Devices · flash drives & memory sticks
No one would intentionally store something critical on a flash drive, and yet, it continually occurs: the only copy of your accounts, a temporary backup now in its third year. Break the plug off, or lose the controller, and the flash inside will generally come through both. This chip is where our work starts, with a steady stream of these sticks posted in from Maidenhead.
Describe the fault to an engineer
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| The symptom | The likely cause | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Code 43 — Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) | There's no answer from the stick, as its controller has stopped | Do not plug it into other ports |
| USB device not recognized | The enumeration will never complete for the stick | Connect it to another port and then completely stop using it |
| You need to format the disk in drive X: | A damaged file system over intact data | Never accept the format option when you receive that prompt |
| Please insert a disk into removable disk — reads 0 bytes | The controller can't find the location of its own flash | Chip level bench work |
| File or directory is corrupted and unreadable — error 0x80070570 | The FAT or exFAT file system structures are damaged | It is repairable; do not add anything else to this device |
| Windows was unable to complete the format | Beyond fixing: the controller is dead | Luckily, the format did not go through |
Nothing is chargeable until you say yes. Every item gets a case number of its own immediately upon receipt, an engineer determines what has failed, and you get a clear picture of which files have a real possibility of being recovered. The single quote that follows is fixed, written down and does not cost anything.
On older sticks the memory module can be lifted off and read separately. There is no such option on a monolithic stick; the flash and controller are moulded into a single piece, so the only way in is through test pads measured in tenths of a mm.
In addition to relocating blocks based on usage patterns (wear levelling), blocks are distributed across planes for increased throughput and then they are scrambled when sent outward. Each of these layers is reversed via software until there are once again files with names and dates associated with them.
A list of everything recovered will be sent to you for verification/authorisation before you incur any charges. What returns will arrive on brand new media.
You don't get charged anything until you've confirmed and authorised that everything is fine after seeing the entire list of what was recovered. Any recovered items are returned via brand-new storage media and the postage costs for these are covered by us. We do not consider a project complete here until we receive confirmation that you have been able to successfully access and review every item you received back.
An honest word on the odds: there are no reliable public failure rates for consumer flash. Nobody has large fleets of memory sticks and publishes their results like drive manufacturers do. Our own intake shows more narrow but consistent results than that: most physical damage arrives as broken connectors. And most of the sticks that die without notice are either unbranded or were given away free.
The tax return was due by the deadline. The stick that had carried seven years of invoices plus records for CIS had been stood on in a site office until its connector came off. As monolithic construction left only test pads as possible entry points, this is where the controller pinout was mapped first. All files were filed on time.
Probably not. Signal only travels down the plug. What you need resides in the memory package (chip) located further along on the board. As long as neither that chip nor the moulded plastic piece it's mounted onto has broken, a stick that has separated into two parts will probably still read.
No. The controller has just gone quiet, not the flash behind it. Once the flash memory is read directly, anything about your controller can be ignored.
Companies sell low-grade flash with matching controllers. Some even lie when they advertise how much space their sticks have available. Low-quality flash memory can claim it has an enormous amount of storage room but performs perfectly until writing goes past its true limit. That would be fine if all you needed was to carry a film around. We wouldn’t trust it enough to be your only copy.
Only in one case: a memory die that broke right down the middle. Broken controllers, boards ripped apart, and corrupted translation tables are pretty common occurrences for us every day at the bench.
Every additional power-up asks for even more of a drive that is already starting to fail. First open a case with us, and let the free diagnosis tell you how much remains.