USB Flash Drive - Recovery possible?

If you have ventoy,
can you run ventoy on the USB drive? then select ventoy option "Clear Ventoy"

can be easier and quicker.

@dacrone and @siliconbeaver - I think I'll do DBAN and/or Ventoy as a last resort. Want to see if other OSes can see the drive or what it actually reports in the dmesg output first.

Bear in mind that with any flash media - SSDs, thumb drives, etc. the memory cells slowly lose their charge. You have noted that you may not have used the drive in several years. That spells death for the data on the drive as the charge on the memory cells would certainly have been lost after that period of time.

Bottom line is that if nothing else works, try to see if you can format the drive and if it then works reliably. If so, you will want to plug it in every few months and let it sit powered on for a while. This should refresh the charge on the memory cells.

hsehestedt said:

Bear in mind that with any flash media - SSDs, thumb drives, etc. the memory cells slowly lose their charge. You have noted that you may not have used the drive in several years. That spells death for the data on the drive as the charge on the memory cells would certainly have been lost after that period of time.

Bottom line is that if nothing else works, try to see if you can format the drive and if it then works reliably. If so, you will want to plug it in every few months and let it sit powered on for a while. This should refresh the charge on the memory cells.

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My money is on drive is fubared. If you cannot get past first step of diskpart list disks, I have never ever seen any other tool work.

cereberus said:

My money is on drive is fubared. If you cannot get past first step of diskpart list disks, I have never ever seen any other tool work.

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You may very well be correct. I would just hate to see someone toss a drive if it is still operational because they erroneously thought it was bad.

hsehestedt said:

You may very well be correct. I would just hate to see someone toss a drive if it is still operational because they erroneously thought it was bad.

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Drive is 8 years old - no point in flagellating a deceased equine (imo) especially when a nice new much faster usb3 drive of similar capacity is less than £10.

Almighty1 said:

So Linux or *BSD is really the only way to get the messages on what may be wrong? Thought Windows had some app/utility that would allow diagnosis of the drive.

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Of course not. It's just a suggestion for something you can try if you don't get it working.

hsehestedt said:

You may very well be correct. I would just hate to see someone toss a drive if it is still operational because they erroneously thought it was bad.

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Well, yes, but it looks like it could be replaced for about $15US.

If there are no valuable data on the drive, it may not make sense to spend a lot of effort to resurrect it.

I rarely use USB Flash Drives since it's faster to just send files over the network and besides the USB Flash Drives I bought a month ago which was more to boot up into a command prompt to delete a file that prevents Windows 11 from Booting, this is actually my newest USB Flash Drive and the others that are older which is only used once in a blue moon all work fine. Didn't realize they slowly lose their charge.

And here are the results... I used the VenToy USB Flash Drive and booted up Ubuntu Live ISO and this is what is shown taken with a phone:


As I remembered reading a month ago, FAT32 cannot be bigger than 4GB but for whatever reason, this is a 124GB FAT32 partition instead of exFat which was how it came out of the packaging as I did not partition or format the USB Flash Drive and ofcourse the files are all there which I copied to the 1TB USB SanDisk SSD, this is only 24MB worth of files. I had to use gparted in Ubuntu Live ISO to delete the partition and then used MiniTool Partition Wizard to format the entire thing as exfat as neither did the tool above or gparted work with exfat as it says the exfat kernel module is missing.

I am unable to get Ventoy to see any of the drives on the system since 2 of the USB Flash Drives and 1TB SanDisk SSD was created with the machine I had already returned back to Target as Ventoy only shows this when I try to VenToy format the drive with Ventoy2Disk.exe:


MiniTool Partition Wizard after this shows:


I'll add the VenToy Live iso to the 2 USB Flash Drives + 1TB SanDisk SSD and then see if I can get the referenced 128GB Flash Drive to format with Ventoy Live ISO as per the following, I appear to have one of the systems where Ventoy fails to install and upgrade.



Will report back later and just remembered, I forgot to turn Secure Boot back on as unlike the other machine which allows me to enroll something from the USB Flash Drive so it will boot, the Dell XPS 15 9570 bios/UEFI does not have that option and will only boot when SecureBoot is turned off.

bobkn said:

Well, yes, but it looks like it could be replaced for about $15US.

If there are no valuable data on the drive, it may not make sense to spend a lot of effort to resurrect it.

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It was more curiosity to see what was on the drive and basically all it contained was what came with the drive plus copies of two U.S. Passports which already expired as we got new ones back in March 2024. And ofcourse experimenting with different tools to see if I could avoid tossing it but it won't be used for anything important.

And forgot to provide the various things to try so this is what it shows now:

TestDisk:


ValiDrive:


Disk Management:


Diskpart:

Hi @Almighty1
TestDisk shows Bad relative Sector. [Quick Search] is highlighted. Press Enter key to do a quick search. If a partition is found write the partition.
If quick search does not find the partition, do a deeper search to find the partition.If the partition is found write the partition table. Good luck.

