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Is my flash drive dead and beyond saving?

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by nomad_grrl

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I think my 512MB Lexar JumpDrive flash / thumb drive has suddenly died on me. I used it at work with no problems but when I got to college 1.5 hours later and plugged it in, nothing. No flashing light and no "windows has detected new hardware". No reaction at all. After I removed it, the USB connector was quite hot. There was no burnt out electrical / ozone smell. I thought maybe it was a problem with the college PCs but tried it at home - same thing, tried it at work, same thing. All PC's I've tried it on either run Windows XP Pro or Windows 98. I always do the "safely remove hardware routine.

My suspicion is that the flash drive is just dead (though how it went from seemingly perfectly okay to dead in the space of a train ride is beyond me) but all my college notes are on there, and various handy programs my lecturers have told me about (I'm studying networking) and I would love to be able to at least recover the contents.

If anyone has a clue, you'd be saving my life. Or at least confirm that it's hopeless and I'll stop trying things and move on!

Thanks,

Louise

3 replies

by alan williams

The Physical pin connections go a after a while. Try inserting the stick and pressing the top to one side or try it in as many different computers as possible.

by older mycroft

I go with Alan on this one - the only component ever likely to cause bother in a flash drive is where the usb is soldered onto the circuit board inside.

If you feel at all judicious in the fine art of using a scalpel, or what we in the UK call a Stanley Knife (used for cutting carpets and such - a big tough razor blade) run it along the glues seam around your flash drive.

No 'real' pressure is required for this - just repeatedly run it round the seam. The seam will eventually come apart and you can gently prise the little circuit board out of its case.

The connection point between the board and the usb has probably broken, and you will notice a wiggle if you press the usb.

NOW - use the clothes peg to hold the connections together long enough for you to access and copy the data back off. A usb extension lead usually comes in handy during this procedure.

Sadly most attempts to re-solder the connections usually result in thermal damage to the circuit board, melting some of the tracks.

Good luck.

**Erratum: I'm an old bloke by most folk's standards - when I said a clothes peg I meant one of the old ones with a spring in it! Like scissors in reverse!

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