Physical damage to a USB flash drive

USB Flash drives don't just become corrupted - they can also be physically damaged through accident or impact. (6 Oct 2015)

Physical damage to USB drive repair

We received this USB flash drive in to the workshop after the customer reported dropping their laptop when the drive was still inserted. USB Flash drives are a really good way of backing up "on the go" but physical damage is really common! As you can see, the damage it sustained was pretty severe and due to the construction of the main ‘multi-layer’ PCB, it was not going to be a very straightforward fix.

Specialist Microsoldering 

Because of the extent of the damage incurred, and the fact that these SanDisk Flash Drives generally have an ‘Encrypting Controller’, EADR had to find a donor ‘bed’ for the flash drive. The purpose of this was to remove the controller as well as the NAND Memory chip as a pair, and transplant them to the replacement donor bed.

In order for this to be successful, the donor board and revision number have to be matched very carefully with the original ‘bed’ to ensure compatibility, and the  controller/NAND chip components moved across.

Although this is a fiddly procedure, requiring specialist microscopic soldering works, once the physical labour is completed we can work with the USB to reconstruct the data. 100% of the data from this flash drive was recovered.

Providing the main chip is intact, we stand a very good chance at being able to recover your important data - as always, No Recovery, No Fee! 

Get in touch

To find out if we can help recover YOUR data, call us on 01953 667 977 or email us at info@eadr.co.uk to arrange an inspection of your faulty device. We will be able to provide you with a no-obligation quotation within 24 hours of receipt.