Undelete Memory Stick & Recover Deleted Files from USB

Various reasons can lead to file loss on USB flash drive or pen drive, such as accidental deletion of files, formatting of hard drive, storage device failure and virus attacks. Among them, accidental deletion is the most likely reason for data loss via USB.

Where do deleted USB files go?

What happens when you delete a file from USB flash drive? Since USB flash drive or pen drive is an external device, the files deleted from USB flash drive are permanently deleted instead of going to recycle bin. So, you cannot perform recycle bin recovery to recover files from USB. But you still have a chance to recover deleted files from USBwith the help of some effective solutions.

To improve the recovery speed of USB deleted files, you should pay attention to the following points:

• Do not copy the files
• Do not write new data
• Disconnect the USB drive

This page explains four ways to recover deleted files from USB without software or with the help of professional file recovery software to recover lost files from pen drive.

Recover Deleted Files from USB Flash Drive Using File Recovery Software

The most effective and possible way to recover deleted files from USB or even recover permanently deleted files from pen drive is to use professional data recovery software.

Opt for reliable data recovery software like MyRecover. This experienced tool recovers more than 200 types of files from corrupted drives on various versions of Windows including Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11 as well as Windows Server. It offers commendable success.

Major advantages of MyRecover:

It offers two advanced scanning methods: quick scan and deep scan, which quickly identifies lost or deleted files such as Word documents, Excel sheets, PDFs, emails and more.

It enables quick filtering and file recovery, bypassing the need to perform a full scan.

It retains the original attributes of lost files including names, formats, quality and paths.

To start data recovery from an affected drive, download and install MyRecover on your operating system. Follow these steps:

Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to a working computer running MyRecover. Hover the mouse over the affected drive or partition and then perform a scan.

Step 2. The combined power of Quick Scan & Deep Scan will automatically examine all lost or deleted files. The identified files will be displayed below.

Step 3. Select the desired files you want to recover and click Recover x files. Specify a save location and the download process will begin.

How to Recover Deleted Files from USB Flash Drive Without Software

For some users who don’t want to recover USB files with third-party software, you can try the three methods in this section to retrieve files from USB using CMD, Windows Backup, and previous versions.

Method 1. Use CMD

ATTRIB is a Microsoft Windows command that allows users to change various characteristics or “attributes” of a computer file or folder. Therefore, this feature is an ideal solution to this problem. Let’s take Windows 10 as an example. See the following stepsto use CMD to recover files.

Step 1. Connect the USB that stores the hidden files to your computer. Make sure your computer recognizes this USB flash drive.

Step 2. Press “Windows + X” keys and then select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.

Step 3. Type “attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.*” and press “Enter” after the command prompt window appears. You can replace "G" with the letter of your USB drive.

Step 4. This process ends after the command prompt returns to the original location. You can then go to the destination location to check those files.

However, if the attrib command doesn't work, you can scroll down for other effective solutions.

Method 2. Use Previous Versions

Before using this method, make sure that you have enabled system restore points or File History. Otherwise, you will find that rolling back to the previous version will not reveal the problem. Take restoring a previous version offile for example.

Step 1. Go to the folder that contains the modified or overwritten files. Right-click on the folder and click Properties. Then select Previous Versions.

Step 2. Select one previous version of the file from the version history. You can also click Open or Open in File History to check the selected version of the file.

Step 3. After confirming the desired version of the file, click Restore or Restore to… to restore the previous version of the file. Select Restore to… if you want to restore to a specific location.

Method 3. Use Windows Backups

The Backup and Restore feature is another backup tool that comes pre-installed on your Windows PC. It allows users to back up all the files on the local disk and save the backup files to any local location.

Windows Backup and Restore would be good if your files are saved on the boot partition and other primary data partitions.

Step 1. Run Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2. Click Restore my files.

Step 3. Click Browse for files/folders > select the files you need > Next.

Step 4. Specify the destination as per your preference > click Recover.

Conclusion

Deleting files on USB does not mean permanent data loss. In this article, we have explained four methods to recover deleted files from pen drive with or without software. MyRecover offers the widest possibility to recover files from USB. It supports deleted file recovery, formatted recovery, raw drive recovery and more data recovery features.