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The flash drive shows 0 bytes. Windows cannot complete formatting a flash drive or memory card

Today, flash drives and removable memory cards have a fairly large capacity and are used almost everywhere. Unfortunately, they are more susceptible to physical damage than internal drives and hard drives, but they can equally suffer from software glitches. So it turns out that when you try to connect the device to the computer, the system displays a message stating that the volume’s file system is damaged or not recognized. How to fix such failures will now be described.

Why is my USB flash drive not recognized? Possible reasons

The most likely reasons why the operating system cannot recognize a drive or its file system can be divided into two large categories: physical damage and software failures.

Physical reasons associated with malfunctions of microcontrollers, external and internal damage, overheating or hypothermia, and many other negative factors will not be considered. In this case, you will simply have to throw away the USB flash drive. Even replacing a microcontroller will cost much more than a new flash drive or memory card. Sometimes there may be malfunctions in the operation of USB ports, but here the solution is obvious: you just need to connect the flash drive to another port.

Therefore, we will focus on software failures. Among the most likely reasons that the volume file system is not recognized upon connection, and if it is visible, it is not possible to work with it), the following are highlighted:

  • exposure to viruses;
  • software failures in the microcontroller;
  • incorrect or incomplete formatting;
  • incorrect removal of the device from the port;
  • power surges;
  • unsupported file system;
  • outdated device drivers;
  • mismatch between USB flash drive and port standards.

Regarding the last point, the problem is that the USB 3.0 flash drive is connected to a 2.0 port. This problem can be solved by simply reconnecting to the desired port.

Signs of damage to a removable device

Determining that a removable device is inoperative is quite simple. If connected, the system begins to issue warnings that the location is inaccessible, the file system of the volume is not recognized, a proposal is made to format the device, etc.

Along the way, it is worth noting that the drive itself may or may not be visible. In the first case, fixing the problem is somewhat easier. In the second, you will have to use additional utilities.

When a warning about an inaccessible location is issued, the reason may also be that the flash drive or removable card is assigned an incorrect volume label (drive letter), for example, X instead of F. In this situation, you just need to change it, having first used the disk management section, where the right Click on the device to select the appropriate command.

RAW format: what is it?

In the usual sense, such a structure is a modified format that, with most known operating systems simply incompatible. Therefore, a notification appears on the screen stating that the volume’s file system is not recognized (although the RAW format flash drive is visible, the files on it are not visible, even if you enable the display of hidden objects).

Changing the format is most often associated with software glitches due to incorrect formatting, improper shutdown of the device and exposure to viruses. However, you can convert the format into a readable one quite simply, which will be discussed a little later.

Main directions in problem solving

If the volume's file system cannot be recognized, there may be several solutions to correct the situation, depending on the cause of the failure:

  • converting the format to any other compatible with the system;
  • removal of viruses and threats;
  • quick or full formatting;
  • If you need to recover data, you need to use special utilities.

Just in case, you can make sure that the appropriate driver is installed for the device. This can be done in the standard “Device Manager”, which can be accessed either from the “Control Panel”, or called with the command devmgmt.msc from the “Run” console.

Generally, if a device is not working or not working correctly, it will be marked yellow. In this case, you should either update the driver (command from the context menu) from the system’s own database, or install it manually from removable media, or apply an automatic update using programs like Driver Booster (with the flash drive turned on, of course). Sometimes it may be necessary to update the driver of the USB controller itself.

Simple testing and recovery

Now let's consider a situation where the volume's file system is not recognized (the memory card is visible in the system) from the point of view of a regular disk. For removable drives you can use standard commands to check their status, which were originally intended for hard drives. This is about

To execute this operation, you need to call the command console (cmd) from the “Run” menu (Win + R), and then write in it the line chkdsk X /f, where X is the letter assigned to the flash drive (most often it is F). Even if the drive is in RAW format, this procedure works in terms of restoring the file system or converting it to NTFS.

Virus check

Some viruses can change the structure of the file system of removable drives (and not only) on purpose. In this case, a message will also be displayed notifying you that the volume's file system is not recognized. The SD flash drive, however, will be visible in the system. This simplifies the task.

