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USB drive crashes Windows Explorer

july_cc -  
fabul Posted messages 42100 Registration date   Status Modérateur Last intervention   -

Hello,

When I plug in my USB drive, Windows Explorer crashes so much that it's impossible to open the drive and access its content. When I open the task manager, the computer crashes in turn, the taskbar disappears, and the screen goes black...

I don't have much knowledge in computer science, and this drive contains a very large number of files that are very important for me to recover.

I hope that someone on this forum can help me!

Thank you.

july_cc

4 réponses

Réponse 1 / 4
madmyke Posted messages 52304 Registration date   Status Modérateur Last intervention   12 483
 

Hello

Your USB drive seems to be defective and there might be no way to recover the content. USB drives are much more fragile than people think.
I recommend first testing your drive on another computer. If the other one doesn’t crash, back up your files somewhere else right away. If it crashes too, that’s a very bad sign.

In any case, remember this well: in computing, important files should never be kept on a single medium. Always double them on at least two different media (hard drive, USB drives, cloud), ideally synced daily.

In computing, a file with only one copy is a file already lost.

Best regards
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Réponse 2 / 4
july_cc
 

Good evening,

Thank you for your response, even if it is not very encouraging. The same thing is happening on 2 other PCs. I have a backup, but it is a year old. In the meantime, I have saved a lot of files on this flash drive.

Is there really nothing that can be done to recover the files?
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fabul Posted messages 42100 Registration date   Status Modérateur Last intervention   6 035
 

Hello,

The error is hardware-related, the USB controller chip <> Memory

I don't know if a professional could change the controller, but it would cost a fortune (if it could even be done, if the drive could be disassembled).

Plus, it wouldn't be easy to find the right controller on a "donor" drive.

So I think you can also say goodbye to the data.

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Réponse 3 / 4
july_cc
 

Well, thanks for the answers. I just have to mourn then... and back up my data more often. It's a lesson learned!
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Réponse 4 / 4
fabul Posted messages 42100 Registration date   Status Modérateur Last intervention   6 035
 

There is no more reliable storage (for now) than a quality mechanical hard drive handled with great care.

Often (unless subjected to a shock) it gives a warning before it fails, unlike flash memory and associated technologies.

A M-Disc can last 1000 years (they say) if well protected and handled with caution.

But you need the burner for that.

However, a backup is always recommended; two hard drives are better than one.
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