Lost Jumpdrive

[aspearin1]

I had a 2GB jumpdrive take a dive while still connected to my USB port. It suffered tremendously, along with 6 month's worth of data. Anyway I attempted to have the data recovered through one reputable company. They brought it through all of their R&D and were unable to recover any of my data. I was rather perplexed since they are able to recover data from fire damage and formerly deleted files. Can anyone give me some insight as to why a mechanically damaged piece makes all the data stored irrecoverable? The damage occured right at the base of the tab that inserts into the USB port. Can anyone recommend any other data recovery services?

Aaron A. Spearin
ASQ CSSBB

http://www.Engineering6ss.com

"The only constant in life is change." -Bruce Lee

 

[VEBill]

Can the mechanical damage to the connector be (temporarily) repaired? Something along the lines of taking it apart and tack-soldering on a suitable chopped length of USB cable to functionally replace the damaged connector. It's only four wires and if the chip itself is still working, then this sort of approach might work. The goal would be to extract the data and then toss it.

I presume that modern, cheap jumpdrives have a single 4-pin chip inside. Connect the dots correctly and neatly (appropriately for high speed data) and it has a good chance of working. The chip itself can typically withstand many times more stress than the PCB that holds it.

Disclaimer - not seeing the damage and also not knowing the circumstances, you'll have to assure yourself that this is your best option.

Standby for other opinions.

 

[IRstuff]

Your description of the time of failure doesn't jibe with the notion of "mechanical" damage.

Since it was working while plugged in and died while plugged in, the damage cannot possibly have been mechanical, since nothing was moving. Therefore, the damage had to have been electrical.

Most likely, your USB interface was toasted. The interface chip probably also contained the clocking and signals needed to drive the flash memory.

Hypothetically, if you spend enough time/money, you should be able to dupe the interface IC to drive the flash memory, but it would be unclear whether that would be successful, and/or whether it would be economical to do so.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[aspearin1]

Thanks to you both for the reply. IRStuff, you're explanation is beyond my comprehension... of course that's why I'm here. As far as the circumstances go for the damage, quite simply, I was working with the laptop with the jumpdrive plugged in. I briefly balanced it on the arm of the couch, and both took a fall. The "break" was not all the way through and I was still able to plug it in enough to get a signal to the LED. When I sent it out for recovery, the service said they had never worked on this model (SanDisk Cruzer), but they would try it out with their R&D Engineers. They did, what looks like to me, a stellar job of reconnecting and soldering, but they were unable to recover the data. When they returned the drive, I tested it out, and they got it to a level where the PC detects the drive, but no further folders are detectable, and no drive is mapped. To me, the chip seems intact. Is it unreasonable to think that it could be swapped for a chip into another similar unit?

Aaron A. Spearin
ASQ CSSBB

http://www.Engineering6ss.com

"The only constant in life is change." -Bruce Lee

 

[jimkirk]

Just a thought relating to VE1BLL's idea...if it seems electically intact now (your computer can see the drive), try plugging it in through an old USB1 hub. USB2 should adapt to the hardware and maybe the lower frequency operation will help and bad impedance matches.

 

[VEBill]

Maybe double-check their work to make sure they wired it up correctly.

Also, some manufacturers offer a data recovery service. Check the SanDisk website for such promises or offers.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Sounds like their "R&D" recovery services amount to tacking wires on. A true recovery service would be able to easily recover the data since the memory chip and USB comm chip are two separate entities. How badly do you want that data, as those real services don't come cheap? You could also purchase a comparable model and have a local tech company swap out the flash chips... that's what I would do (though I would likely do the soldering myself).


Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com