The most in a simple way solution to the situation that has arisen is its full check. You can use standard or portable utilities. But here, unfortunately, there is no complete guarantee of “cure” for the device. This is due to the presence on the media, it seems standard file autorun autorun.inf, which in some cases may be hidden (to see it, you need to set the display of hidden objects in the standard Explorer view menu).

If possible, it must be removed manually, but most often it is protected from such procedures. Here it should be used again command line.

Removing components from the command line

So, the system reports that the volume’s file system is not recognized (the flash drive is detected in the system). For example, let’s assume that the flash drive volume label has the letter Z. To delete the desired file, write the following commands sequentially, after each of them press the Enter key:

  • cd F:/;
  • attrib -a -s -h -r autorun.inf;
  • del autorun.inf.

Only in this case is it guaranteed complete removal of this object, since even actions in Explorer due to its close integration with Windows viruses may set some restrictions, and the command line works using the principles of DOS systems.

Fixing the file system by formatting

Now another example, when an SD card is inserted into the card reader (the file system of the volume is not recognized, but the system “sees” the device, even if it does not display formatting messages).

In principle, you can look at its format in the section, but why do this if the only problem is that information cannot be written to it? The easiest way is to format it.

Many users mistakenly believe that the most simple option is a quick clearing of the table of contents. Absolutely false! Even if you install something from the drop-down list for your preferred system (FAT32 NTFS, etc.), there is no guarantee that it will be possible to work with it. Therefore, it is better to perform a full formatting. This will take more time, but after that the user will receive a clean drive, as they say, from scratch. And there will definitely be no problems with him. But this method is applicable only if the device does not have important information which cannot be destroyed.

Is it possible to recover information on a damaged device?

For many, the issue of information recovery is a clear criterion in favor of choosing special utilities that are capable of not only restoring boot sectors and recordings on devices of any type, but also to retrieve information that was previously present on them, which for some reason became inaccessible.

It is possible to recover data. But such advertised programs as Recuva, when the same removable media not visible in the system, useless. This is where professional utilities come to the rescue. Next we will look at two of them: the TestDisk application and the unique R.Saver program (both utilities are portable).

Recovery using the TestDisk utility

Now let’s look at the situation when the file system of the volume is not recognized (the flash drive is not visible even in Explorer, although we’ll immediately say that the solution below can be used for removable memory cards of any standard.

The program is free and does not require installation. True, many may be upset by the lack of a Russian-language interface and operation in DOS mode. But the utility is very powerful, because it is capable of first restoring the file system, and then the necessary information.

We launch the utility, in the window that appears, select the Create item. Next, a list of all available disks will appear, including a flash drive invisible to the system. As a rule, in the list it is designated as Disk /dev/sdc with an indication of the capacity (in addition, there may be a description like Generic-Multi-Card). If there is no description, you can determine that this is the flash drive you are looking for simply by its size or disk letter.

Next, we activate the analysis process (Proceed), after which we select Intel Partition in the partition table. Next, go to the extended file system (Advanced item), press the enter key, and then at the bottom of the window use the recovery command (Undelete). We wait for the scanning process to complete, and then red lines appear in the window, corresponding to all deleted files. Don’t be surprised that even those files that you don’t remember about at all can be found here (the program finds them with ease).

Now use the arrows to move through the list, select the desired object and press the C key to restore. Next, select the directory in which the files will be saved and press “Enter.” After selecting the folder, press C again. Once the recovery is complete, you will be notified that the copy is ready.

Universal program R.Saver

Finally, there is one more utility that can be used if the file system is not recognized (the flash drive is visible or not visible in the system - it doesn’t matter). It is best suited for recovering sectors and data on SD cards.

After starting the application, select the flash drive and start the scanning process (we agree with sector-by-sector scanning). Next, the procedure for restoring sectors (file system reconstruction) and the information contained in them begins (this may take quite a long time).

In the list of detected objects, select the ones you need, indicate the destination folder on the hard drive and confirm the selection with the appropriate button. Once completed, you can work with the flash drive without problems.

