Repairing a USB stick - this is how it works

If problems occur when using a USB stick, they can often be solved by repairing the stick. If you are using a computer with Windows as operating system, this is possible with the help of the available on-board tools. We show you here how to proceed correctly.

How to repair USB flash drive with on-board tools

If your USB flash drive stops working properly, it may be due to the USB flash drive itself or the computer it is connected to. To make sure that the problem really lies with the USB stick, connect it to another device as a test. If the problem exists there as well, you can try to repair the USB stick to fix the problem. If you have a Windows PC, you do not need any additional software for this, but can use the on-board tools.

1. To start the repair, first plug the USB stick into a free USB port on your computer.
2. Then open Windows Explorer and right-click on the name of the USB stick to open the context menu.
3. In the context menu, please select the "Properties" option and navigate to "Tools" > "Error Check" in the window that opens.
4. There, first click "Check" and then click "Scan and Repair Drive" to make Windows fix all the errors on the USB stick.

Repair USB Stick: These other options are available

If you could not fix the problems with the USB stick through Windows repair, there is probably a serious defect. If this is the case, you have the option to save the stick by formatting it. However, since formatting loses all data on the USB device, it is recommended to try to recover the stick beforehand using a suitable tool, such as Recuva.