So a few days ago my flash drive got corrupted and started showing up as RAW. It was a 32 GB Transcend drive where I kept a bunch of personal files. I plugged the USB drive into my Windows PC and, when I tried to open it in File Explorer, Windows displayed a message:

Well, I did what any other person would do - I googled what a RAW USB drive means. Big mistake or not (?), blinked and somehow had ten tabs open… Anyway, there was no shortage of advice, but definitely not all suggestions were useful, that’s exactly why I’m writing this.

The First Fixes I Tried 

I started with the easiest suggestions. A few people said to try another USB port or another computer. I did both, but it didn't help, unfortunately. Windows still detected the USB and immediately asked me to format it. 

I also tried changing the drive letter because several people suggested that. No luck. Same USB, just with a different letter.

Then I came across CHKDSK, probably the most common repair suggestion… and potentially one of the most dangerous if you care about the files. I tried it, but Windows immediately returned: “The type of the file system is RAW. CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.” In my case, that was probably for the best. If CHKDSK had been able to run, it could have modified the file system, which might have made some of my files harder to recover afterward. 

That’s when I decided to search how to recover files from a corrupted flash drive, rather than how to fix it.

What Finally Worked for Me and Helped to Recover Files From Corrupted Usb

Since Windows could still detect the USB drive, I decided to try data recovery software. Apparently, it can work with RAW drives, as long as your drive shows up in Disk Management with the right capacity (USB drive not recognized at all, you may be dealing with a physical failure that requires professional recovery).

And then recovery software turned out to be its own mess. Search "USB data recovery software" and you get thirty tools, all claiming to be "the best" or "expert recommended."I tried a few before landing on one that actually worked. Disk Drill was one of the top recommendations I kept coming across, and it seemed easy enough to use, so I decided to give it a try:

- I downloaded Disk Drill on my PC, opened it, and found the 32 GB Transcend in the device list. It showed the correct capacity, so I selected it and clicked Search for lost data.

- I left the scan on Universal Scan and let it run.

- Files started appearing while the scan was still in progress. Once it finished, I used the filters and search bar instead of going through everything it had found. The most useful part for me was the preview. Some files still had their original names and folders, while others didn't, so I could open the preview and check whether a photo or document was actually intact before recovering it. Once I found the files I cared about, I selected them, clicked Recover.

- Then save recovered files to another drive as writing files to the same flash drive during recovery could overwrite other data that was still recoverable.

And that was basically it. Most of the files I actually wanted came back, including the photos and documents I was most worried about. 

What I Learned From the Experience

In the end, I formatted the flash drive in Windows. After the format, Windows could open it normally again, and I was able to copy files to and from it. 

If you run into the same problem:

• Don't format the USB drive before you recover the files you need.

• Don't write new data to it, since that can overwrite recoverable files.

• Check Disk Management. If the drive appears with the correct capacity, recovery software may still be able to scan it.

• Recover files to another drive, not back to the corrupted USB.

• Repair or format it only after recovery. If the problem comes back, replace the drive.

The biggest lesson for me was simple: recover your files first, fix the USB second. Once your files are safely stored somewhere else, you can try to repair or format the drive without worrying about losing the data.

Common Questions About How to Recover a Corrupted Flash Drive

These are some of the questions I either had myself while researching or saw other people asking:

Can you recover files from a USB drive that's asking to be formatted?

Usually, yes! That format prompt just means Windows is having trouble reading the drive's file system, not that your files are gone. They're often still sitting there on the flash drive, and you can usually get them back as long as nothing's overwritten them yet.

Should I go ahead and format the USB when Windows asks?

Not if you still need what's on it. Hit cancel and try recovering your files first. You can always format the drive afterward once everything's safely backed up somewhere else.

Can CHKDSK recover a corrupted USB drive and save my files?

Not really its job. CHKDSK is built to repair the file system, not rescue deleted or lost files, and it actually makes changes to the drive while it's running. If your files matter to you, recover them (or make a disk image) before you let CHKDSK anywhere near it.

Can I continue using the USB after recovery?

Possibly, especially if formatting fixes the problem and the drive passes further tests. However, I wouldn't use a flash drive that has already developed unexplained corruption as the only place to store important files.