How to Recover Deleted Files from Flash Drive without Software?

"By mistake I deleted a folder from my USB drive that contains Presentation and Excel files I need this afternoon!  Would appreciate if anyone can help! I use Windows 10."

If you are a regular USB flash drive user, data loss issue is almost unavoidable like the above situation. There are many factors that can lead to this issue and in most circumstances, these files could not be restored from the trash bin. Fortunately, data recovery is usually possible with the right method. So if your files got deleted from your flash drive, don't panic, this article will introduce several ways to recover the deleted files from the flash drive.

The methods mentioned in this article are available for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP.

1How to Recover Deleted Files from Flash Drive without Software?

Most of you may wonder how to retrieve deleted files from USB Drive for free, so here we will show a detailed guide of two free ways to recover deleted files from USB by using the "Command Prompt" or the "Restore previous versions" feature.

1Recover Deleted Files from Flash Drive without Software - Use CMD

Recovering deleted data from a flash drive can possibly be done with the command prompt (cmd) - a command line interpreter application in Windows. And to recover deleted files from usb using cmd, you should have some knowledge of command-line languages, which will be listed below. The process is a bit complicated. Although it's not guaranteed that you will recover all deleted files via this method, it is still worth a try.This video might be more helpful for you to understand the process.

Step 1. Connect your flash drive to your PC. Press Win + R keys to launch the Run program.

Step 2. Type "cmd" in the Open section and click on OK.

Step 3. Type this command in the window: ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D G:*.* (G here should be replaced with the drive letter of your flash drive). Once you have entered the above command, Windows will attempt to recover your files. You can look for them in your flash drive after the process is complete.

2Recover Deleted Files from USB Flash Drive - Restore Previous Version

"Restore previous versions" is a useful feature of Windows that allows you to recover your deleted files from flash drive without software (if the feature was enabled at the time of deletion).

Step 1. First, you need to connect the flash drive to your computer, then navigate to the folder where your files were stored before deletion.

Step 2. Right-click on the selected folder and select the "Restore previous versions" from the drop down list.

Step 3. Choose the previous version you need, then click on the Restore button.

2How to Recover Deleted Files from Flash Drive with Software?

For sure, most of us weren't expecting the loss of data so very less will have made a backup of the flash drive by consciousness. In this situation, methods we mentioned above might not work. Before we give up hope, there is still one method we can try. Using a data recovery tool is actually a relatively faster and easier way to retrieve deleted files from a flash drive, save you much time searching and looking for methods that cause much efforts however no results.

I would recommend AnyRecover in this regard. Programmed with the most advanced recovery algorithm, this USB drive file recovery tool has helped over 1,000,000 people recover their lost files, ensures a higher recovery rate.

Powerful Features of AnyRecover

• Unlimited free scans and preview for users so that you will be able to confirm the files before recovery.

• Restore deleted files successfully regardless of how they got deleted e.g. OS crash, hard disk failure, lost partition, virus attack, and other data loss scenarios, even formatted drive.

• Rescue all types of deleted files: photos, videos, office documents, emails, audios, archives, etc.

• Supports more than 1,000 data formats including unfamiliar ones such as xlsm and docm so you can recover more files than using any other softwares.

• Recover deleted/lost files for any storage mediums, including USB flash drives, external hard drives, SD card, XD/CF card, digital camera, and more.

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Start to Perform Deleted Files Recovery from USB Flash Drive:

Step 1. Connect your flash drive to the PC and launch AnyRecover software, after it is recognized, select it under the External Removable Devices tab.

Step 2. Click on the Start button, the program will start an All-Round Scan on the flash drive you selected.

Step 3. Once the list of recoverable files appears, find your lost file and then double-click it to preview, later click the Recover button if that's the file you need.

3  Things You Should Know When You Lose Data

There are several factors that affect the success rate of your flash drive recovery. You should know about them and take certain precautions if you want to ensure successful data recovery.

Stop using the flash drive as soon as you discover that your data has been lost/deleted.

Don't format the flash drive as it decreases the chances of successful data recovery.

Don't save any new data over the drive as it overwrites the certain sectors of the flash drive that contain the deleted files.

Don't try to repair bad sectors of the flash drive as it can destroy data stored on them and even completely eliminate the chances of file recovery.

Getting into the habit of making regular backups certainly benefits you.

4Video Tutorial on Recovering Deleted Files from USB Flash Drive

Conclusion