the flash drive.
DIY flash drive repair
In principle, all drives are created in the same key and are similar to each other. When resuscitating a flash drive, a complete flashing of the device and subsequent formatting may be required.
Determining VID&PID
The key to solving the USB drive is the controller, the thing is quite tricky and complex, but without this part the repair will become much more difficult. The main catch is that all flash drive manufacturers use different models and types of controllers, and there can be intertwined not only their own, but also other people’s developments along with some kind of know-how. Therefore, it is not always possible to determine exactly which controller is in front of you the first time.
You can go the barbaric route and gut the keychain, then you will know exactly what and “how” is in front of you, but this method is probably not to everyone’s liking. Therefore, it is better to resort to third-party software, since programs for repairing flash drives are not that uncommon. Let's look at a few useful utilities, defining the flash drive controller (VID&PID).
ChipEasy
A simple, useful and intuitive program for resuscitating flash drives. The interface is extremely user-friendly and translated into Russian.
The utility is able to recognize the manufacturer along with the model of the USB storage device. Great for Transcend and Kingston brands. If you need to repair a flash drive yourself, then the first step is to master this product.
FDIE (Flash Drive Information Extractor)
The utility is “tailored” mainly for Silicon Power media. Will give all the necessary information about VID&PID, controller, model and type of USB drive. One of the main advantages of the program is the detail of the information: the flash drive repair utility will compile all the data, summarize it if desired, and display the result in a convenient list.
There is also a non-professional version of the translation into Russian that is freely available, although you can do without it - the program has a sparse and quite understandable interface.
CheckUDisk
The program is distinguished by its high speed of scanning information from the media for subsequent determination of VID&PID. Data granularity to determine the controller and media type is performed at a level similar to FDIE.
The program for repairing flash drives is simple, understandable and has a friendly interface similar to ChipEasy. If you wish, you can download an amateur version of the Russified product if you encounter any problems with the translation.
Flashing
After one of the above utilities can point you to the VID&PID, you need to find the desired program for flashing and subsequent formatting on the official websites of manufacturers. But here, too, not everything is so simple. Repairing a flash drive consists of two parts: firmware and format, but some types of devices are simply not designed for flashing, in which case you can simply hang the keychain with the flash drive on the wall and go to the store for a new one.
Rare types of flash drives
Little-known or extremely high-capacity USB drives are more problematic to recover than their standard counterparts. Repairing a flash drive of this type is often accompanied by hardware problems such as bad sectors. In such cases, the media is connected as a second HDD through a special recovery adapter, then the data recovery procedure is carried out using the methods described above.
Summarizing
High quality and at the same time free repair flash drives - the procedure is very transparent, which can not help you in all cases. If your device has valuable information or is expensive in itself, it makes sense to contact a specialized service center, where smart specialists will help you not only save information, but also give a second life to your flash drive. Otherwise, no one can guarantee you positive results, and you will act only at your own peril and risk.
Always remember the simple rules for storing information: copies and more copies. Buy two flash drives and reserve space on your hard drive for copies. The time spent on the backup procedure is not commensurate with the time spent on restoring and repairing any media.
Today, most users prefer to store information on portable USB drives. This is convenient for several reasons - the relatively low cost of the storage device, high speed copying files and a wide range of memory capacities. However, flash drives can break, which causes a lot of inconvenience. To solve the problem there is free programs for repairing flash drives.
The operating system issues a variety of messages when it cannot interact correctly with the drive: “read error”, “unidentified device”, “disk write protected”. Sometimes, when you connect a flash drive, the computer refuses to see it at all.
There are many ways to fix these problems. You can try to reinstall the drivers via command line carry out testing or formatting. But the best option- usage official programs recovery from flash drive manufacturers.
Installing the programs in question, even official ones, involves some risk. Especially if you check their effect on a working device. All responsibility lies with the user. If the decision is made, you should select a specific utility that matches the flash memory manufacturer.
