How to Recover Formatted Data from Pen Drive Using CMD?

  Tej Pratap Shukla
Written By Tej Pratap Shukla
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh  
Modified On December 9th, 2025
Reading Time 11 Minutes Reading

Most of the users try to recover formatted data from Pen drive using CMD. Just because it’s a free way to retrieve data from a formatted USB drive, however, users must be familiar with the technical knowledge to be able to restore their data with a command prompt. Because if the user lacks the right technical knowledge and instructions, the likelihood of errors that can lead to permanent loss of your data increases.

Can we recover deleted data from pen drive? So, in order to get rid of this situation, we will suggest two methods to recover data from formatted pen drive using CMD. Before starting the article, we will discuss user queries that most users face in their lives.

Table of Contents Hide

Users Queries

“Hello, all. I need help regarding my formatted pen drive. Yesterday, when I connected my pen drive to my computer, I kept getting an error message that my pen drive has some issues and requires formatting. I became utterly frustrated and formatted the pen drive. After formatting, the pen drive error was gone, and so were all the files I saved there. Can anyone tell me how to recover files from formatted Pen using CMD? I am really devastated after this incident and looking for some effective solution.”

“Help! My brother accidentally formatted my pen drive, and now I have lost all the important files I kept there as a backup. As per my knowledge, I had tried to recover my formatted data from the pen drive using CMD. But it is not possible to retrieve data from a formatted USB drive. But one of my friends told me that nowadays, certain tools are available that can restore the removed files. Please suggest if it is possible to recover data from formatted pen drive using some applications. I will be forever grateful.”

We often use formatting as our last resort to fix different pen drive-related issues. But this fix does not come for free. While formatting does resolve certain pen drive errors/issues, it also wipes out all the files stored in the pen drive.

If you have suffered from a similar condition and are looking to restore formatted data from a pen drive, then you are in the right place. Here, we will provide flawless solutions.

Note:- How to recover data from FOUND.000 folder

Why USB/Pen Drive Data Gets Lost?

USB flash drives are the most portable and convenient, but they are also susceptible to corruption. Some of the common causes include:

  • File system corruption (NTFS/FAT32/ExFAT)
  • Improper ejection
  • BAD sectors
  • Virus infection
  • RAW drive issue
  • Power cut while transferring
  • Sudden removal of the USB

Properly understanding the cause will help you select the right recovery method.

Manual Way to Recover Formatted Data from Pen Drive Using CMD

Mainly, when users delete, hide, or format a storage device like an SSD or hard drive with data, the CMD (Command Prompt) command line will provide users a chance to search for lost data.

But users must be very careful while using the CMD command line to recover formatted files from flash drives using CMD. Just follow a few simple steps:

  1. Right-click on the Windows icon and choose “Search.”
    Write: command prompt and right-hit on Command Prompt, choose “Run as administrator.“.
  2. Click “Yes” to run Command Prompt as administrator
  3. Type: chkdsk F: /f in Command Prompt and click Enterrecover formatted data from pen drive
  4. Type: Y and click Enter to proceed
  5. Write: F and click Enter again

Write: F:\>attrib -h -r -s /s /d *.* and click Enter. (Replace F with the drive letter of the device where you lost data files.)

After following these steps, your lost data files will all be found and saved in a newly generated folder on the pen drive. Users can change the file extension back to a normal format and then make those found files reusable again.

Drawbacks of Command Prompt

There are several drawbacks to using command prompts and a few of them are mentioned below:

  • CMD basically scans the integrity of the file system and disk metadata. In case of any logical file system errors, it fixes them.
  • The CMD command is used to restore minor corruptions from your drive and is also used for checking the health of your disk. But it does not protect the complete recovery of formatted data from a pen drive.
  • It will be complicated for normal users. Because if users have made any mistake, they lose their data permanently.

Certain Manual Tricks are Available, but Will you Perform Those? 

If you have asked your family or friends or checked online, you must have come across some manual tricks that claim to recover formatted files from Flash Drive for free. Beware! These tricks will not get back your lost files. Rather than can do more harm to your pen drive and make it impossible for the automated applications to recover files from formatted Pen using CMD.

Therefore, all the readers are advised not to try the native techniques and choose the solution that actually works.

