Repair a USB Flash Drive

Do you have a USB flash drive that just won't work anymore? Assuming the hardware is undamaged, and you don't mind losing all your files, you could try formatting the USB drive.

Steps

Repairing Physical Damage

  1. Decide if your files are unimportant enough to risk a DIY attempt at data recovery. If your decide your files are too important to risk, you will want to find a flash drive data recovery company.
    • These companies have special hardware and tools designed to repair circuit boards. The more advanced companies have the tools to remove the NAND memory chip from the circuit board in order to extract and unscramble the raw data stored inside.
    • The prices for data recovery can vary from $20 - $850 based on the severity of damage done to the drive, and the type of recovery required.
    • Some data recovery companies offer solutions for minor to moderate physical/internal damage costing under $200.
  2. Get the tools. If you decide you are comfortable risking your files, you will need:
    • A soldering iron with solder and flux
    • An old USB cable
    • Wire cutters/strippers
    • A small flathead screwdriver
    • A magnifying glass or jeweler's loop
    • Note: These steps only apply if your flash drive has a broken connector.
  3. Using the flathead screwdriver, carefully remove the flash drive's outer casing.
  4. Use the magnifying glass to inspect the circuit board (PCB) and solder pads. If the PCB itself is damaged or the solder pads are lifted, you will probably need the help of a professional.
    • Note: Solder pads are the 4 bits of solder that connect the prongs of the USB connector to the copper lines in the circuit board. If the connector has broken away without causing damage to the PCB or solder pads, continue to the next step.
  5. Set the flash drive on a hard surface with the connector end facing toward you and the solder pads facing up.
  6. Use the wire cutters to cut one end off of the USB cable. Cut the female end if it's not male-to-male.
  7. Use the wire strippers to expose about 0.25 inch (0.6 cm) of each of the four wires inside the cable. Or, if you do not have a spare USB cable to use, you may solder pieces of small gauge electrical wire to each of the prongs on the broken USB connector; this will create your own mini USB cable.
  8. Solder each of the four wires to the four solder pads. The colors from left to right are black, green, white, red. They should attach to the solder pads in that order, from left to right, when you're holding the USB so that the two cutout rectangles are facing up and away from you.[1]
    • Do not mix these up or your flash drive (and files) are toast.
    • If you used your own individual wires instead of a cable, simply solder each wire straight across to the corresponding pad regardless of what color the wire is.
  9. Plug the other end of the USB cable into a computer and cross your fingers.
    • If it registers, great! Just save your files to your computer.
    • If it's still not being recognized, it's likely that there is a different underlying problem that can't be seen with the naked eye. Either consider sending it to a professional recovery company, or use it as a Christmas Tree ornament that reminds you to always back up your important files.

Scanning for Problems (Windows)

  1. Insert the drive into the USB port on the computer.
  2. Open My Computer and right click on the Removable Disk Icon. Choose the Properties option.
  3. Click on the Tools tab.
  4. Click on the Check Now button.
  5. Click on both “Automatically fix file system errors” and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors” check boxes. Click Start.
  6. Wait for the scan to complete. Click Close when finished.

Reformatting the Drive

  1. Format with NTFS instead of FAT32.
  2. After this, format again with FAT32.

Testing the USB Port

  1. Sometimes it is the USB port that does not work properly, not the USB drive.
  2. Remove the USB drive, reboot your computer, and test the USB drive again. If it works, problem solved. If not, try the next step.
  3. Test the USB drive with another computer. If the USB drive works, then you have a problem with the port on the other computer.
    • Sometimes one port will work on a computer, while another will not. Test each port on the first computer, then likewise on another computer, before giving up on this possibility.



Tips

  • Search around for a formatting tool to reformat your drive beforehand. Re-installing an operating system is not a task to be taken lightly.
  • If all else fails and your data is not important contact the flash drive manufacturer via email or forum. They may have a utility to reload the drives firmware and perform a low-level format of the damaged drive.
  • If you choose to seek the services of a professional data recovery company, be sure to describe your problems to the best of your abilities to ensure they have the tools and experience for the job.
  • USB drives are cheap and widely available. Consider replacing one over installing operating systems as it will probably cost you much less in time and headaches.
  • If your USB flash drive does contain important data you would like to retrieve, do not re-format the device. While there may be no sign of obvious damage, one or more of the internal components may have gone bad. While it generally requires advanced and specialized equipment to diagnose the exact cause of failure, one thing to try is to check for burnt fuses. To do this, remove the outer casing/shell of the device and with a magnifying glass, locate any of the tiny clear cube-shaped components on the circuit board. If any of these fuses are black instead of clear/translucent, it has burnt out and requires professional data recovery.

Warnings

  • Formatting will erase all data on a drive.
  • If the files are at all important, do not let someone who happens to own a soldering iron convince you that they can fix it. More often than not, in the case of a broken USB connector, the solder pads have lifted away from the circuit board. This means a novice solder job is not going to do the trick and will likely only cause more damage. "Lifted pads" simply means that when the USB connector broke off, the solder connecting the 4 prongs to the circuit board broke off of the board and stuck to the end of each prong. If you notice the solder pads have been lifted, it is highly recommended to seek professional data recovery assistance rather than continue with the steps below.
  • Backing up data and drivers, formatting drives and re-installing operating systems is a lengthy and involved process and should only be done by someone who knows what they are doing.
  • Avoid the confusion between a low-level format (LLF) and reinitialization (reset drive to factory configuration). LFF was common in the 80s due to MFM and other drive formats which were not setup with its geometric configuration during the manufacturing process. It has no place for modern storage devices, as they are nearly impossible to LFF by consumers.

Things You'll Need

  • Your operating system (restore) disk.
  • Your operating system serial key.
  • A USB flash drive that is working properly for testing/comparing purposes.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://2fatdads.com/2011/12/diy-usb-cable-repair-challenge-accepted/
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