Data Recovery Software for USB Drives: Recovering Files After Accidental Deletion

Documents, photos, videos, presentations and other important documents can be easily transferred from one device to another using USB drives. But when they’re convenient, they’re also prone to accidental deletion. Files may vanish due to a wrong click, accidental format, file-system error or improper removal. Fortunately, there are times when you can use data recovery software to recover files that are no longer found on your USB drive.

If you know what occurs after you delete something and take the proper steps, you can improve the odds of recovering it.

What Happens When a File is Deleted?

It must be noted that deleting a file won’t always lead to loss of the data stored on the USB flash drive. The space consumed by the file will be marked as free space, and some or all of the original data will still be there until it is overwritten in the particular space.

This is where a data recovery software shall come in handy. Recovery tools look for information related to deleted files on the USB drive and try to reconstruct it, making it accessible again.

Remove the USB Drive.

After you accidentally delete a file, the most critical step you can take is to not use the affected USB drive.

New files, changes to old files or repeated copying of data may write over the storage location where the deleted data is stored. Software recovery might be difficult or impossible after the original data is overwritten.

So, unplug the USB drive until you are ready to start the recovery procedure.

Choose Software That Supports USB Recovery

There are recovery apps that do not have the same capabilities. When choosing data recovery software, be sure it will work with your file system and USB drive.

You can use a useful recovery tool that will provide the following features:

Quick and deep scanning options

They support range of common file systems are as follows:

• File-type filtering
• Preview before recovery
• Covers recovery of drives that were formatted or cannot be opened.
• Recovers drives formatted or that cannot be opened.

A preview feature may be very useful since it can let the user know if a file can be recovered or not before the file is saved.

Don’t use the same USB drive to install the software.

One more factor to take into account is the destination of the recovery software. If software is installed directly onto the affected USB drive, this can change the data on the drive, and can also overwrite deleted files.

Rather, install the recovery application onto the internal storage of the computer or onto a drive that hasn’t been impacted. Recovered files should also be stored in a different location from the original USB drive.

If Software Recovery May Not Be Enough

Data recovery software can help recover data if they accidentally deleted it, but it has its limits. Deleting files will not guarantee software recovery if they have been overwritten.

Likewise, a physical defective USB that has an issue with the connector or memory parts may need professional data recovery services. An ongoing use of a physically compromised device may exacerbate the situation.

Conclusion

Losing files due to accidental deletion from a USB drive can be stressful, but prompt and careful action can increase the chances of recovery. Data recovery software can scan the drive to look for information about the files that are still on the drive and can attempt to recover files that were not overwritten. The secret is to discontinue any use of the USB drive, select an appropriate recovery program, not install any programs or data recovered from it onto the damaged device and be aware that, at times, professional help may be needed. If the correct procedure is used, misplaced USB files can be retrieved, even if they’ve been deleted.

Also Read: How File Systems Affect Free Data Recovery Software for Windows 10