USB flash drive recovery in Calgary.
Inside a flash drive is one memory chip, one small controller and a connector. A snapped connector is usually a straightforward repair. When the controller dies, we take the memory chip off the board and read it directly, then put the files back together ourselves.
What you might be seeing.
Snapped or bent connector
If the memory chip is intact, so is your data.
"Please insert a disk" or not recognised
Usually the controller. The data is still on the chip.
Shows 0 bytes or asks to be formatted
The controller has lost track of where everything is.
Got wet or overheated
Let it dry, do not plug it in, and bring it to us.
A store or another lab said it is unrecoverable
Software cannot get past a dead controller. Reading the chip can.
From connector to chip.
- 01
Repair if possible
Connector and board repairs, when that is all it needs.
- 02
Read the chip
When the controller is dead, the memory chip is removed and read on dedicated equipment.
- 03
Correct and reassemble
We correct the chip's read errors and rebuild the layout the controller used to manage.
- 04
Recover
Files are extracted and checked before return.
From the bench.
A raw read of a memory chip is not a copy of your files. The controller spreads data across the chip, scrambles it, and keeps its own error correction. Turning a raw dump back into folders means undoing each of those steps for that specific controller.
Older and heavily used chips also throw read errors that change from one pass to the next. On a 256 GB drive another lab had given up on, we read the chip again and again over eight months, kept the best copy of every section, and brought back 79,769 photos.
Before you bring it in.
Helpful next steps
- Keep the drive and any broken pieces.
- Stop plugging it in.
- Tell us what device it was last used in.
Best avoided for now
- Glue or solder the connector yourself.
- Format it when the computer asks.
- Keep using it.
What clients said.
…they completed my data recovery when other companies told me that it was impossible to recover the data.
Our terms, in plain numbers.
- Who does the work
- iCube Development (Calgary) Ltd., recovering data since 2005.
- Where
- One address, and it is our lab: #610 - 11012 Macleod Trail SE. Recovery is done here by our own staff and is not outsourced. No drop-off depots, no appointment needed.
- Evaluation
- Free standard evaluation within 72 hours, for one device per client. Priority (24 hours) and same-day evaluations, multi-drive arrays and devices another company has opened are quoted before we start.
- Your quote
- In writing, before any recovery work. Nothing extra is done or billed without your approval.
- If we cannot recover your files
- You pay nothing for the recovery, parts included. Any exception, such as a paid diagnostic for a device another company has opened, is agreed with you in writing first.
- Success rate
- We do not publish one. A percentage cannot describe your device; your evaluation tells you what is actually recoverable.
- Your recovered files
- Returned on new media or, with your permission, by secure download. Our working copy is deleted seven days after completion unless you ask in writing to keep it longer.
- Privacy
- Your device and files are handled only by our own staff, who are bound by confidentiality, unless the law requires otherwise.
- Your device
- Please collect it within 30 days. Photo ID is required at pickup.
Questions we get asked.
My flash drive snapped in half. Is the data gone?
Usually not. If the memory chip is intact, the data is on it. Bring both pieces.
What does "chip-off" mean?
We remove the memory chip, read it on dedicated equipment, correct the errors and rebuild the files the controller used to manage.
Is it worth it for a cheap drive?
The drive is cheap; what is on it may not be. The evaluation tells you what can come back and the cost before anything starts.
Will the flash drive still work afterwards?
Not if the memory chip has to be removed. That is part of the quote you approve, so you will know before it happens.
Tell us what happened.
Send the details or call (587) 387-2346. We will tell you what to do with the device in the meantime.
Drop-off: Southcentre Executive Tower, #610 - 11012 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary. Monday to Thursday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM.