Over the years, the Flash Drive Pros have become serious black belts in the art of data recovery from flash drives, as our 94% success rate and no-data, no-fee policy can attest. But what about the other 6% whose files cannot be recovered? Sure, they get a full refund and even get their flash drive mailed back to them for free. But why couldn't their files be recovered? Is there any hope?

Physical Damage to NAND Flash Memory Chips

The most common reason that files can't be recovered from a flash is physical damage to the NAND Flash chips. Small, hair-line fractures that are often only visible under magnification are fairly common. In this situation, data recovery is impossible. 

Another common cause of an unrecoverable flash drive is broken or missing pins on the NAND chip. Broken pins don't always mean the flash drive files can't be recovered since several of the NAND chip pins are not used. Even if the pins are used and have been bent or broken, they can sometimes be bent back into position or replaced and reattached to the circuit board making recover possible.

Too Many Bad Blocks in NAND Chips

Erased and Formatted Flash Drives

FLASH DRIVES FAIL for all sorts of reasons, and we at FlashDrivePros LLC have certainly seen our share of issues over the years. Here are the top three causes of flash drive failure that we come across on a regular basis.

Broken Flash Drive Connectors

Sometimes one of a flash drive's components such as a micro-controller, oscillator, resistor or capacitor will burn out and need to be replaced. Having a very large inventory of old flash drives means we often have replacement parts on hand. If not, one options is to locate or purchase a flash drive of the exact same model to use for parts. 

From time to time a customer will ask us if they can use a flash drive after it has been repaired by the FlashDrivePros. This is not advisable since the process of repairing a flash drive for the purpose of data recovery is very different from the manufacturing process. Any flash drive that has been repaired by a data recovery shop should not be used as it will likely stop working very soon. 

Flash Drive File System Damage

Pulling a flash drive out while files are still transfering, power surges, viruses, and a host of other things cause file system damage in flash drives. When file system damage occurs, we usually have to use advanced command-line software tools to locate, repair and rebuild the data. This can be a very difficult and time-consuming process. One way to protect against file system damage is to always use the "safely remove hardware" feature in Windows. 

A Word About Flash Drive Backup Software

Of course, if you keep an up-to-date backup of your flash drive files, the only thing you have to worry about is the cost of replacing a broken flash drive rather than loosing all your important (often irreplacable) files. FDP Sync automatically syncronizes all the files on your flash drive with a special backup folder on your PC or laptop. Now that you know the most common ways flash drives can fail, there's no excuse for not downloading a free trial version today.

Interested in becoming a reseller or affiliate marketer of FlashDrivePros high-speed, low cost flash drive data recovery service? Now is definitely the time to sign up! From now until March 31st, all new affiliates who sign up for one of our referral programs will earn double commissions on every referral. 

We offer four standard programs for other companies and individuals to start earning money as affiliates or resellers of our flash drive recovery services. For larger companies interested in partnering with FlashDrivePros, we are often able to develop a plan tailored to your clients' needs. 

Visit our Affiliates Page to learn more about the various programs and commission levels. 

With the fast turn-around and low cost of our services, computer repair shops and other data recovery labs interested in offering "white label" flash drive recovery services to their local clients are able to create a substantial source of additional revenue by partnering with FlashDrivePros LLC. Call or email us today if you would like to discuss how your company might be able to work with the pros. 

Data recovery is one of those services that is there when you need it, but it’s usually not something you think about, talk about, or share on Facebook. Unless, of course, you just lost the last few years’ worth of work on a book manuscript, doctoral dissertation, research project, etc. Likewise, data recovery companies like FlashDriverPros LLC tend to stay out of the limelight, both because people rarely need data recovery services, and because when folks do need to recover their lost files, they usually don’t want the whole world to know that they didn't have an up-to-date backup. All this to say, data recovery can sometimes feel like thankless work. 

Over the last few decades, digital files have definitely become a very important part our lives. Things like file cabinets, notepads, and school binders have been replaced by hard drives, laptops, and USB flash drives. Unfortunately, most of us have too much faith in our electronic gadgets. When disaster strikes, it’s important to have someone you can trust to recover your lost files quickly and for a fair price. Sadly, some data recovery companies have become known for taking advantage of people’s desperation to retrieve their important files and often charge prices in the $1,000s; a price that certainly defies reason. In fact, FlashDrivePros was founded to make fast and accurate data recovery available to those who couldn't afford it otherwise.

Students in particular seem prone to storing (and loosing) all their important digital documents on USB flash drives. And they rarely keep a backup. In 2011 alone, we recovered dozens of school documents for desperate students. And these were not just homework files that could have been replaced with some extra credit work. Several were doctoral dissertations, master’s thesis, and long-term research documents, representing tens of thousands of dollars and many years of research and hard work. Below is a small sample of our client’s stories they posted on Facebook page.

