Flash memory is very convenient due to its small size and large amount of information that fits on it. In order not to worry about the safety of data, the flash drive can be checked in advance for a malfunction.
Instructions
Step 1
To check the flash drive with the standard Windows tool, double-click on the "My Computer" icon and right-click on the flash memory icon. In the context menu, check the "Properties" item, go to the "Service" tab and click "Check". In the new window, check the boxes "Automatically fix system errors" and "Check and repair bad sectors". Click Start.
Step 2
You can check your flash drive using the Windows Command Prompt. Press Win + R and type cmd into the program launcher, then click OK. In the Command Prompt window, write "chkdsk m: / f / r". Replace m with the desired logical drive name. The chkdsk command with the f key searches for and fixes system errors on the disk, and with the r key marks bad sectors and restores their contents.
Step 3
If the flash drive is working properly, then the result of the check will be the message “Windows has checked the file system and found no problems. No further action is required. If problems are found, the team will ask for your confirmation on actions to fix them. Chkdsk does not damage information on the drive while checking and repairing damaged areas.
Step 4
You can check the USB flash drive using third-party programs. Download the archive of the free utility Check Flesh, unpack it and run it by double-clicking on the chkflsh.exe file. This program erases data during verification, so it is better to first move valuable information to another medium.
Step 5
In the command window, in the "Access type" section, set the "As physical device" option. In the "Disk" list, select the logical name of your flash drive. In the "Action" section, specify "Read stability", and in the "Duration" field, specify the number of flash drive verification cycles.
Step 6
Click "Start" to start testing. Go to the "Disk Map" tab to see the test result in the preview window. Healthy sectors will be marked in blue, damaged ones - in yellow and red. In the "Legend" tab, an explanation of the legend is offered. After the check is complete, all error messages are placed in the form of a text file in the "Log" tab.
Step 7
With this program you can save and load an image of a USB flash drive. The drive can be divided into logical partitions and perform the same operations on them as on the entire flash drive. To do this, in the "Actions" section, simply select the appropriate item.
