I have an Olympus digital voice recorder (VN-6000) which has no computer connectivity -- no USB interface and no memory card slot. It currently holds dozens of audio files which are still intact but are inaccessible. (They are in the device's memory but cannot be accessed because the play button won't work). Would it be a good idea to disassemble the device, take out one of the flash memory chips, put the memory chip into some kind of adapter and try to transfer that data onto a normal computer?

I'm not sure what kind of flash memory chip is inside of it since it hasn't been disassembled yet. It could be a NAND chip or require an eMMC adapter, but I don't know how any of these things work. I've also heard that attempting to remove flash memory chips could cause them to "instantly erase" (I don't know if this is true). I've looked into "data recovery" services but they are all really expensive, and I don't even know what kind of media is contained within the voice recorder (is it SSD? flash? NAND?) Most recovery services discuss the recovery of standard computer hard drives and don't even mention digital voice recorders.

Also, most computer recovery programs (for digital voice recorders) require that the device be recognized by the computer (i.e. "Drive E" or "Drive F"). I can't figure out how to make that happen with the VN-6000 since the only ports it has are for earphone and microphone.

At this point I just want to know if the physical data storage unit within the voice recorder (whatever that may be) can be physically taken out of the recorder and then put into some kind of adapter (such as a USB adapter) which could be read by a computer. I am assuming that the interior of the voice recorder is composed of some kind of flash technology. Would the audio files be recognized with such an attempt?

Another possibility would be to take the flash memory chips (or whatever is storing the data) out of the voice recorder and put them into a brand new VN-6000 (which would involve taking out the brand new VN-6000's data storage units). Is any of this risking the data within the storage unit?

Given that you don't want to pay for a pro recovery, your options are pretty limited.

Assuming the controller and flash are ok, and it's just a faulty play button, then you can either repair the play button (probably the easier option) or transfer the flash chip (it's a regular NAND chip in these, probably a 256mb or 512mb Samsung K9xxxxxx module, nothing fancy) into an identical device.

There is no evidence that removing a NAND chip will "instantly erase" it

Good luck

_________________
PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

If the flash chip is soldered onto the circuit board (i.e. inseparable from it) would it need to remain on the circuit board (and thus requiring an adapter for the circuit board itself)?

It will be soldered on (of course!) but not "inseparable" with proper de-soldering/solder gear, and good skills.

_________________
PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

I don't know about transferring the memory chip. Depending on the controller, there could be issues. There could be firmware differences in the controller. DR could be easy or problematic assuming they are files and there is a filesystem, and not just some kind of RAW data.

The best option is to fix the play button. getting the data would involve de-soldering NAND chip, putting chip in reader and dumping contents, then resolving any wear level, XOR scrambling/DATA mixes to recover files.

I would take it apart, hookup the cord as described in the manual for recording, and manually activate the play button by whatever means it is once discovered by disassembly.

any data recovery shop should be able to read the NAND for you.

If I was in US I would do this job quite cheap, just for the "something different" factor

That's the best approach, IMHO. However, one first needs to determine whether it is simply an issue with the button and not the electronics that is associated with the PLAY function.

If the other buttons work (eg Folder/Index, Disp/Menu), then one can be reasonably confident that the problem is confined to the keypad. IME keypads often accumulate a kind of gum which is easily cleaned with isopropyl alcohol (audio/video head cleaner).

There are usually two kinds of keypad. One consists of a rubber membrane with conductive rubber keys which press against copper pads on the PCB. The other has clicky, disc shaped, metal snap domes which bridge two copper contacts on the PCB. Clean the rubber pad in warm, soapy water, and use a cotton bud dipped in alcohol to clean the electrical contacts.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

When the device is turned on it asks for the date to be set -- and one of the buttons used to change the date is the "play" button. What is strange is that when the date is being set, the play button DOES work (insofar as being used to change the date and time). But as soon as the date is set and it goes to the default setting (i.e. the first audio recording), the play button ceases to work. In addition, the recording button and "stop" button do absolutely nothing. After setting the date/time, the only working buttons are the "left/right" buttons (allowing one to go from one audio recording file to another). But none of the files are playable because the play button won't work.

The earlier thing I said about the NAND/flash chip being "instantly erasable" came from what a man said in this link:

http://www.justanswer.com/electronics/5 ... order.html

He said: "If I were the data recovery company, I would buy a brand-new but exactly equivalent model of Olympus recorder, then open both, take out the memory chips from your recorder (with the data on them) - carefully! so as not to activate flash memory's famous instant-erase capability - and put that memory into the working/new Olympus. But they might use very different general techniques. And this is not something you could do 'at home', not an easy task to do right in any sense." -- A man discussing a similar (but unrelated) disabled voice recorder situation

Is taking a NAND chip out of a device and putting it into a different device too complicated to be attempted at home (as the person in the above quote suggests?) And if a de-soldering attempt is done incorrectly will this corrupt the data on the chip?

Being that "central" button (the button used to play audio AND set the date/time) works when setting the date/time but doesn't work when playing audio, it makes me wonder if the problem is not "the button is stuck" but a more complicated underlying problem.

Another curiosity is that while taking the batteries in and out it DID briefly start working again, but after a few minutes it reverted back to being unplayable.

Also I'm not sure what is meant by "hookup the cord" -- which cord? A cord within the device? An external cord that can be bought at an electronics store? During normal function the only way (that I know of) to record on the VN-6000 is by pressing the record button (which doesn't work).

Once disassembled, should I start poking it in various places to see if it will suddenly start playing? I am willing to manually activate the play function but I don't know how.

It isn't that it is complicated.. just fine 0.5mm pitch soldering of 48 pins per memory chip.
But the way flash memory works is that often the controller is "married" to the memory chip, meaning the device has the flash memory controller tweaked during factory setup. Also the way bad blocks work can have an impact on swapping around chips. I question the validity of the "famous instant erase"

I really could be corrupt file and the device firmware is not handling it well, so just refuses to interact with the files.

If you want to send it to AU, I can do it at a very reasonable price.

I have an electronics repair background. If you show me detailed photos of the PCB(s), I might be able to help you troubleshoot the fault.

AISI, the PLAY button is OK but the PLAY function is faulty. Are you certain that it is not simply a case of the speaker cutting out during playback? Does the "playing time" indicator appear in the display? Is there any difference if you use the earphone jack?

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

It's much easier to repair the button. DIY level.
It's professional job to transfer the NAND flash chip.
Better to use a multimeter to test if the button is faulty or not.

Have you even read the previous posts in this thread?