Instead of an afterword

As you can see, in some cases, troubleshooting processes can be quite labor-intensive (this applies to simultaneously restoring the file system of the drive and the data on it). However, if such procedures are not required, a flash drive or removable memory card can be used quite simply. Which method do you prefer? This is something everyone decides for themselves, based on the current situation.

Good afternoon!

In the life of any USB flash drive (and microSD too) unexpected moments happen: sometimes it stops opening and asks for formatting. A formatting windows cannot be completed for unknown reasons (example in Fig. 1 below)...

Many users, in this case, put up with it and buy new flash drive. Meanwhile, I’ll tell you, there are several recovery options that I recommend doing before sending the flash drive for scrap (in many cases, it’s possible to bring the drive back to life and it works like new). I’ll tell you about them in this article.

Rice. 1. Typical type of error "Windows cannot complete formatting."

The flash drive is not formatted: reasons, recovery methods

Is write protection enabled - "Lock"

Perhaps I’ll say a trivial point, but on SD flash drives there is a special lever that blocks the writing of information to the flash card (as well as deletion and formatting). Check if it is in position Lock(means blocked).

On USB flash drives, such a lever is much less common (and usually on flash drives from little-known Chinese manufacturers). Pay attention to the icon itself: if the lever is in the “locked” position, then the flash drive is locked from writing (see Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Enable/disable Lock on a flash drive

Are there any errors on the flash drive? Correcting them

In general, usually, if there are errors on a flash drive, Windows itself offers to check and fix them. If it doesn’t, I recommend running the check manually, just in case...

Method 1

  1. Open File Explorer and go to "This computer" ("My computer") ;
  2. Next, connect the flash drive (wait until it appears in "This computer" );
  3. Right-click on it and context menu select "Properties".

Wait until the check is completed, and then try working with the flash drive...

Method 2

You can run a scan of a disk or flash drive using the command line (it is advisable to open it with administrator rights).

To do this, press the button combination Ctrl+Shift+ESC- must open Task Manager . In it, click FILE/Create task . To line "Open" enter CMD and check the box next to the item "Create a task with administrator rights" . Click OK- see fig. 5.

Rice. 5. Run Command Prompt with Administrator Rights

At the command prompt, enter the command:

chkdsk e: /f

Where e:- drive letter of the flash drive (enter your flash drive letter);

/f - key (do not change!).

Rice. 6. Check the drive // ​​chkdsk

Formatting a flash drive through disk management

It happens that through My computer The flash drive is not formatted, but through disk management - everything is OK (apparently it’s a matter of hidden processes that can interact with the flash drive). So I recommend trying this method too.

To open Disk Management: Click the buttons WIN+R and enter the command on the line "Open": diskmgmt.msc(as in Fig. 7).

Next in the list, find your flash drive, click on it right mouse button and select from the menu "Format" (arrows 3 and 4 in Fig. 7). Then all you have to do is choose volume label , file system and agree to the operation.

Important! All data on the flash drive will be deleted after formatting...

Rice. 7. How to format a flash drive using disk management

Formatting a flash drive using special. utilities

If Windows cannot format, then you can try to do it using special. utilities In general, there are quite a lot of similar utilities and it is impossible to consider them all in one article. I will focus only on the best of them.

4.1) For USB flash drive

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is an excellent utility for formatting flash drives and creating bootable media. The utility can format flash drives into the following file systems: NTFS, FAT, FAT32. Supports work through USB port 2.0. No installation required. Compatible with Windows XP, 7, 8, 10.

In many cases of “invisibility” of flash drives, their incorrect operation, impossibility of porting - this utility copes with its job. I recommend!

Rice. 8. Formatting media in HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

4.2) For SD flash drive/card

This program formats all SD cards, SDHC and SDXC. The program is free and works in almost all Windows versions. In general, I don’t know what else can be added about it - if you have problems with SD cards, I recommend using it. By the way, the developers recommend using the utility to format not only failed drives, but also those that are working normally. This is done in order to avoid various compatibility problems...

To start formatting, run the utility, then select the disk (in the example in Fig. 9, this is M:), then click Option and where Format Type- we put Full (Erase), And where Format Size Adjustment - we put On. Next, click the button Format.

Rice. 9. SDFormatter main window

4.3) Universal utility

This utility is used to format problematic hard drives, flash drives, SD cards - in general, it supports almost all types of drives connected to a computer.