The article will discuss programs for Transcend, Silicon Power, Adata, Kingston. Instructions are also provided for identifying the memory controller if the drive case does not contain inscriptions or logos.
Transcend
To restore your storage device, you will need software called JetFlash Online Recovery.
The process of use is quite simple: connect the flash drive to the computer, launch the utility and follow the instructions that appear on the screen. First, you will be prompted to “Fix the drive” - in this case, the program’s algorithms are trying to access the stored files. If there is no result, you can click on the “Format” button (this means destroying the information). 
Load this utility It is recommended from the official resource so as not to expose your computer to the risk of virus infection. There is also a small English-language instruction available for download at PDF format. Often, it is not needed - the procedure is completely intuitive, does not require additional explanations and is briefly described above.
Silicon Power
Silicon Power drives are restored in a similar way. Sequencing:
- downloading the program from the official website;
- launch and follow the instructions of the built-in “wizard”.
If successful, access to information will be restored.
Kingston
To restore Kingston drive, just visit the manufacturer’s official website and download the appropriate program. It has several capabilities - diagnostics, recovery and formatting.
The application interface is intuitive, so it is suitable for novice users. You just need to select your USB device from the list of connected devices and file system. Then the program will work automatically, performing the “repair” in a few seconds.
Adata
The manufacturer Adata has also provided a special utility for diagnosing flash drives and subsequent “repair”. After launching, she offers to conduct automatic check errors or formatting if files cannot be extracted. You can download the program on the manufacturer’s website page.
Program for repairing flash drives from any manufacturer D-Soft Flash Doctor
The Doctor utility is not tied to a specific manufacturer; it can interact with any type of flash memory. The developers have equipped the application with a wide range of functions that allow you to scan errors, recover media and create an image. 
At the bottom of the window there is a settings button. You can select the bad sector reading speed, formatting speed and number of attempts. But it is better to leave the default settings so as not to aggravate the problem.
The utility's method of action is “low-level formatting”. You don’t have to understand the details of the work, because the program restores the flash drive automatically.
How to find out which program is suitable for repairing a flash drive?
If the above-mentioned tools for how to repair a flash drive (free repair programs) are not suitable for solving the problem, you need to install Chip Genius. It will help you correctly install the memory chip used in the drive and obtain a special identifier for further actions.
After opening the utility, a window is displayed in which you are prompted to select a malfunctioning USB device. This can be done using the arrow keys or the mouse cursor. After which it will appear at the bottom of the window Technical information: drive name, VID and PID, series number. 
After receiving the information, you should visit the flashboot website, enter digital identifiers in the search field and press the “Search” button. 
The results display with the name of the drive (in the Chip Model column). All that remains is to find a program on the Internet that works with the flash drive controller. The main thing is to check the downloaded file so as not to infect your PC.
If all the described methods do not help, you can use low-level formatting. This is an extreme measure that destroys all files, but the drive becomes suitable for further use.
Low-level formatting involves writing zeros to all sectors of flash memory (as opposed to standard “wiping”, which erases only file headers). After the procedure, it is impossible to restore any information from the flash drive.
If file loss is not critical, you should try free programs for repairing flash drives using the tips above. Perhaps memory performance will be restored. But if the stored information is very valuable, then it is advisable to contact a service center.
Step-by-step instructions for restoration USB flash drives in which I will try to answer the question in an accessible language How to recover a flash drive independently and without much effort.
Sometimes you help a person, and then he will tell everyone that you are so good and there are already crowds of people thirsty for help. This is roughly what happened when I restored several flash drives colleagues.
Now the people bear not only their own flash drives, but also flash drives your friends, acquaintances and relatives. Well, at least someone else would bring a bottle of beer or a cookie.
It’s not difficult for me to help, but when I suggest you learn how to do all this yourself, you refuse. Next time I’ll just sew them off. If you don't want to study, pass by.
I’ll finish with the lyrics here and move directly to the topic of the post..
