A USB drive that beeps, mounts and unmounts repeatedly, or shows the wrong size usually still has every file on it. The trick is reading it before Windows or macOS tries to 'fix' it, which can overwrite the file table. This guide covers the read-only access sequence and the scan approach for different failure symptoms.
Key Topics Covered
USB drive that beeps, disconnects, or remounts — what it means
Read-only disk imaging before any repair attempt
Different symptoms and what each indicates
File carving when the file table is unreadable
Write-protect hardware switches on some USB drives
Physical inspection for bent connectors or controller failure