Note: TestDisk should be "run as administrator"

jumanji said:

Hi @Almighty1
TestDisk shows Bad relative Sector. [Quick Search] is highlighted. Press Enter key to do a quick search. If a partition is found write the partition.
If quick search does not find the partition, do a deeper search to find the partition.If the partition is found write the partition table. Good luck.

Note: TestDisk should be "run as administrator"

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Yes, I noticed that one, not sure if I chose the wrong option when TestDisk was first ran or not...

I am doing this again now but wanted to say that I was able to install VenToy when using the VenToy Live ISO from the other VenToy drive but couldn't figure out how to enroll the USB Flash Drives so it will boot in secure mode as it only boots in Secure Boot Mode off or Secure Mode on with Audit mode.


Is Intel the correct type for exFat?

I am running a deep search on the USB Flash Drive now and will update the thread when it's done.

As for run as administrator, there is no way not to run it otherwise as it will prompt for UAC on it's own when you open it.

But anyways, I chose Analyse on this page:




And I hit enter on [Quick Search]



On both partitions, when I hit Enter, it shows the following:


So it's not showing any information on the bad relative sector or bad sector count. It seems that is just a place where it will list the bad relative sector or bad sector count as from searching, there is a example post:

where it would list it like this:

I did the deeper search and it went back to this after testing everything automatically:

Hi @Almighty1

On a true exFAT pendrive only the HPFS- NTFS partition will be shown.

The following screenshot shows how my SanDisk Ultra 128GB exFat pendrive shows up on running TestDisk Quick search.



Your pendrive however shows another FAT16 EFI System Partition (VTOYEFI) which I think has been created by Ventoy. You select/highlight the HPFS-NTFS partition and press P to list the files and check what it shows.

If I have to answer your question "USB Flash Drive - Recovery possible?" I would say yes- possible ( but not always ) for I have recovered the lost data on my 128GB exFAT drive ( I carried my personal data on this flash drive during my last visit to USA in April 2023. Recently when I plugged it it in, the pendrive could not be accessed. I ran TestDisk and recovered all data - the only new data I had saved while I was in USA like my bill payments , I-94, and my Travel card ATM withdrawals in USA etc., were relevant)

As for as your flash drive is concerned I would advise you format it to NTFS. Do a full format which will write zeros to all the sectors memory cells here) and rejuvenate the memory cells with full charge.

@jumanji

You are right, the entire VenToy was created yesterday as the original was what is in the first image in post #31 which I already made a copy of and nothing important so I don't have any data to recover. In reality, what was on the drive are things I already had on my computer elsewhere and only made a copy of other than the files that came with the Flash Drive itself which seems to be a backup program.

Is this the same SanDisk Ultra 128GB that you have?


Now I wonder about something, is SanDisk more unreliable than other brands because even my no name brand stuff seems to not have problems but this is the second SanDisk product with a problem, the first one was the 224GB MicroSD card which I got when it first came out and lasted exactly 1 month before it would read and not write.

I am also using TestDrive 7.3-WIP which might look different than 7.2 as even with all the other VenToy created drives created by another machine, it looks the same way as you mentioned. The SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD 1TB drive:

also shows as follows:




I always thought exFat had some advantages over NTFS but what's the best way to do a full format on a flash drive? Thanks!

Hi @Almighty1

On my SanDisk Ultra Dual 128GB pen drive: bought Oct 2017 ( Ordered on Amazon India,Dispatched by Amazon US)

On TestDisk version 7.3- WIP: This is a beta version. I have been using the stable version 7.2 and have been advising forum members seeking data recovery to always download the stable version and not the beta version.

On your SanDisk 1TB external SSD: This is the first time I see a TestDisk screenshot proclaiming a bad sector count. Other than that the EFI partition is Ventoy inflicted. I don't know why it should be there. ( I am not a Ventoy user).

As for the bad sector, I would advise that you check the health of your SSD with Hard Disk Sentinel. You may download, install and run the trial version of Hard Disk Sentinel. Hard Disk Sentinel Trial version - HDD health and temperature monitoring
It can on the first screen itself present an overview of the selected disk indicating whether bad sectors are present.

A sample screenshot showing the health of my SAMSUNG 500GB SSD in an ORICO enclosure. ( I rely more on Samsung and Crucial SSDs put inside a standard enclosure rather than buying branded external SSDs)



On NTFS vs exFAT: The NTFS file system consistently shows better efficiency and lower CPU and system usage when compared to exFAT file system, which means file copy operations are completed faster and more CPU and system resources are remaining for user applications and other operating system tasks.

Mac devices can read and write exFAT while NTFS is read only. If you do not intend using your system on a mac device and stick with Windows.
, NTFS should be the way to go. exFAT infact is outdated with many shortcomings. You may do your own research on exFAT vs NTFS.

As for formatting I usually go with Windows Disk Management. One can also use other formatting utilities, the most preferred being MiniTool Partition Wizard and AOMEI Partition Assistant..

