A memory stick a computer no longer recognises usually has a failed controller, not lost data — the small controller chip that presents the stick to the computer has stopped working, so nothing appears, while the memory chip that holds the data is separate and usually sound — reached by reading the memory at chip level, past the failed controller. That the computer does not even see the stick points at the controller, not the memory; the data is read directly from the memory chip and rebuilt. His SanDisk Ultra 32GB stick gives nothing — "the computer does not even recognise the stick" — and he would like to recover his lists from it. A stick a computer won't recognise usually has a failed controller — the memory is read at chip level. The memory is read at chip level.
| Media | A SanDisk memory stick the computer no longer recognises — its lists of data still wanted. |
| Reported situation | SanDisk Ultra 32GB memory stick · gives nothing · the computer does not even recognise it · recovery sought. |
| Fault class | A failed controller — the chip that presents the stick to the computer stopped, so nothing appears, the memory chip separate and usually sound; the memory read at chip level past the controller, the data rebuilt. |
| Equipment used | The stick examined under stereo microscope, the controller and memory chip located · the memory chip read at chip level, lifted under hot-air by chip-off on a specialist programmer past the failed controller · descrambled and any controller translation reconstructed, the data carved by content in PhotoRec, validated onto fresh media. |
Not recognised usually means the controller failed. That the computer does not even recognise the stick points at a failed controller — a memory stick has a small controller chip that presents it to the computer and a separate memory chip that stores the data, and when the controller fails, the stick cannot identify itself, so the computer sees nothing. So the fault is in the controller, not the memory: the stick cannot present itself, which is why it is not recognised, rather than the data being gone. His data is usually still in the memory chip, behind the failed controller, reached by reading the chip directly. Not recognised usually means the controller failed.
The memory is separate from the controller. That the controller has failed does not mean the data has, because the memory chip that holds it is a separate component, unaffected by the controller stopping — so the lists he wants are still stored in the memory, waiting to be read by a route that does not depend on the failed part. So the recovery does not need the stick to work: it reads the memory chip on its own, past the controller that will not present it. His data is reached from that memory, separate from the fault. The memory is separate from the controller.
The memory is read at chip level. Because the controller will not present the stick, the memory chip is read at chip level — located under magnification, lifted under hot-air, and read directly on a programmer, then descrambled and the data carved by content, so the files are recovered from the memory itself rather than through the failed controller. So the recovery reaches the memory past the fault and reads the data. His data is reached from the memory chip, which is how an unrecognised stick is recovered. The free diagnostic establishes whether the memory is sound before anything goes ahead.
The honest prognosis rests on the memory chip. If the memory chip is sound behind the failed controller — the usual case where a stick stops being recognised — reading it at chip level recovers the data well, often in full. If the memory chip itself has failed, recovery narrows to what can be read from it. Which applies is determined at assessment by reading the memory, with the data confirmed before anything is asked of you — the data usually recovered where the memory was sound.
The stick was examined under stereo microscope, the controller and memory chip located. The memory chip was read at chip level, lifted under hot-air by chip-off on a specialist programmer past the failed controller. It was descrambled and any controller translation reconstructed, the data carved by content in PhotoRec, validated onto fresh media.
The memory read at chip level, and the data recovered onto fresh media. The diagnostic stage is free and reports back within two working days of the media arriving; after it you hold one written quote, fixed and quoted against the fault actually found — and if the files you're after can't be brought back, you don't pay. The decode: a stick a computer won't recognise usually has a failed controller — the memory is read at chip level. Read from the chip, your data comes back.
Not recognised usually means the controller failed — a stick has a small controller chip that presents it to the computer and a separate memory chip that stores the data, and when the controller fails, the stick can't identify itself and nothing appears. The memory is separate from the controller, so the data is still in the memory chip, unaffected by the controller stopping. It's read at chip level, the memory chip lifted under hot-air and read directly past the failed controller, the data carved by content. Don't keep plugging it into different ports hoping it appears. Have the memory read at chip level.
Our case files are written up from genuine enquiries our lab has handled for customers across Swindon and Wiltshire, anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Each one describes the diagnostic and recovery approach our engineers apply to that fault, using the equipment listed.
Free diagnostic, fixed quote, no fix no fee — start now or call the freephone.