How to get files from a flash drive without formatting. How to open a flash drive if it requires formatting

The FAT32 file system is obsolete compared to NTFS. But despite this, many users' flash drives still use this outdated file system.
Surely some of the readers know that when formatting a flash drive through the utility itself Windows, you can select a more modern NTFS file system. The only problem is that when formatting, all data on the media is lost. Today I will tell you .

Yes yes! It is conversion, not formatting. When formatting, data on removable media is lost, but not when converting. It is very convenient if you need your files to be saved and the file system to be changed to a more modern one. There was already an article about formatting a flash drive. Here .

NTFS or FAT32 for flash drive?

What's the difference between FAT32 And NTFS? The main difference is that on FAT32 the size of one file cannot be larger 4GB. Modern video files in resolution 4k have a size larger 4GB and you won’t be able to put them on a flash drive with a file system FAT32, even if the size of the flash drive is more than 4GB. Another notable difference is that NTFS supports security policies, meaning you can restrict access to information on the media for different users and groups. This file system also supports the function logging, which allows you to more efficiently restore the file structure in the event of a failure. But this function For removable media it also has a minus. This is a larger number of write operations for one action, that is, this function will exhaust the flash drive resource faster.

How to format a flash drive to NTFS without losing data. [Instructions]

After completion, all the files that were on the media will remain there, and the file system will be NTFS. In this way, you can only convert the file system from FAT32 to NTFS. It is not possible to return FAT32 back without losing data.

A fairly common occurrence is when a user inserts a USB drive on which some important information is stored into the appropriate port, but the system asks to format the flash drive. What to do in this case? First of all, don't panic. The fact is that with the right approach to solving this problem, the data will most likely be B as a last resort they can be restored even after formatting. The methods proposed below allow you to avoid the need for formatting with full restoration everything that is stored on a removable device.

The system does not read the flash drive (asks to format): what to do?

In general, the mistake of many users is storing important information or personal data on removable media, since they are more than hard drives, susceptible and software failures, and physical damage.

We are not talking about physical damage now, but as for software problems with the appearance of bad sectors due to a violation of the integrity of the file system, here you need to apply appropriate troubleshooting methods. Let's say the computer asks you to format a flash drive. What to do? After all, complete formatting will destroy absolutely all data. It would be nice if it applies quick formatting. Recovering information in such a situation is as easy as shelling pears. But the system offers to perform a full formatting. In this case, you can start by using Windows tools with parallel use of special software to restore the functionality of both the device itself and the files stored on it.

The flash drive does not open (asks to format): what to do in the simplest case?

The first storage technique is to use standard means disk check, but launched not through the disk properties section, but from the command line starting with administrator rights.

To launch it, you can use the Run console and the cmd command, or directly open the cmd.exe file in the System32 directory of the main operating system directory.

So, the computer asks you to format the flash drive. What to do? First, you need to remember the drive letter, and then in the command console write a line to check the media for errors and automatically correct them. For example, if the device in the system is listed under the letter Z, the command looks like this: chkdsk z: /f. Depending on the volume, the process may take quite a long time, so you will have to be patient. At least in most cases, software failures can be resolved quite simply.

The most popular utilities for recovering removable USB drives

If the failure cannot be corrected using the method described above, you will have to use additional software.

Among the most popular and most efficient programs are the following:

• TestDisk.
• Handy Recovery.
• Active@ File Recovery.
• Recuva.
• R.Saver and R-Studio.

TestDisk

Now let's look at a situation where the first method did not work, and the system again asks you to format the flash drive. What to do in such a situation? One of the most effective methods, many experts call the use of the TestDisk program, which operates in DOS mode.

With this utility everything is quite simple. We launch the program, select our device with arrows, indicate the parameter value for the partition table (usually Intel), select the partition to be restored in the form of the entire media (Whole disk), for the file system select the Other parameter, which corresponds to FAT32, and at the end we write full path to a pre-created directory in which the recovered files are supposed to be saved.

Handy Recovery

Now a few words about one more program. Again, it is assumed that the system is asking you to format the flash drive. What to do if the previous methods did not work? We can recommend using the Handy Recovery program.

After starting the utility, in the main window, select a removable disk, click the start analysis button, in the results select the folder or file that needs to be restored (they will be marked with the appropriate markers), and click the restore button.

Active@ File Recovery

Let's see what can be done if the previous method did not produce results, and the system again asks you to format the flash drive. What to do in this case? Use the Active@ File Recovery program.

There shouldn't be any problems with her either. In the main window, from the menu on the left, select removable media and click the SuperScan button, then specify the file system type, click the start process button, and then use the data recovery function by calling it from the menu or immediately using the Ctrl + R key combination. After This specifies the final directory for saving data, after which you can completely calmly start formatting, if this is really necessary.

Recuva

The Recuva program is quite popular among ordinary users because it is very easy to use.

To recover files, you can specify a specific data type (for example, audio, video, or graphics). If you want to find everything that can be recovered, select the All Files option. In the results, files that can be restored to their original state are marked in green. Those that you can try to restore are yellow, and those that cannot be restored are red.

R.Saver and R-Studio

But the Recuva application does not always work correctly, not to mention the fact that it may not detect long-deleted objects. In such a situation, it is best to give preference to the R.Saver and R-Studio utilities, which are very similar to each other.