@jumanji - It seems like unless it actually lists the bad sectors, there isn't a problem. The 1TB SSD is going to be returned within 30 days as I am just trying it out and see if it works or not.

For VenToy, they have the bootable partition and then the other partition which is user accessible where you can put all your files in different folders. It is the one that puts exFat on the entire drive on it's own.

As for Hard Disk Sentinel, isn't that just reading the SMART reporting from the device itself?




VenToy when installed will take whatever partition and then split into two and it will always end up as exFat. I always thought exFat was also used by Android as with my MicroSD experience, it is always exFat by default.

As for formatting, doesn't Rufus also work? Maybe @johnlgalt can comment about this one since he uses Rufus.

Are you testing Ventoy (the software) or the SSD ( the device)???????? Be very clear..

For Ventoy a large enough flash drive to accomodate all the desirable bootable ISOs into it is enough. For it to function it may format the device as a GPT/exFAT as I presume (because I do not use Ventoy).

Why are you running TestDisk and that too the beta version which may still have bugs? ? TestDisk is a data recovery program. You do not test an SSD with TestDisk.

For testing the health of the SSD you need not install Ventoy onto the SSD. It will be enough if you check the health with Crystal Disk Info or Hard Disk Sentinel. Hard Disk Sentinel gives much more information than Crystal Disk Info. It will on the first screen itself and instantaneousy show the number of bad sectors if present. Clicking on the SMART Tab, you will get the smart info, The trial version also offers a quick test (Disk menu -> Short self test) and additional test functions are available in the registered (complete) version.

The Self-Test on my Samsung SSD:



SMART of Samsung SSD - Hard Disk Sentinal - By default RAW values are shown in Decimal



SMART of Samsung SSD - Crystal Disk Info



Please note by default Crystal Disk Info will show the RAW values in Hexadecimal. To show it in Decimal as in the above screenshot Go to Function in the Menu Bar > Advanced Feature > RAW Values and select 10[Dec]

Didn't realize I actually posted the last response as I was originally still typing it.

Testing the SSD but also putting VenToy on it as I am also trying to see if I can get Secure Boot working but it seems Dell disabled the function to enroll the key. Hard to say what is enough as I don't even know how many ISOs I am putting on the drive since either way, I wouldn't be able to use all the space since I don't really have that much data I want to keep portable.



The other reason for the VenToy is I am trying to do a Microsoft Security Update and I will the ISOs to boot from to fix the problem as there is no way around the GSOD otherwise as mentioned here:

So my VenToy is basically this:


along with the VenToy Live ISO as my Dell XPS 15 9570 machine does not allow installing VenToy within Windows.

As for TestDisk, it was someone else earlier in the thread that mentioned it and ofcourse TestDisk couldn't read the USB Flash Drive either, not until I booted into Ubuntu Live from VenToy on another USB Flash Drive/SSD and then copied the 5-6 files on the USB Drive and then changed it to NTFS with gparted and then used MiniTool Partition Wizard to get it to exFat but I remembered VenToy actualy did the exFat formatting which was why I did it with VenToy because I also wanted to see if the USB Flash Drive actually works, not based on what some program like TestDisk says but from actual experience and it did. I'm a Astrophysicist so I do things differently and get different types of analysis, not just from a program but also from the drive itself actually being usable. And basically more data points. Besides that, it's also to see what TestDisk actually sees without doing the data recovery part as no one said 100% of a tool had to be used as one can use it partially to get whatever information is needed. I did originally start using the release version of TestDisk until I read the documentation at 2. Installation — testdisk 7.2 documentation which actually recommends to use the Work In Progress/WIP aka Beta version first before using the Release version as seen here:



that was the reason I changed to the WIP version instead.

You do realize the health from SMART can be wrong as it can report it is 100% for everything but the drive can still fail so when I was drafting the previous comment, I forgot that Crystal Disk only reads from the SMART information reported which does not mean it's 100% accurate. And while you said for testing the health of the SSD, I do need not install Ventoy onto the SSD which may or may not be correct. What's the best way to test the real health of any storage, to put real data on it which is why I have 3 identical VenToy with the exact same files on it so even if the data gets corrupted, I will still be able to use VenToy with the exact images I have on VenToy.

Hard Disk Sentinel actually tests the data so it's better to have actual data to test things than having a completely blank file system with zero data on it and with actual non-risk data, it is just a better way to test things as this is one way to see if the real data has corruption or not.

So with that said, this is the results for both the SSD and the USB Flash Drive from Hard Disk Sentinel... I always thought a USB Flash Drive was a type of SSD inside as it has no moving parts.

Almighty1 said:

Just tried ValiDrive and it's been stuck on this with the spinning circle for the last 5 minutes.

View attachment 111061

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The flash drive that ValiDrive resurrected for me had to be removed and re-inserted a few times before the program saw it. Might be the same for you. Don't give up on it. Raising a flash drive from the dead is a near religious experience.