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How do I fix a corrupted USB Flash Drive?

Hi.

I have a Sandisk Cruzer Glide 256 GB flash drive using USB 3.0 and I've tried all of the methods trying to fix it.

Every time I connect it to my laptop it disconnects every 30 seconds or less and it freezes certain things.

Here are the methods that I used:

1. I used the Tools/Check function under Properties by literally right clicking the flash drive while it was plugged up and the Properties function only worked when the flash drive disconnected. I reconnected the flash drive and quickly went under the Tools tab and clicked on the Check button but the entire thing froze which lead to the flash drive disconnecting seconds later and the "the disk check could not be performed because Windows can't access the disk" menu box to pop up.

2. I tried the Device Manager method but once again that didn't work as once I uninstalled it and restarted my laptop, I connected my flash drive which lead to it disconnecting 30 seconds later again. Also the "scan for updates" feature doesn't work either.

3. Then I tried the Updating Windows method which didn't work as the flash drive still disconnected and can't be accessed.

4. The CHKDSK method doesn't work either as when I connected by flash drive and typed in the command nothing happened. The only thing it read was "Cannot open volume for direct access" which popped up after waiting for 2 hours with the flash drive somehow not disconnecting but couldn't be accessed.

5. The sfc /scannow method was the same as the CHKDSK method as nothing happened once again.

6. The diskpart method again was the same as the sfc and CHKDSK method.

7. Now we move onto the last method which was formatting. I didn't want to do it as I will lose all of my files but I had to try anything at this point and low and behold it didn't work as like the Properties function, you have to disconnect and reconnect the flash drive in order for the box to pop up.

Oh and I almost forgot I tried all of these methods on my other PCs but I only had the same results. What's strange is that all of my other Sandisk flash drives work but this one doesn't. Hopefully someone can help me so that I can fix my flash drive.

Hi Patrick. I'm Greg, here to help you with this.

It sounds like it might have failed, but let's make sure.

Please try all these steps for USB flash stick not detected:

Try all other USB ports. The ports on the opposite side usually use another USB controller.

Plug in the USB drive, go into Settings > Devices > Autoplay to find the device, in the drop down menu choose what you want it to do.

If it doesn't show up right click Start to open Disk Management, scroll down to find the drive by size and type, if indicated initialize or format it, or right click to assign a letter.

If that doesn't help then right click Start to open Device Manager, find the drive under USB or other device categories, right click to Uninstall Driver, restart PC to reinstall the driver.

Then right click all USB controller drivers to Uninstall, restart PC to reinstall them,

If it still doesn't show up, is it read in another PC? If so copy it's files into a folder on the desktop, test the flash stick with diagnostics here:
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/how-to-check-and-te...

If it passes diagnostics clean and then format the drive:
http://www.howtogeek.com/235824/how-to-clean-a-...

Finally run a DIsk Check: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/gu...

Only if it passes both tests would I trust it further.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. If you'll wait to rate whether my post helped you, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

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Retired 2023, thirteen year daily forums volunteer, Windows MVP 2010-2020

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Still nothing sadly. It just says USB device not recognized. All of the solutions you listed are also the ones that I've tried. The thing is that my flash drive still works as the blue light is still blinking but can't access it or fix it as it freezes the computer and disconnects every 30 seconds.

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If it's not detected in any other PC and you cannot run diagnostics or Disk Check (needs both to be sure), clean or reformat, even rescue the files from boot following https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

then I'm afraid the flash stick has failed, whether the blue light flashes or not.

If it's less than a year's time then contact the manufacturer's Support to get it replaced under warranty.
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Retired 2023, thirteen year daily forums volunteer, Windows MVP 2010-2020

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I believe that the flash drive failed even though it has been over a year since I bought it. It was working fine up until the first Windows 11 update in November of this year.

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Last updated April 23, 2025 Views 88,091 Applies to: