Data recovery

[chixchix]

dear all , i need some quick urgent advise !

I need to do some data recovery from my USB stick. its a Toshiba USB stick where I have stored loads of business data.

the metallic portion that we use to insert into the USB port has snapped off froom " the body " please advise where I can get it fixed or at least , recover all the data inside.. thanks !!!

[sierra2469alpha]

chixchix - most Challenger stores here have a repair department. I haven't used them, but it might be worthwhile ringing them/dropping it in and seeing what they can do. HTH, Mr. P

[rattlesnake]

Sorry - have to strongly disagree with sierra2469alpha on this one. Avoid Challenger unless you don't really care whether you get the data back or not.

Take it to a professional data recovery company. I recommend Ontrack:

Singapore Kroll Ontrack Singapore Pte. Ltd. Nordic European Centre 3, International Business Park #02-17. Singapore 609927. Toll Free: 1800 872 2599 (from their site).

These guys are a global firm who do data recovery as a day to day profession. If it is business data I would not trust it to a 19y.o. with a soldering iron.

Good luck

[rattlesnake]

http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com.sg/

[durain]

have used ontrack and they are excellent (and very costly) but that was for a hdd recovery. i think the data on your usb flash drive is intact but will need someone to open it up and hotwired the connection to retrieve the data.

[amiee40]

You said costly. What are we talking about? A couple of hundred $$?

I have a similar problem, it is not broken as much but my laptop cannot read the USB memory stick anymore. Tried with a few computers already, no luck.

[sierra2469alpha]

Sorry - have to strongly disagree with sierra2469alpha on this one.

Yeh and pretty much any other post I've made, I've noticed. You might like to note I did not recommend Challenger, I simply pointed out what they provided, and suggested it "...might be worthwhile ringing them/dropping it in...".

Sheesh - for a newbie you've got a bit of atttiude toward the regulars here, or do you just not play nicely?

ChixChix - suggest you always have a backup of critical data that can be read by multiple machines. Web-based storage is pretty inexepensive these days, as an example. USB keys can be eaily lost/stolen/broken - no subsitutute for a well designed backup and disaster recovery programme - plenty of free stuff for small business like yourself that's free out in the good ole' web.

Oh, and given what others have said, try all your options before you put your good money down, regardless of so-called recommendations.

Best of luck Chix..cheers, Mr. P

[chixchix]

Thanks guys..well i found a number from the newspaper and they recommended that I do soldering..will cost me $60..so i will be picking it up tomorrow...lesson learnt in fact ...

[Strong Eagle]

Thanks guys..well i found a number from the newspaper and they recommended that I do soldering..will cost me $60..so i will be picking it up tomorrow...lesson learnt in fact ...

You really need to be careful and listen to the advice. Most of the 'data recovery' people might end up soldering your device with a 200 watt iron sitting on the top of an over turned milk crate.

What kind of experience do these people have? What is their guarantee?

You really want to have it done properly at a real data recovery place. Is your data worth more than 60 bux? Then why would you cheap it out?

The better hard disk recovery centers cost hundreds of dollars up to several thousand to take the disk apart and recover platter by platter. They do this in a clean room.

[rattlesnake]

Sorry - have to strongly disagree with sierra2469alpha on this one.

Yeh and pretty much any other post I've made, I've noticed. You might like to note I did not recommend Challenger, I simply pointed out what they provided, and suggested it "...might be worthwhile ringing them/dropping it in...".

Sheesh - for a newbie you've got a bit of atttiude toward the regulars here, or do you just not play nicely?

You're right, I am a Newbie on this forum but not a newbie on forums in general. I am also not a newbie in the area the poster was asking about. Are you? I am also aware of post count ego, and it's great to see you are too.

I can see your frustration but just because I don't agree with your posts (2 threads) doesn't mean I am trying to be rude. I agree you didn't "recommend" Challenger, but as the poster was after data recovery of business data, Challenger did not sound like the best solution. I should have written a bit more to allow the poster to make a fully informed decision i.e. value of the data etc as this is real determination of where to go and how much to spend. I guessed because it was business data, it was pretty important.

I did apologise to you at the start of the sentence as I anticipated you might take some afront because coincidently I had disagreed with a statement you made in another thread. I should have put some icing on it. Sorry, if I am upsetting you.

[rattlesnake]

Thanks guys..well i found a number from the newspaper and they recommended that I do soldering..will cost me $60..so i will be picking it up tomorrow...lesson learnt in fact ...

You really need to be careful and listen to the advice. Most of the 'data recovery' people might end up soldering your device with a 200 watt iron sitting on the top of an over turned milk crate.

What kind of experience do these people have? What is their guarantee?

You really want to have it done properly at a real data recovery place. Is your data worth more than 60 bux? Then why would you cheap it out?

The better hard disk recovery centers cost hundreds of dollars up to several thousand to take the disk apart and recover platter by platter. They do this in a clean room.

I agree. The key is, how much do you value the data. You really need to put a dollar value on it so you can work out where to go to get it back. The reality is, some people have great success with a $50 back yard computer guy but it is a raffle. The trouble with IT is anyone who knows where the 'on' button is on a PC will have a go at any IT problem on the off chance they fluke it. With data recovery, you generally get one shot. Just like going for a haircut, it is hard to be the second guy in and clean up the mess.

[Strong Eagle]

Thanks guys..well i found a number from the newspaper and they recommended that I do soldering..will cost me $60..so i will be picking it up tomorrow...lesson learnt in fact ...

I am wondering what it is that they are going to solder. There are 4 connections inside a standard USB connector. When you say the metallic portion came off, are the connectors still present or did they come off, too?

[chixchix]

Looks to me like part A. anyways, the data has been recovered and he charged me $200 to retrieve the data and also to transferred all the data to a 4 GB USB for me..

[Strong Eagle]

Looks to me like part A. anyways, the data has been recovered and he charged me $200 to retrieve the data and also to transferred all the data to a 4 GB USB for me..

Good on you, Chix Chix. Glad it all worked out.

Cheers.

[durain]

You said costly. What are we talking about? A couple of hundred $$?

I have a similar problem, it is not broken as much but my laptop cannot read the USB memory stick anymore. Tried with a few computers already, no luck.

try to recover it with www.recuva.com, if still no joy, then the usb flash drive might be fubar.