To start formatting in it, you need (see Fig. 10):

  1. Insert the flash drive and run the utility: then select it in the list of drives;
  2. Press the button Continue;
  3. Next open the section Low-Level Format(low-level formatting);
  4. Press the button Format this device(then wait until the operation is completed).

Important! After low-level formatting - you will need to format high level, as was shown just above in the article -.

As a rule, after such low-level formatting, the drive begins to operate in normal mode (if it is not physically damaged).

Determining the controller model and flashing the flash drive

If all other methods do not help, then most likely you will have to try to reflash the flash drive. This must be done carefully, because if you choose the wrong firmware, you will ruin the flash drive and then it will no longer be restored...

Instructions for flashing

Since this topic is quite extensive, I have separated it into a separate article to consider all the nuances. The general meaning is as follows:

  • first, the flash drive controller is determined by the unique identifiers VID and PID;
  • further found by these identifiers special utility for flashing;
  • and only then the flash drive is flashed.

As a rule, after such a procedure, even those flash drives that many have given up on begin to work...

Lastly. I accidentally dropped one of my flash drives on the floor. Everything would be fine, but after that it stopped displaying. After disassembling it, I found that several contacts had come loose and needed to be re-soldered. By the way, in most cases, it is the contacts that come off, the microcircuit itself remains intact (unless a hammer or brick falls on the flash drive).

After resoldering, the flash drive began to work as normal, and not even a single file was lost! This method, however, is only suitable for those who know a little soldering (well, if the flash drive does not have very necessary data, otherwise, it is better to give it to a service center).

By the way, you can open a flash drive using a knife and a screwdriver. Some models have a non-demountable body - therefore, its further use will not be very convenient (although you can put it on a shelf and use it, say, for “rare” tasks...).

That's all for me, good luck!

Flash drive recovery is possible in almost all cases. The recovery methods listed below are intended to eliminate software failures; if the flash drive is sunk, broken, or melted, then software methods Data recovery will not help. Therefore, at the very beginning it is necessary to determine the type of failure. To do this, insert the drive into the USB connector and look at the indicator or at the list of connected devices in the “My Computer” section:

  1. If the device appears, but the files are not visible or inaccessible, then there is a malfunction that is often resolved using special programs and you can proceed to selection;
  2. The light has gone out and will not start (or the device not displayed) — there is a physical breakdown;
  3. Flash drive appears as a 0 MB disk. Not the most popular type of malfunction, but if this is what you have, then feel free to skip the main part - a quick solution to this problem is described at the end of the article.

Selection of a special program

There are a number free programs, through which you can bring the flash drive back to life. For selection the right program you need to first determine the VIP and PID.

Determining VID and PID

VID and PID are identifiers that determine the type of controller installed in the flash drive. Using these identifiers, software for working with the device is selected. Programs are developed under different types controllers.

To determine VID and PID you need to:

Program selection

You should use the obtained information about controller identifiers to find the best compatible program. For this:


The service will automatically find compatible software for working with a flash drive. You need to select an entry with the same manufacturer as your flash drive and click on the link. If the link does not work, you can enter the name of the program in the search bar of your browser and download it through the developer’s website.

In some cases, searching by VID and PID does not bring results. The website does not display software compatible with the controller. Then you need to select a program to work with the flash drive manually. Some of them are universal, suitable for restoring most cards. About these programs will do speech below.

Recovery using built-in Windows utilities

CHKDSK utility

The utility is suitable for most simple cases, when there is a file system data failure without disrupting the cluster layout. When trying to display existing files when there are bad sectors, the computer will often simply hang, so there is no need to try to open the device. Instead, let's use the command line by doing the following:

  1. Look at what letter the system identifies the drive under (in our case, G).
  2. Launch Command Prompt. To do this, press the Win and R keys or use the “Start” button to open the “Run” window, write the line cmd in the input field, and click Ok.
  3. In the command prompt window, enter G: /f (under the letter G, in our case, the system identifies the flash drive).

This will start the program CHKDSK checks for file system errors, the /f key will command it to automatically correct the problems found. Upon completion of the utility, you will most likely successfully restore the flash drive without losing data.