It is these two programs that are capable of finding on removable media even those files that the user does not even know about deleting. Of course, the scanning process will take much more time, but the result will be completely unexpected for many.

Without flash drives today it is difficult to imagine the modern life of an office or an ordinary user. Transfer data from computer to computer, submit a report, or save something important and secret - all this is possible thanks to removable storage media. All flash drives are shipped from the factory already formatted. Typically, their file system is FAT32. In the modern world, it is already outdated, as it has several significant disadvantages. Among them are the impossibility of moving files larger than 4 GB to a flash drive, as well as restrictions on the size of hard drive partitions.

A little about file systems and their differences

The Windows OS line has been using the FAT file system since its release. Its more advanced version is FAT32. Following it is NTFS, which appeared in Windows XP.

Differences between these representatives file systems is to limit the size of allocated files and partitions. FAT16 can use up to 2 GB, FAT32 can use up to 4 GB for a file and 8 TB for a volume. More modern NTFS can manage files and partitions up to 16 exabytes. However, it has a limitation on the length of the path, which should not exceed 255 characters.

Apple uses the HFS+ file system for its equipment. It also has a 255 character limit on path or file names. This is worth remembering when automatically creating documents or saving them. File and partition sizes can be up to 8,000 petabytes.

Linux distributions use the line. Its latest version is ext4, which is still being sold since 2008.

Interestingly, Linux systems can easily work with file systems and NTFS. But the Windows environment does not even see ext and derivative partitions without additional software.

How to format a flash drive via the command line

The file system is considered newer and more modern. NTFS system. It can work efficiently with large partitions and files. In addition, its performance is much higher than its predecessor. Also, reliability when placing data on a partition and its indexing help to occupy space more optimized for both performance and volume.

In order to format a flash drive via command line from FAT32, in NTFS there are several ways.

Standard operating system features

All operating systems of the Linux and Windows families are equipped with standard utilities that can format a flash drive via the command line. First you need to deal with Windows system. It is available via the command line - diskpart. Since this system program and affects important areas of the OS, you need to run it as an administrator.

You can do this in Windows by going to the “Start” menu, then “All Programs” - “Accessories”. Here you need to right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as administrator”.

A command prompt window will open. In it, just type diskpart and press “Enter”. Now further command input will be broadcast through the utility and executed by it.

In order to start the formatting process, you need to type format Z: /FS:NTFS. Here Z stands for the drive letter of the flash drive. And the FS key and the NTFS indication tells the utility that it needs to format the disk specifically into the NTFS file system.

The only drawback of this method is that if there were files on the flash drive, they will be hopelessly lost.

Formatting a flash drive via the command line without losing data

In fact, this task is impossible to complete. You cannot format a disk without erasing the data. But you can convert from one file system to another. The diskpart utility can also help here. How to run it as an administrator is described above. Next you need to enter the list volume command. It will display a list of all available partitions and disks, indicating their letters and volumes. The next command is list disk. It will show the presence of all physical drives in the system. Disks can be labeled 0, 1, 2, and so on.

Now by calling the select command disk 1 will be selected the required drive. Next, convert ntfs is executed. After which the specified disk has been acquired t NTFS file system.

Other ways

Previously, methods were shown to format a flash drive via command Windows string 7. But what if you need to perform this procedure under Next, a method for formatting a flash drive via the Linux command line will be described.

More precisely, in Linux it is called a terminal or console. You can open it with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T. Then you need to look at the list of connected devices. The fdisk -l command allows you to do this.

In this case, the flash drive is listed under the name /dev/sdb1. In Linux, to work with changing partitions or disks, you need to unmount them. This is necessary in order to gain access to data that may be currently in use.

But in order to make sure that the drive is unmounted, you should type a simple command:

df -h

After pressing Enter, the screen will display a list of all devices that are currently mounted. If something like /dev/sdb1 is present in it, then you will have to disconnect it. This is done with the command umount /dev/sdb1.

Now you can format the flash drive via the command line. There is a built-in mkfs command for this. It needs to pass several parameters to its input. Firstly, this is the file system. In this case - ntfs. By the way, with this utility you can format a flash drive via the command line in fat32. Next, you need to specify a name or label for the drive. Well, the last thing is the path to the flash drive. The end result should look like this:

mkfs.ntfs tagname /dev/sdb1.

After the process is completed, you will get a flash drive with a new NTFS file system.

Third party formatting programs

Some manufacturers of removable drives have their own software for fast and reliable formatting in a convenient graphical interface. There are also programs from third-party developers. The following is a list of the most commonly used products:

• HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. Probably the most famous program. Its interface is simple and resembles standard operating system windows.
• Transcend Autoformat. This utility is used primarily for mobile storage formats - SD, MMC, CF.
• HDD Low Level Format Tool. A utility that performs low-level formatting. Sometimes it helps to bring a flash drive back to life or hard drive. Supports many devices and has wide functionality.
• SD Formatter - very simple and easy program. Mainly used for formatting flash drives for mobile devices. The interface is simple and clear, and the license to use it is free.

Conclusion

In many operating systems There are more elegant formatting options without applications command line. Using GUI, you can also complete this task with ease. Formatting a flash drive via the command line is intended mainly for a low-level process when other methods do not help.

There are also more complex and multi-stage methods for resuscitating flash drives. They use special programs oriented separately per controller drive . But this information is beyond the scope of this article.