Coventry Data Recovery is the UK’s leading expert in professional flash storage data recovery. With 25 years of experience, we specialise in recovering inaccessible or deleted files from USB flash drives suffering from partition-level corruption. If your flash drive is no longer recognised, prompts to be formatted, or displays no data, a damaged MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table) may be the root cause.
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⚠️ Common Symptoms of MBR/GPT Corruption
- USB drive shows as RAW or unallocated in Disk Management
- Files and folders have disappeared
- Drive not accessible, with “You need to format the disk before you can use it” message
- Drive appears with incorrect capacity or no volume label
- No mountable partition detected in macOS or Linux systems
🛠 How We Recover Data from USB Flash Drives with MBR or GPT Corruption
Step 1: Write-Protected Imaging
We begin by performing a read-only forensic clone of the flash drive to preserve all original data, including deleted or fragmented sectors. Imaging prevents further damage and ensures data integrity during recovery. All recovery work is done from the cloned image.
Step 2: Partition Structure Analysis
Using advanced diagnostic tools (e.g., PC-3000 Flash, UFS Explorer, or R-Studio), we inspect the MBR or GPT headers and partition entries. Typical issues include:
- Invalid or missing partition tables
- Damaged sector 0 (MBR) or corrupted GPT header/backup
- Incorrect logical block address mappings
We manually inspect hex-level offsets and sector signatures to locate lost partitions and identify the original layout.
Step 3: Partition Table Reconstruction
When corruption is confirmed, we rebuild the MBR or GPT using:
- Known offset and size references from backup sectors or filesystem structures
- Comparison with common USB flash drive partitioning schemes (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS)
- Cross-referencing file signature positions (e.g., JPEG, MP4 headers)
In many cases, we can restore partition access without modifying the original drive.
Step 4: File System Repair or Reconstruction
After partition recovery, we analyse the filesystem (typically FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS). If directory structures or allocation tables are damaged, we perform:
- Logical reconstruction of folder trees
- Metadata repair and file re-indexing
- Header/footer-based carving of individual files where metadata is unrecoverable
We ensure filenames, timestamps, and folder paths are preserved wherever possible.
Step 5: Secure File Extraction
Recovered data is extracted onto a new healthy medium (e.g., external USB or drive) and verified for usability. A directory listing is provided before delivery for client approval.
💾 Supported Flash Drive Formats and Issues
Brands We Recover:
- SanDisk, Kingston, Corsair, PNY, Verbatim, Toshiba, Samsung, Transcend, Integral, ADATA, Lexar, and more.
Interfaces Supported:
- USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB-C, OTG-enabled flash drives
File Systems:
- FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, EXT2/3/4
Typical Flash Drive Failures:
- Partition Table Corruption (MBR/GPT)
- Accidental Formatting or Deletion
- Bad Sectors / NAND Errors
- Firmware-level Controller Failures
- Drive Not Recognised or Incorrect Capacity
- Bitlocker or Encrypted Volume Failures
✅ Why Choose Coventry Data Recovery?
- 25 years of professional data recovery experience
- Advanced partition recovery expertise
- Specialist flash memory imaging equipment
- Forensic-grade procedures with zero data risk
- Free diagnostics and no recovery, no fee standard terms
📩 Start Your USB Flash Drive Recovery Today
If your flash drive is not being recognised due to MBR or GPT corruption, stop using it immediately to prevent data overwriting. Our expert team at Coventry Data Recovery can diagnose and recover your data safely and quickly.
Contact us now for your free diagnostics and take the first step towards full flash drive data restoration.