Windows DiskPart utility

The Diskpart utility is launched via the command line. You can launch the command line by searching in the Start menu. To restore the flash drive you will need the following commands:

To work with the utility, you will need administrator rights on your computer. It should also be run as an administrator. IN otherwise, some commands may not work.

Other recovery programs

Fortunately for owners, restoring data and performance of flash drives is much easier than for hard drives or microSD drives. Below are several effective programs that will make a “dead” flash drive work.

SDformatter

What it can do:

  • Format devices if the system fails;
  • Restoring functionality due to software, virus damage or improper cleaning in the past;
  • Flexible settings for working with a flash drive.

Suitable for Windows and MacOS. Disadvantage: there is only an English interface. Not compatible with all types of removable storage devices.

PC Inspector Smart Recovery

The program is suitable for working with any storage media, including hard drives and removable cards. PC Inspector Smart Recovery is distributed free of charge, you can download it. There is a Russian interface.

PC Inspector Smart Recovery can recover files of most existing extensions, including rare ones. The program itself has a convenient hint system, which is aimed at helping users during recovery. The software even recovers data for which header lines have been deleted. The program can clean and format data on storage media in various ways. The user is offered flexible parameter settings and extensive functionality.

RecoverRx

The program was developed by the manufacturer of removable Transcend drives. It is free, there is a Russian language. You can download it. Designed specifically for working with removable devices, including players, phones, microcards, SD and flash drives.

RecoverRx can:

  • Recovers data. Helps to return deleted files most formats: text, audio, video, applications.
  • Formats. Safely clears the disk of all data without affecting its performance.
  • Protects. With RecoveRx you can set a password for the device memory. Deleting data will only work if you enter this combination. The function is only compatible with Windows OS.

The program is simple and easy to use. The main window offers a list of all connected devices. The user needs to select a flash drive and the function he wants to use.

The system detects a USB drive as a disk size of 0 bytes

If the system detects a flash drive with a size of 0 bytes, the file system fails with a violation of the cluster layout. If you want to restore data, then it is better to use the instructions above, but if you need to return the flash drive to working capacity, then it is much simpler and quick way without use additional programs- formatting.

For this:

Why do crashes occur?

Problems with flash cards arise for various reasons:

  • The wrong file system was selected when formatting;
  • The flash drive was cleaned incorrectly, the operation was interrupted before formatting was completed;
  • The device was repeatedly forcibly disconnected from the computer while it was working, without software removal;
  • The device memory is infected with a virus;
  • The memory has been overwritten many times without formatting, and the sectors are damaged.

Serious memory problems with flash drives are rare. Common problems include incorrect formatting and virus infections. If you overwrite information in the card's memory, it is recommended to format it.

Careless, careless handling can lead to damage to even the most durable device. Cards do not have moving elements, as in HDD drives, but they are also prone to malfunctions. You can avoid many problems with flash drives if you store them in dark, dry places, carefully remove them from the computer, and continue formatting and processing files so as not to cause a critical error.

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Are very popular and convenient means for storing and transferring information between computers. They are very reliable, can be rewritten many times, and are practically not affected by external factors such as a magnetic field, the sun, and in many cases even moisture. However, the USB storage device may experience problems from time to time. One of the most famous is that when the computer is connected, the computer starts writing that the disk requires formatting, and the flash drive itself does not want to open. When viewing the properties of the drive, its capacity is displayed as 0 bytes, and the file system is RAW.

There are several ways to open a flash drive without formatting.

What to do in this case? Okay, if you don’t store important data on it, you can simply format it and continue to use it safely. Well, what if you can’t delete the information? Is there a way out?

Fortunately, in most cases the flash drive is damaged only at the software level, while the physical data continues to be recorded. A failure can occur for various reasons, most often due to the action of viruses, and also when the work was completed incorrectly during a recording or reading session, for example, you pulled out the flash drive from its socket or the power supply was turned off.

There are several ways to regain access. We will go over with you the working methods and methods that will help you recover files on your portable drive. All you need to do is follow the instructions carefully.