Katelyn Boyles - There really aren't enough words to explain how grateful I am!!! I'm an English major and pursuing graduate study in Creative Writing, and my flash drive had dozens of shorts stories and novel ideas, in addition to fifty plus poems that I've been working on for six years. Basically every document I had ever written, used, or received was on my flash drive and my laptop fell, snapping the head neatly off at the port. The campus tech people said it was hopeless; the local computer guys did too. But the Pros did it!!! Again, thank you!!!

Rhonda Blackwell-Flanagan – I had a flash drive that decided to die without warning me. My life's worth of work was on there. It was inconceivable the amount of mental anguish I experienced at the thought of all my data being gone. I investigated Flash Drive Pros to the 'inth' degree. I searched them on Google Earth, read every link on the BBB about them. I over-nighted my dead flash drive to them and four days later, I got an email, "Your Files Are Recovered Rhonda". What music to my ears. I teared up immediately.

Amy Prettyman Burns - You just recovered my life! Literally, 3 months before graduating with my masters, my flash drive breaks. You know, the one with EVERYTHING on it! Did I have a backup of the files? Nope, that was on my "to do" list that of course I never got around to doing. LUCKILY, you were able to recover my files and I have everything back! You are the BEST!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Julie Nicole - I cannot even begin to express the gratitude and happiness I am feeling right now! With one week left in my first year of teaching and 3 days before final exams…I put the drive into the computer to find out it was broken! The most terrible 2 days of my life! My first year of teaching and 4 years of college on that thing! Not only did you guys recover all of my files, but I sent it out and received my files in less than a week. You saved my life! Thank you!

Tracy Brisson - FlashDrivePros rescued my business. After a trip to the beach and a bad packing job, my flash drive was split in two and a project I had been working on that was only 75% backed up was in jeopardy. If I hadn't got it back, I would be out thousands of income. Luckily, the rational part of my brain decided to search if there were any options and was blessed that I found this highly recommended service! Thank you! I will recommend you to all my friends, colleagues, and clients (college students).

Julie Townsend - I had 4+ years of schoolwork and projects that I thought were lost forever. PC Doctors charged just to look at my broken drive and tell me they couldn't fix it; Geek squad wanted to charge up to $1000 to recover the files! Flash Drive Pros seems like the only reliable place that doesn't try to take advantage of people!

BradTanya Simons - Over two years’ worth of work and research for my Master’s and thesis was on my flash drive that just stopped working! … by god-send I found Flashdrivepros.com!!! The service I received from them was impeccable.

We are always thankful to get feedback from our clients. It's your kind and encouraging words that help remind all of us at FlashDrivePros that we are here to serve the community as much as we are here to run a business!

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After more than a year of development and testing, we are thrilled to finally announce the release of FDP Wizard. FDP Wizard is an easy to use data recovery software application made specifically for flash drives and camera memory cards. We've intentionally left out the many settings and options available in other data recovery software that are not usually applicable to flash drives and only cause confusion. FDP Wizard keeps the data recovery process fast and simple. 

If FDP Wizard doesn't recover 100% of you data, we are offering a full refund to anyone who uses our data recovery services instead. 

Please download a copy and let us know what you think!

http://www.flashdrivepros.com/Flash-Drive-Recovery-Software 

Following are some screen shots demonstrating how it works...

http://www.flashdrivepros.com/Flash-Drive-Recovery-Software 

Since you found this blog post, chances are you just plugged your flash drive into your computer, but rather than accessing all your important files as usual, you got a small notification at the bottom right of your screen saying “Flash Drive Not Recognized” or “USB Device Not Recognized.” This is actually a very common problem with USB flash drives. 

Several things can cause a flash drive to stop working. The most common causes are failed components or USB connector damage. While a sure sign of physical damage is a loose or bent connector, the damage is often not so obvious. 

The good news is there is a very good chance all your files can be recovered!

Flash Drive Data Recovery Software

Flash drive data recovery software can sometimes recover files from flash drives that ask to be formatted, have become corrupted, or have even been erased, but software can't recover files from a physically damaged flash drive. So it's not going to help in your case. 

Guaranteed Flash Drive Data Recovery Service

The FlashDrivePros data recovery engineers are able to quickly repair any thumb drive with almost any type of damage, and at a price much lower than other data recovery labs. We have a 94% success rate will only charge after we recover your files. Otherwise you pay nothing. We will even pay for for return shipping.

To get started, just fill out our service request form then ship your flash drive to our office in Seattle. As soon as we recover your files, you will be able to download them from our secure server. Or your files can also be returned on a new flash drive. 

Please don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email if you have any questions. We would be happy to speak with you about our flash drive recovery service or broken flash drive repair in general. 

FlashDrivePros LLC
888-806-6567
support@flashdrivepros.com

Hi everyone! We just wanted to let you know that we've added several new products to our website in recent weeks. Below is a brief overview of each one. We have one more major product launch coming in a two weeks…so be sure to stay tuned!

