A grammar school teacher contacted us after their SanDisk flash drive stopped working, with the following issues:
- The USB drive was detected but prompted “You need to format this drive before you can use it.”
- Files and folders were missing or appeared as gibberish.
- Attempts to run Windows’ built-in repair tools failed.
- The drive contained lesson plans, coursework, and student reports.
Since attempting to format or repair the USB drive could overwrite important data, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the SanDisk flash drive arrived at our cleanroom facility, we conducted a full NAND flash memory and file system diagnostic. Our findings:
- File system corruption (FAT32/exFAT/NTFS) – Preventing access to stored files.
- Partition table damage – Making the drive appear as RAW or unformatted.
- No physical damage detected – Meaning a logical recovery approach was viable.
Since file system corruption can make data appear lost, we prioritized forensic partition reconstruction and deep sector scanning.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging the Flash Drive to Prevent Further Data Loss
To preserve existing data, we:
- Created a forensic sector-by-sector clone of the SanDisk flash drive.
- Used write-blocking technology to prevent accidental overwrites.
2. Repairing the File System & Partition Table
Since the file system was partially corrupted, we:
- Rebuilt the FAT32/exFAT structure to restore lost partitions.
- Recovered missing directory structures and file paths.
3. Extracting & Verifying School Teaching Files
Once data extraction was complete, we:
- Recovered lesson plans, student coursework, and teacher’s notes.
- Checked recovered Word, PDF, and PowerPoint files for accuracy.
- Transferred the fully restored data to a secure external storage device.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our file system repair and deep sector-level data extraction techniques, we successfully recovered 100% of the teacher’s lost files, including:
✅ Lesson plans, worksheets, and teaching materials
✅ Student reports, coursework, and exam results
✅ PowerPoint presentations and digital learning resources
The teacher was able to continue lesson planning and coursework grading without losing important files, preventing disruption to students’ learning.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful recoveries, we are the leading USB flash drive data recovery specialists in Cambridge and the UK. Our expertise includes:
✔ File system corruption repair & USB partition reconstruction
✔ FAT32/exFAT file recovery & missing file restoration
✔ Secure & confidential data recovery for teachers & schools
✔ NAND flash memory deep scanning & forensic data retrieval
If your USB drive is asking to be formatted, showing missing files, or preventing access to critical teaching files, stop using it immediately and contact us for expert USB data recovery.