If your flash drive stopped be determined like a disk, doesn't want to formatted, does not allow you to write down information or something else happened to it, BUT it has no mechanical damage, then you know that all is not lost. Most likely a glitch controller and you will have to tinker with it a little. This procedure takes approximately 5 minutes.
I’ll say right away that there is no universal programs For recovery all varieties flash drives. You will need to find exactly the one that can work with your controller. flash drives.
First we need to define VID And PID non-working flash drives.
Determine VID and PID for flash drive recovery
Stick it in flash drive into your computer and run device Manager. Start – Execute - mmc devmgmt.msc.
Then go to the section Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
We find ours in the list flash drive. Usually, everything flash drives have a name USB storage device.
Press the right button on the device and open Properties.
Go to the tab Intelligence.
Select the item from the drop-down list Instance code devices or Equipment IDs.
In this window we see PID And VID.
Finding a flash drive recovery program
We go to the website FlashBoot.ru and enter the received VID And PID.
Click on the button Search.
In the results we look for your manufacturer and model of the flash drive. I have Kingston DataTraveler 2.0.
The right column will contain the name of the program we need or a link to it.
All. Now search Google for the program by name or download it from the link provided. Launch and follow the instructions. Usually, in similar programs For recovery There’s only one button, so you shouldn’t have any questions.
That's all!
If you have any questions, ask in the comments.
After a virus attack, power outage or formatting, the operating system stopped detecting the flash drive... Is this a familiar situation? What to do? Throw the device in the trash and run to the store for a new one?
There's no need to rush. There are software solutions for restoring non-working flash drives. Most of these programs do a good job of this task.
This list contains several utilities that most effectively help solve the problem.
A small utility with a set of functions for restoring inoperative flash drives. The program has a simple and intuitive interface, which, even without Russian language support, makes it one of the best tools for working with flash drives.
HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool scans flash drives, corrects errors and formats them in different file systems.
HDD Low Level Format Tool
Another small but powerful program for flash drive repair. The utility, using low level formatting, can bring inoperable drives back to life.
Unlike the previous representative, it can work not only with flash drives, but also with hard drives.
The program provides full information about the drive and S.M.A.R.T data for the HDD. Formats both quickly, with overwriting only the MBR, and deeply, with the deletion of all data.
SD Formatter
Sd Formatter is a program for recovering a micro SD flash drive. Works exclusively with SD cards. Capable of recovering SDHC, microSD and SDXC cards.
In addition, it can heal drives after unsuccessful formatting, as well as completely erase information on the card by repeatedly overwriting random data.
Flash Doctor
Another representative software for working with “dead” flash drives.
Flash Doctor is a program for recovering a transcendent flash drive. Scans disks for errors and restores them using low-level formatting.
Works not only with flash drives, but also with hard drives.
A distinctive feature of Flash Doctor is the function of creating disk images. The created images, in turn, can be written to flash drives.
EzRecover
The most simple program recovery program Kingston flash drives on our list. But its simplicity is only external. In fact, EzRecover is able to look at flash drives that are not detected in the system and recover them.
EzRecover brings back to life flash drives with the “Security Device” label and (or) zero capacity. Despite its inconspicuousness, the utility copes with its tasks perfectly.
Here is a list of utilities for recovering flash drives. Each has its own characteristics, but they all do their job perfectly.
Easy2Boot is a program from the author of the same name, which is designed for developing multi-boot memory cards with different distributions. On this page you can download this convenient utility for free in Russian. All it takes is a couple of clicks. The application has practically no interface, since it is essentially a console application. To work without complications with this utility, you will have to work with a portable option for producing download media - RMPrepUSB. Download Easy2Boot 1.B0 + for free…
Universal USB Installer is a simple special application that is necessary to create boot disks (distributions). Works on any system, both Windows (and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Windows 7 or 10) and Linux. Using it, install the image operating system goes by quite quickly. As a result, it becomes possible to use your own flash drive instead of the same one boot disk. If we consider the efficiency this application, then it will be just right, by the way, when you need to do...