Portable VPN Key

Portable VPN key takes the many benefits of having a Virtual Private Network and makes them portable! What are the benefits you ask?

• It encrypts your network traffic preventing cyber criminals from stealing your passwords and identity. Need to access your bank account on Wifi at Starbucks? You better use Portable VPN Key.
• It allows you to access websites not available outside of the United States. Want to watch Netflix, Hulu or listen to Pandora overseas? You’re going to need a Portable VPN Key.
• It makes you anonymous by hiding your IP address. Want to access a website but don’t want everyone to know it’s you? Yep, you’re going to need a Portable VPN Key.

The best news is that we’re offering Portable VPN Key for FREE. Yep, I said it. For F. R. E. E. free for a limited time with the purchase of any FlashDrivePros high quality flash drive.

You can order here: http://www.flashdrivepros.com/vpn-flash-drive

Cryptainer LE

For years clients have been asking us for a convenient way to password protect their flash drives. A few years ago we launched a product called FDP locker to address this need. Unfortunately, it was not very user friendly so we decided to retire it within just a few months of release.  

Well we have good news! We have just begun offering a new product called Cryptainer LE that is everything FDP Locker wasn’t. It allows you to easily create one or more “virtual drives” on any flash drive that are password protected using government grade 448 bit encryption. All you have to do is drag and drop your sensitive files into your Cryptainer and they are made instantly secure.

Order yours today by going to http://www.flashdrivepros.com/flash-drive-encryption-software

As always, you can get top quality flash drives at a great price and with tons of features here:

If there are other products or services you would like us to offer just let us know!

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Ryan Stutzman
President
FlashDrivePros LLC
Office (888) 806-6567
Mobile (206) 331-4575
www.flashdrivepros.com

USB flash drives are great for transferring files from one computer to another, backing up important documents, or even as a storage device as long as you use a flash drive backup program. Since you’re reading this blog post, that last bit of advice is probably a day too late. As you have discovered, flash drives are fragile little devices that can break or stop working in the blink of an eye. The good news is that there is a very good chance your flash drive can be repaired. So go ahead, breathe a sigh of relief, and read on.

Repairing a flash drive with logical damage

Logical damage refers to flash drive failure at the file-system level. Bad blocks in the memory chip or a lost or corrupted MBR table are two causes of logical damage. Some common indications are a USB device not recognized notification, a drive that says it needs to be formatted, or a drive that doesn’t show up at all.

Fixing a flash drive with logical damage can often times be accomplished with free data recover software like Power Data Recovery by MiniTool. After downloading and installing PDR, Just select your drive from the list and choose Lost Partition Recovery to attempt to recover your files. If your drive is not showing up at all, try following the steps in this blog post.

How to fix a physically damaged flash drive

In most cases, flash drives become physically damaged either due to impact or failed components. Repairing a flash drive that was bent while inserted into a USB port usually involves replacing the connector or in some cases rebuilding a damaged circuit board. If we suspect a failed component or components, we will search our database to see what are the most commonly failed components for this particular flash drive and also use other troubleshooting techniques to identify the parts that need to be replaced.

If we can’t identify the failed components, don’t have the part in stock, or if the circuit board is damaged beyond repair, our next step is to remove the memory chip from the flash drive and either place it on a new flash drive or, as a last resort, place it on one of our NAND memory chip readers.

Over the years FlashDrivePros has truly become a world leader in flash drive data recovery. We have a 94% success rate and are so confident we can recover your files from your broken flash drive that we offer a 100% no data – no fee guarantee. By making our client's files available for download from our secure online server, we’re often able to recover and deliver their files in less than 24 hours.

Click here to initiate a online service request now. Or for more information, give us a call or send us an email. We’re happy to speak with you and answer any questions you have about our data recovery services or flash drive recovery in general.

FlashDrivePros LLC
1-888-806-6567
support@flashdrivepros.com

Check out of Facebook Fan Page to read over 100 great reviews from our very happy clients. 

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I'll admit it, taking the extra time to click around your system tray to locate the ever elusive "Safely Remove Hardware" icon, and then trying to figure out which drive is which so you don't accidentally disconnect your printer instead of your USB drive is a bonafide pain in the rear. 

Some people argue that hitting the Safely Remove Hardware icon in Windows before ejecting your flash drive is actually unnecessary since Windows automatically disables caching for USB drives. However, we still think it’s a good idea that could prevent the files on your USB drive from becoming corrupted. Even though caching is disabled, data may still be transferring in the background. Maybe you were saving a large file and forgot about it. Or if you use an automatic backup application like FDP Flash Drive Sync, you could unplug it right in the middle of a scheduled backup operation and damage your files. So unless you just want to live life on the edge, we suggest you take a few extra seconds and hit the safely remove icon before yanking out your USB flash drive. 

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