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Question

Retrieve files from a corrupted flashdrive?

Oct 27, 2011 5:07PM PDT

Can you still retrieve your files from a corrupted flash drive?

I had this USB flash drive once. My computer was able to detect it, but when I opened it, all the folder and file names turned into this weird sort-of-arabic characters and with those squares and symbols and stuff. I had a friend to look at it for me and said that it was already corrupted by some sort of virus.

I don't know how that happened, but anyway, this was the past. Just wondering if there could have been a way to retrieve the data (I mean my real files), cuz everything in that flash drive looked too scary to open.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: flash drive
Oct 27, 2011 5:56PM PDT

I'd start looking at it in Linux. Just boot from a Linux Live CD/DVD. What shows?

Kees

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I'm using Windows
Oct 28, 2011 6:09PM PDT

i dont have access to any Linux-operated computer. any other way?

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Re: Linux
Oct 29, 2011 12:01AM PDT

htttp://www.ubuntu.com tells you how to download a bootable version and burn it to CD or DVD. If you boot from it, you have a PC running Linux that doesn't touch your hard disk (unless, of course, you use its file manager to do that yourself).

Kees

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Answer
You might try ...
Oct 29, 2011 5:54PM PDT

some or all of the file recovery utilities on this link:
http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/system/fwdatarecovery.HTML

The suggestion to look at the files using a Linux Live CD is also good. Rather than downloading the large ISO for Ubuntu for this purpose I would suggest The AVG Rescue Disk which comes with several useful utilities such as Midnight Commander which is a file manager and PhotoRec which might even be able to recover the files by itself.
http://www.techmixer.com/avg-rescue-disk-free-avg-bootable-antivirus-cd/

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Answer
Retrieve files...
Nov 14, 2011 3:35AM PST

I took mine to the local library and whatever was there on the flash drive showed up and the rest showed what was corrupted. What was there, I recopied in a different format or just highlighted and copied and pasted on word or something else. I still have to see if the whole thing is destroyed and needs to be thrown away or if I can still use it without it causing problems.

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Answer
bp2697, Your Post Was Removed...
Nov 16, 2011 11:49PM PST

Providing an embedded link directly to a .exe file is unsafe, specially in a "newbies" forum. And since you've posted elsewhere on these forums with the same website recommendation, it's looking SPAMmy. Although your input is appreciated, please don't provide links to .exe files.. Let the user visit the site and download their own file, should they choose to do so.

A remember, threes a charm when it comes to SPAM and willl usually get you banned.

Hope this helps.

Grif