Flash Drive Data Recovery After File System Logical Damage
In most cases, a drive with file system logical damage looks unformatted when connected to the system. It is recognized, connected and displayed correctly in the list of devices.
Data recovery in this case is performed with the help of dedicated software, manually or automatically. First, the software scans the entire flash drive. Upon completion of scanning, the data location map is made based on service information retrieved. It contains information about sectors and their references to catalogs, size, name and other attributes of elements of the scanned file system. After that data recovery process takes place, the selected information is transferred to another drive according to the map.
During the work, no information is recorded to the pen drive.
If you are interested in software data recovery from flash drives without involvement of specialists, we recommend paying attention to the following materials:
Flash Drive Recovery in the Event of Hardware Failure
Hardware failures, as rule, occur due to failure of electronics that control information exchange between memory chips and the USB interface. The drive is recognized incorrectly or not recognized at all. Types of failure include physical failure of a controller chip or logical damage to the code of the steering microprogram.
In order to recover the data from such a flash drive, the chip must be desoldered from the drive (applicable to USB flash drives only) and then connected to a programmer unit that reads its contents. Then the recovered data is processed in order to get a file system image and, if necessary, further reconstruction of the file system is done with software tools.
Software processing of imported memory image is usually called an “assembly.” This process is required because the flash drive’s controller does not keep the data in its memory in the same format we see on the screen. For example, a depreciation leveling algorithm constantly moves the contents of memory sectors, which are frequently recorded, to various physical addresses and “mixes” memory contents. Matching of logical and physical addresses is ensured by a translation mechanism that doesn’t function if we have desoldered the memory chip and are directly reading from it. That is why the data is read in its ‘raw’ state and requires further processing. Quite often, we need to develop separate assembly algorithms for each flash drive model; that is why this part of the job is considered the most complicated.
It is also possible to recover data from flash memory by resoldering the memory chip to a similar working drive.
Flash Drive Recovery After Physical Damage
Usually this type of recovery is done only for USB flash drives. Often physical damage is caused by dropping, pressing, moving over it, etc. Sometimes there is still a chance to repair it. Repair is not possible if excessive bending cuts internal tracks of the circuit. In this case, if the memory chip is safe, data recovery is done with methods similar to those used in flash drive recovery after hardware failure. If the memory chip is damaged, recovery is not possible.
Logical Recovery of Photos
Every owner of digital devices has at least once faced the problem of accidental deletion of several photos. Photos can also vanish when the flash drive used in the camera fails.
Most common technical failures occur as a result of electric and mechanical damages. Such failures lead to the loss of photos. Such issues are also possible due to power supply failures, accidental dropping, moisture penetration or deformation of circuits. Logical damages occur in the event of unsafe removal of devices from a computer. In such cases, there is no visible physical damages and the flash drive usually is recognized by the operating system. Problems occur during data recording or reading sessions. Drive repair will facilitate logical recovery of photos.
Often companies need to use special software for logical recovery of photos. If photos disappear from a memory card or deleted files from a PC, do not attempt to recover them yourself. Instead, you should immediately contact a professional to perform logical recovery of photos.
