Member Avatar for pwolf

Hello all, I have important files on my flash drive, and now i have discovered it is broken. I dont know what has caused it, and on none of the machines i've tested, did it show up at all. I'm guessing this means that the usb part of the device isnt connected to the chip of the device? I really need urgent help, i have a deadline of tomorrow for this stuff..

Thanks in advance

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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A short, practical recovery plan for (given the urgent deadline) and a comment on ’s suggestion.

Immediate priorities — stop trying random plugs and do not let the OS initialize, format, or repair the device. Repeated plug/unplug or letting Windows “fix” a drive can make recovery harder. Try the drive only on another machine with a direct USB port (no hub) and only long enough to check whether the OS even sees any hardware activity (LED, sound, Device Manager/Disk Management). (support-in.sandisk.com)

If any machine shows the stick in Device Manager / Disk Management or Linux shows it in lsusb / dmesg / lsblk, make a bit-for-bit image and work from that image — do not attempt file repairs on the original. On Linux a safe, standard approach is GNU ddrescue; example (replace /dev/sdX):

sudo dmesg | tail -n 30
lsusb
lsblk

sudo ddrescue -v /dev/sdX ~/usb-image.img ~/usb-image.map

Create the image first, then run recovery tools (TestDisk / PhotoRec or commercial recovery) against the image. This preserves the original and maximizes chances of success. (support.microsoft.com)

If the drive is completely invisible (nothing in Device Manager, lsusb, or dmesg) it’s most likely a hardware/controller or broken-solder problem. As noted, a physical repair (opening and resoldering) can sometimes fix a loose connector — but that is delicate and can permanently destroy data if done incorrectly. For critical files or no device enumeration, contact a reputable data‑recovery lab (chip‑off/component‑level work is specialized and can be destructive if mishandled). If the deadline allows, get an emergency quote from a lab; otherwise imaging (if the OS sees the device at all) is the fastest salvage step. (gillware.com)

Member Avatar for caperjack

I'm guessing this means that the usb part of the device isnt connected to the chip of the device?

if this is so then you would need to break apart the device and see if you can solder broken connection if there is one

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