Hi all,

I am recovering data from a Kingston DataTraveler G3 USB flash drive. In both Windows 8 and Windows 7 I get the drive to be recognized but is shows as empty (no data). When I attempt a repair via system tools, it gets to 5% and quits and the drive fails to be recognized by the OS until I eject it and reinsert it. It still shows empty after.

I have used my full battery of data recovery tools but the problem is any sustained access seems to make the drive become non-responsive, necessitating an "eject" and then an reinsertion of the drive.

I have managed to get file access using "Hirens Boot CD" running "Mini XP" and then launching 7zip file manager. In this environment, 7zip can mount and see the files on the drive where 7zip in Windows 7 and 8 sees nothing...kind of interesting.

Anyway, I have been successful copying one file at a time to my local HDD via 7zip in this environment...perhaps 2 files depending on the size of the files being copied. After about 1.5-2 MB the USB drive becomes non responsive and 7zip kicks out of the drive as it is no longer readable. This then necessitates a safe "eject" and reinsertion of the flash drive at which point I relaunch 7zip and can continue copying the next file.

This process is extremely tedious but doable as the client has a budget to cover about 4 hours of my time which should get a good chunk of the important data.

My initial thoughts were that the issue was possibly heat related (as the file access on the flash drive heats up the components and causes a thermal decoupling of a connection. I tested this theory by taking the appropriate condensation precautions, and placing the flash drive in the freezer tethered to a USB extension cable. I then reattempted the copy process after 2 hours of cooling to see if this helped. Unfortunately I got the same result....about 1.5-2MB before non-response and needing to "eject" and then reinsert. Interestingly, the drive is always immediately available after doing this...so no "cooling off" time is needed.

So, in summary, no sustained access is possible for this flash drive and it becomes inaccessible after a few MB of data is captured and copied which then necessitates an "eject" and reinsertion.

Do any of you have an idea what type defect/problem might be causing this behavior and any other work arounds you can come up with based on your conjectured source of the problem?

Thanks!

Hi,
a number of possibilities.
- Firmware corruption of the flash controller
- Broken trace on PCB or lifted pin/dry solder joint that "hangs on" for a while
- Bad blocks\faulty NAND chip that somehow eventually makes windows file copying procedure cack itself
- Component such as a resistor or capacitor faulty making the circuits unstable
- Bad USB connection, lack of power to USB port

Whatever it is, if you are able to copy all files off, I would do that, and put the drive out of service.

Spending time on WHY a flash drive is failing, if that info isn't being used for recovery is only going to give you a headache and waste your time (IMHO)

Good point. It's simply my curious mind and I was trying to formulate a faster way then to copy a file, eject, reinsert and copy another. It's tedious and I'm on a budget with the client. I was hoping an answer to the question might help me formulate a better, more efficient work around. In any event, I agree with you and thank for the reply! Time to bite the bullet, put on some tunes and work through it as tedious as it is.

Have you tried cloning the flash drive with ddrescue?

Have you tried limiting the interface speed to USB 2.0 or even USB 1.1?

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

I have not tried ddrescue because any software I use causes the drive to become unresponsive after just a few MB of data access/transfer. I have tried a number of other recovery software options. I understand you are suggesting perhaps a Linux approach might prevent the unresponsiveness. I will try this.

I have not limited it to 1.1 but have limited it to 2.0. I'm not familiar with the methodology to limit the USB throughput but I will research it and try that as well. Thank you for the suggestions!

with flash Drives being so different, you probably won't encounter one with symptoms you describe again.

BTW, the files that are copied, are they good and not corrupted in any way?

Yes the files I have rescued so far have been uncorrupted...luckily so. However, some sub folder directories are beginning to scramble with random characters...they were once readable. So data is beginning to deteriorate. I will salvage what I can before the drive goes completely.

I responded to your post but it didn't show up for some reason.

I have not yet used dd because any sustained access kills the drive. I'm not sure Linux would fix this but perhaps....good point.

I am not familiar with how to lower the speed to 1.1 but have been accessing via 2.0. I'll research how to do this and give it a try thanks!

Do you think the drive is a genuine kingston? data travelers are one, if not the, most faked drives ever. If possible could you posts pics of outside, inside(PCB, Controller, NANDs) after you have recovered?

I'm just clutching at straws with the USB 1.1 idea, but one way to do this would be to use a very old machine (I have several), or you could use an old USB card, or perhaps you could disable the USB 2.0 controller in Device Manager and run on the Open Host Controller (OHCI).

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

No problem....It'll be a few more painful days. Doing this in between other computer repairs. Happy to do it though.

I'm not sure if it's legit...I don't know where the client bought it...but perhaps you can provide some insight if I take some pics.

I'll look around. I might be able to find an old card laying around. its a good idea. I've noticed I can copy unlimited small (200kb) files till the cows come home (meaning I can copy one after another without having to eject the drive...it keeps live and responding with the smaller files) but the minute I'm copying say a 300kb file or larger, that's when it stops responding...so again...any sustained data transfer lasing more than a second or two.

The interesting thing is also that even if it is say 6MB it will still copy the whole file without error, but then it stops responding after the transfer is complete. So all transfers so far complete without error...even the bigger ones...it just that it continues to work after transferring the small files but stops responding after completing transfer of any files bigger than, say, 300kb.

It's just maddening because there are a ton of files on this and the whole process of copy-safe eject-reinsert-copy is time consuming and mind numbing. Thanks for the input.

for Kingston, if you tilt the drive around there should be a purple logo that changes to a pink colour and to roughly a bluey colour. Look on Kingston site. But not important to know as it wont help your issue.

have you tried taking an image with DMDE or Partition Find and Mount? Would be easier to do DR on an image file.

Normally yes I'd do that...but in this case I cannot get the sustained access required to create an image as any prolonged access (more than a few seconds renders the drive non-responsive. I can't make an image based on these restrictions unfortunately.

Normally yes I'd do that...but in this case I cannot get the sustained access required to create an image as any prolonged access (more than a few seconds renders the drive non-responsive. I can't make an image based on these restrictions unfortunately.

This is a long shot but you could try the reverse image option in Dmde. So that would be nothing lost nothing gained.

Also it would be worth trying to image on several different computers to see if you can find a setup which works. The reason being when a flash drive is failing it might draw more current than the controller is able to provide in which case a small fan blowing cold air towards the device might help.