How to Recover USB Data When Drive Becomes RAW

Recovering the RAW USB data is not as difficult as you think we can do it by following the steps mentioned below:

If USB shows:

  • RAW
  • “You need to format disk before use”
  • “Volume does not contain a recognized file system”

Now what next?

Try This:

  1. Open CMD as admin
  2. Run:
  • Disk part
  • list volume
  • select volume X
  • detail volume

Automated Way to Recover Formatted Data from Pen Drive

If you are wondering how to recover formatted files from flash drive without manual tricks, here is the solution. You must have tried the automated SysTools Pen Drive Recovery Software to get back formatted data from USB smoothly.

Download Now Purchase Now

This tool can also recover permanently deleted data from USB flash drive. Firstly, download the application. It takes only a few steps to recover all the files you have lost due to pen drive formatting and now is the time to learn these steps:

How to Get Back Formatted Data from Flash Drive? Quick Steps

Step 1. Download and install the Pen Drive Data Recovery Tool.

Step 2. Select the pen drive disk and click on Formatted scan.download pen drive recovery tool

Step 3. The program will scan the entire pen drive and display all of its files

scan pen drive data file

Step 4. Select the files you wish to restore and then click on the Save button

recover data from formatted pen drive

Remember: If you have formatted the pen drive and want to retrieve the files, do not use the pen drive at all until you recover the file via the above-mentioned utility. Because if your files are overwritten, then recovery is impossible. Any usage after formatting will only decrease the chance to recover files from formatted Pen drive using CMD.

Why Choose Automated Solutions Over Manual Methods?

Due to these features, this utility is the top choice of users:

  1. Advanced Search option to filter data based on keyword or date
  2. Suitable to recover all file formats from formatted pen drive
  3. Restore formatted data from all leading pen drives brands of the world
  4. A free demo version of the utility is available for trial purpose
  5. Works with similar proficiency for permanently deleted and corrupted pen drive files
  6. No chance of data loss while processing with this program
  7. Support for pen drives with FAT, exFAT, and NTFS formatting

Safety Tips to Prevent USB Data Loss

You can avoid repeated issues by follow the suggested tips:

  • Do not remove USB during file transfer
  • Avoid using USB on infected systems
  • Always “Eject Safely”
  • Use high-quality USB flash drives
  • Create backup of important files
  • Replace old USB drives (3+ years old)

Conclusion

Data retrieval from formatted pen drives is a common query among the users, as they are seen asking how to recover formatted data from Pen drive using CMD. Earlier, there used to be a misconception that formatted data is not possible to recover using CMD, which is completely right. Formatted pen drive data can be recovered but for that, you have to take the help of USB Recovery Software. This Windows-based program will work on all pen drive brands and give accurate results without any data loss.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: How to recover data from a formatted pen drive?

Yes, you can recover with the help of the above-mentioned method. Users can recover their data from any formatted USB drive, including pen drives and flash drives. This is a 100% safe and secure process.

Q2: Which types of formatting are harder to recover?

  • Quick Format: Easier to recover because it only deletes file system structure, not the data itself.
  • Full Format: Harder to recover because it may overwrite the data, but recovery may still be possible.

Q3: How to prevent future data loss?

  • Always back up important data to an external drive or cloud storage.
  • Be careful when formatting or deleting files from storage devices.

Q4: How do I retrieve a file from a corrupted pen drive after formatting?

Yes, in many cases, data can be recovered even from a corrupted pen drive if it has not been overwritten. You can use a recovery tool that supports formatted or damaged USB drives.

Q5: Does the file system FAT32, NTFS, or exFAT affect recovery?

The file system affects how recovery works. FAT32 and NTFS have different structures, and recovery software scans them differently. Most tools support all major file systems.

Q6: How do you ensure a successful recovery process?

Avoid writing new data to the pen drive. Use a reliable USB/pen drive recovery tool and select the appropriate scanning mode (Quick Scan or Deep Scan).

Q7: How do I fix RAW USB without formatting?

Windows cannot fix RAW drives. You need a reliable recovery tool like SysTools Data Recovery Software.

Q8: What to do when my pen drive shows an NTFS format error?

You can use the convert or format command to fix the file system and then perform data recovery.