Baby Destroyed Flash Drive -- Repairable?

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rusty12

Limp Gawd
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May 2, 2007
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Hey guys, my girl friend's baby has destroyed her flash drive that was plugged into her laptop that had all her data (i.e. business plans, term papers, etc...). The docs were not backed up and so the data on that drive is that much more invaluable. (...please don't flame that she should have backed up; she knows)

In order to describe the current state of the drive let me explain what happened. ...The flash drive was plugged into the laptop and lil baby comes along and see its and grabs it, yanks on, lifting the laptop into the air. Once the notebook was in the air, the metal piece that plugs into the USB port broke off, causing the laptop to fall back down cracking the HP glass screen and separating the USB metal part inside the USB port from the casing of the drive.

Does anyone know if it's possible to retrieve the data off the drive if its been broken in pieces like I've described? If so, how, and where could we take it? Cost really not a factor.

Thanks!
 
Assuming the electronics inside aren't harmed, and ONLY the metal part is damaged... You might be able to fix it yourself.

USB cables have four wires inside, I'd crack open the flash drive, get out a normal USB cable you're willling to sacrifice, and match up the wires inside the cable with the solder points of the USB drive.
 
Thanks for the quick response.

I haven't seen the USB drive myself yet, but from the way she describes it the metal part is stuck within the USB port in the laptop and can hold the actual flash drive in her hand. I guess the closest comparison I can come up with right now is ripping an electric plug out of a wall socket but having the prongs ripped off and stuck within the wall socket.

This maybe a dumb question, but is there any way to determine if the electronics inside were damaged or not? ...I don't want to try and repair it myself for fear that if I make the situation worse, I could get blamed, so do you think I could take it to a PC repair shop and have them take a crack at it?

Any other suggestions? If I can pull this off and find a way to retrieve her data, this will score major points!
 
I had the exact same thing happen about a month ago to a flash drive. I just did what 450 suggested and soldered on a cable. It looks ugly as butt, but it works now. The electronics inside are pretty difficult to damage, so I would bet that they are safe.
 
It depends, if you can amputate the drive with part of the four pin connector still connected to the drive then you can just do a simple solder sacrificing just a usb cable.
 
Thanks for the input 450,Desdichado, and Keiichi. I'll give it a shot and see what happens *crosses fingers*
 
The guts of a flash drive are pretty tough. I had one go through the clothes washer / dryer and it still worked fine.....:eek:

Soldering on a cable should work fine. If you don't feel comfortable with a soldering iron you could contact the manufacturer of the drive. My guess is that they could help you....for a fee.
 
If you think you might destroy it further - I'd recommend you contact a data recovery center and see what your options are.
 
My first initial thought was a data recovery center but I know those guys are very expensive from people I know that has used them. That's why I was curious what you guys thought about taking it to a PC repair shop here in town and letting them try it.

I feel more than confident in myself to be able to solder on a new connector, but since it's not my personal drive I rather not try it unless I couldn't find someone to do it for me in a reasonable time frame.

At this point I'm just waiting to hear back from my gf to see what she'd like me to do. She called me up at 2 am in the morning when this happened crying her heart out... it. was. bad.
 
Find an electrical engineer to fix it for you, they usually have great soldering skills. Try craigslist or if you go to college, someone in the engineering dept. has to be able to fix this no prob.
 
reason 8million and 1 to not have kids around electronics. I know a guy that had a $1800 laptop that his kid broke the screen on.


Pictures would help alot to see if its salvageable.
 
Well... I just talked to her and she had taken it to get repaired by soldering a new connector on. However, her particular drive has one of those gauges that tell you how much space you have left on, and it leaked all over the components inside evidently. The guys at the shop said its ruined.

Again, I've yet to see it since I'm at work, but from the sound of it its toast. We'll see once I get home from work tonight and get a look at it. I'll try and get some pics up if possible later.
 
Generally destructive behavior in children is repairable through many hours, sometimes years of expensive counseling. I'd advise to start repairing this one asap while it is still developing and before it fully matures and cause more destruction. A better and much more immediate option may be to remove said child from the household by whatever means possible. If said child is a packaged deal with said girlfriend, then you could always get a goldfish.
 
rusty12 said:
However, her particular drive has one of those gauges that tell you how much space you have left on, and it leaked all over the components inside evidently. The guys at the shop said its ruined.
Click to expand...

It's possible that it's still fixable. Get a hairdryer and completely dry it out. As long as there isn't any moisture on it when it is powered, it is still salvageable.
 
Thanks for the tip Keiichi. I'll try and get her to dry it out ASAP and we can try soldering on a new connector tonight.
 
Quick question..Is there any way to check to see if the flash drive is damaged beyond repair without soldering on the new connector?
 
I just got off the phone with her. She said she tried using it while it was still moist with liquid crap all on it... I don't know anymore, I had hope that maybe we could get the bastard to work but its not sounding so promising anymore. :(
 
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