# Problems with corrupt files on USB memory stick



## garfield88 (Sep 8, 2009)

Hi,

I have a problem with my USB memory stick. I had two very important files there and somehow they have become corrupt with the message 'The file or directory is corrupted and unreadible.' I managed to replace most of the data with back ups I had, and by downloading Recuva software, however the two corrupt file folders will not let me delete them. How can I get these two file folders deleted? Please help?


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## BG-0 (Jan 1, 1970)

Right click on the drive in (My) Computer, choose Format... Set everything to default, un-tick the "quick/fast format" box, let it run, and the stick'll be empty.


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## tignarth (Sep 8, 2009)

That has a high probability of trashing the drive. If you drive is functioning perfectly fine and those directories or files don't take up to much space then I would just leave them alone.

If however they bother you go ahead and format. If they drive remains messed up it is likely dead although you can try one more thing.

Recovering Broken, Unformattable, and Ghost USB Flash Drives

The tool in this blog formats through the controller unit and is capable of repairing the most lost flash drives. If all else fails try this out.

-Nick


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## vicks (Jan 31, 2005)

Have you tried to run your antivirus/and or antispyware program on it.
Vicks


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## Compiler (Oct 11, 2006)

Age and use of the stick?

Don't expect Flash drives to last forever.... the cheaper ones ($8 for 4GB) are nothing but trouble. I've seen those things die with 3-10times of use.

So I'll stick with my $20 USB sticks... that have survived both wash and dry cycles  2-3 times


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## tignarth (Sep 8, 2009)

Compiler said:


> Don't expect Flash drives to last forever.... the cheaper ones ($8 for 4GB) are nothing but trouble. I've seen those things die with 3-10times of use.
> 
> So I'll stick with my $20 USB sticks... that have survived both wash and dry cycles  2-3 times


Compiler is absolutely correct in this case. All the cheaper flash drives are guaranteed to have a short lifespan. You should spend a little bit more on a nice flash drive this way you won't have to keep going back to purchase more drives.

If you happen to open that drive up, if it is a cheap one, you will probably see an unserialized NAND chip and a chipsbank controller. These are the worst products out of China.

Good luck

-nick


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