The fastest, easiest and least painless way to regain access to files on a flash drive. To do this, you don’t even need to download additional software, since all operations will be performed using the command line Windows strings. So, you connect the media to the USB connector, and instead of your files opening, you see a sign asking you to format the flash drive.

  1. Click "No" if you really don't want to lose the recorded data.
  2. Run Command Prompt as Administrator. To do this, click the Start button, enter cmd in the search bar, right-click on the utility in the search results and select “Run as administrator.” On Windows 10, you can select the corresponding item by right-clicking on the Start button.
  3. After the jumping cursor is displayed after the system folder address and user name, type the command chkdsk x: /f, where instead of x, enter the letter under which your flash drive is displayed in the system. Check this information in your file explorer. To confirm and launch, click Enter.
  4. Wait a couple of minutes while the utility does its job. The total time will depend on the size and class of the flash drive, as well as the number of files.

If everything goes well, you will soon be able to view the contents of your portable drive. Just in case, copy the data to HDD computer and, by formatting the flash drive, get rid of the remaining problems.

It is worth noting that it is possible that a message in the form of “CHKDSK is not valid for RAW disks” may appear, which indicates the presence of more serious problems with your device.

Unfortunately, if such a development occurs, the flash drive will need to be formatted, but if it stores data whose safety is a priority, then you can try to restore it, which will be discussed a little later.

Virus check

A very common and fairly common reason that the system does not display the contents of the flash drive and asks you to format it may be that it is infected with viruses. For example, the so-called autorun virus turns all folders and files into shortcuts, hiding them, and some other viruses generally begin to require formatting the media and do not display its contents. Therefore, if checking the disk for errors did not lead to changes, perform a virus scan.

To do this you will need a regular antivirus or a portable one antivirus scanner. Any antivirus has the ability to scan the system down to a separate folder. In the settings you need to indicate your USB drive that requires formatting and wait until the procedure is completed. If you use free antivirus and it missed the threat, download one of the free portable scanners. By the way, detailed review We have already written about them on our website in this article. Check out its contents. In addition, regularly monitor the security of your system so that you do not suffer from emerging problems.

Data recovery

Although in most cases the first two methods work flawlessly, let's imagine a situation where they did not help. In this case, you can try data recovery using software specially written for this purpose. There are a huge number of such utilities. Let's consider the two most best programs: TestDisk and R-Studio. They are simple and not at all difficult to understand. At the end, don’t be lazy to clean it up, because a formatted drive no longer contains damaged sectors. How to open a flash drive using each of the utilities?

TestDisk

  1. Download the program from the official website of the developers - https://www.cgsecurity.org.
  2. Insert the USB flash drive into your computer; when prompted to format, reject it.
  3. Create a folder on your hard drive where the recovered files will be copied, and unpack the downloaded program into it.
  4. Launch the recovery application by double-clicking the photorec_win.exe file.
  5. Use the arrow to select required disk, press Enter.
  6. Select your flash drive's partition table type, again using the arrows to navigate through the list. Press Enter to confirm.
  7. Next, select the partition to restore. You will need Whole Disk. Move the pointer using the arrows and press Enter.
  8. Select the file system type by checking Other, which will imply FAT
  9. Select the folder where the recovered files will be copied. By default, the procedure you created at the very beginning is selected.
  10. Click Y to start the process.
  11. At the very end, go to the folder and view all the files that were recovered.

R-Studio

  1. Download the utility from the official website and install it on your computer.
  2. Open the main menu of the program, find your flash drive in the list of directories. It usually appears at the very bottom of the list.
  3. Click the "Scan" button at the top of the screen, confirm the operation in the next window that opens.
  4. Select the files you want to recover and click the "Recover" button.
  5. Wait until it finishes and go to the folder where the recovered information is stored.

Low-level formatting

Quite a lengthy procedure that cannot be described in a few words. For this purpose, we have prepared a separate article dedicated to low-level formatting. In it we described the full cycle of actions, and also included links to all the necessary utilities. You will succeed if you carefully read the material provided.

Conclusion

We hope that we helped you solve the problem in which the contents of the flash drive cannot be opened, and the system says that it needs to be formatted. In the comments, we ask you to tell us whether the article helped you.

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