Fixing USB flash drive?

[KLiKzg]

Hi,
posting here, as I have a problem. Not in IT, only a mech.eng., so programming is limited.

Have a CORSAIR Flash Voyager GT (I think it is) 16GB, old one v2.0 USB. After some 12+y of working, it forgot it is Voyager GT. Still gets recognized as Flash drive by Windows 10:

But it can't be read.

Did anyone tried or has some experience, how to find & program the chipset in order to save the data?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT:
Also listed data from USB about chipset, from one of the programs:

Description: [D:]USB Mass Storage Device(USB MEMORY BAR)
Device Type: Mass Storage Device

Protocal Version: USB 2.00
Current Speed: High Speed
Max Current: 100mA

USB Device ID: VID = 090C PID = 3000

Device Vendor: Silicon Motion,Inc.
Device Name: SM3252B MEMORY BAR
Device Revision: 0100

Product Model: USB MEMORY BAR
Product Revision: 1000

Controller Vendor: SMI
Controller Part-Number: SM3252B - ISP NONE Roger
Flash ID code: ECD755B6 - Samsung K9HCG08U1M - 2CE/Single Channel [MLC-4K] -> Total Capacity = 8GB

Tools on web: http://dl.mydigit.net/special/up/smi.html

& that is as far as i have gone.

 

[Harlow]

Unkind people might say you should possess several backup copies of the data on the USB stick, but we are where we are. No use crying over spilt milk.

Running various recovery tools available on line might effect a repair, but they could just make things worse. I'd advise against using these programs, unless the tool can be guaranteed to run in "read-only" mode, without writing anything back to the USB drive, or amending the file table, or "correcting" so-called bad blocks, etc.

If you simply must recover the files and you have "infinite" funds, I'd recommend using a professional recovery agency. It could cost hundreds of Euros with no absolute guarantee of recovery, but at least you would have made every effort.

You might be able to find a local recovery agency (it's been a long time since I visited Zagreb) but here's one I found where Iive.
https://www.datarecoveryspecialists.co.uk/services/usb-recovery

I have not used this company, nor do I work for them. But their range of services is an example of the complexities of data recovery from solid state devices, which may require disassembly, unsoldering memory chips, plugging into a chip reader, then extracting RAW data for analysis.

You cannot do this at home unless you have the relevant skills and equipment. Software tools won't fix hardware faults.

To quote from their web page:

"USB flash storage relies on a microcontroller, flash memory chips (NAND), USB interface and a crystal oscillator, all of which are prone to physical damage and logical corruption. While there are no moving parts in a flash drive, they degrade simply due to the amount of write operations. Similarly the USB connector can wear out over time and the PCB is prone to damage. Given the size of USB parts and multi-layered circuitry, data recovery can be a challenge.

Our advanced flash memory recovery processes, microscopic soldering, PC3K spider adapters and UDMA software, allow us to read individual USB memory chips in raw format and extract the data. A preliminary diagnostic check will determine the type of fault: physical or logical. The good news is that most damaged drives can be repaired or recovered with specialist tools and knowledge. Logical troubles are often attributed to software errors, malware attacks, power surges and media degradation. A successful recovery of all files will normally depend on a RAW recovery, followed by a rebuild of the specific data structures."


They claim a 91.3% success rate for data recovery from USB memory sticks. You might be one of the unlucky 8.7% where they fail.

The question is, how valuable is your data? Is it worth, for example, spending €300? (I've no idea of the actual cost).

Good luck.

 

[Frick]

Unkind people might say you should possess several backup copies of the data on the USB stick, but we are where we are. No use crying over spilt milk.

It's not unkind to point out how important backups are. I think most of us have learned that the hard way, to some extent.

Anyway yeah that kind of recovery service is the only way if it's truly important.

 

[Konomi]

Given the age of the drive in question, I'd say it isn't too surprising to be experiencing issues, especially if you've been filling the drive and erasing files very frequently. That being said, can you access it on another machine or in another OS?

 

[Waldorf]

try it on linux/macOS and see what it does, otherwise use something like Acronis TrueImage to make an image of the stick to hdd, then mount he image, so you can work with the image, not the stick,
and once you found something that is able to read of it, use it on the stick.

if you know what you are doing and can find identical stick in working condition, and swap the mem chips, i dont see a big chance of getting anything off the drive.

 

[R-T-B]

The question is, how valuable is your data? Is it worth, for example, spending €300? (I've no idea of the actual cost).

I'm betting more. When I attempted data recovery services from a dead nvme some years ago, they wanted thousands, not hundreds.

 

[Magdamage]

Try to use it on another operating system, this usb stick is compatible with Mac