Author Topic: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed  (Read 10572 times)

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Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« on: May 03, 2015, 07:06:48 pm »
Hi guys.

I would kindly ask for your help in recovering USB Flashdrive (with its data intact if possible)
It is a Corsair Voyager Mini 8GB drive. At first I tired to pop it open, so I can see what type of controller and flash memory are inside, possibly solving the problem with a simple xtal change. But life is never that simple. As I took it apart the final piece of the drive was a completely potted small plastic card, that has only some exposed gold plating for usb connection and two small contact at the back under an insulating tape.

I can try to remove the potting compound, but it is unlikely to do it without damaging the components inside. So I will do that as a last resort. Because of that I was forced to find a complete software solution for Id'ing the chips, so I found with ChipGenius. (It is a program that give me a more detailed information on the usb device for recovery)
Here is the output:
 
Quote
Description: [E:]USB Mass Storage Device(XXXXXXXX U167CONTROLLER)
Device Type:  Mass Storage Device

Protocal Version: USB 2.00
Current Speed: High Speed
Max Current: 98mA

USB Device ID: VID = 048D PID = 1167

Device Revision: 0100

Manufacturer: XXXXXXXX
Product Model: U167CONTROLLER
Product Revision: 0.00

Chip Vendor: iTE
Chip Part-Number: IT1167 B0AA
Flash ID Code:  2C88044B - Micron - 1CE/Single Channel [MLC-8K] -> Total Capacity = 8GB

Tools on web:  http://dl.mydigit.net/special/up/ite.html

If I decipher this right. This flash drive forgot it's firmware hence no manufacturer information or anything other than chip id and manufacturer (iTE if we can believe the program). I’m inclined to believe this is the real chip inside but I’m unsure. When I searched for the VID and PID numbers on http://flashboot.ru/iflash/ but none of the results where fit this drive. Than I tired it in reverse (searching the right PID an VID numbers for this brand of device) and I was lucky enough to find it: http://usbspeed.nirsoft.net/?pdesc=Corsair+Voyager+Flash+Mini+8GB&vid=6940&pid=2857

But sadly even that was not enough. With the revised VID PID numbers I was unable to find useful information about its recovery. So now I turn to you guys. Please advise me on how to proceed in this matter.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2015, 07:16:14 pm by quarros »
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2015, 07:55:45 pm »
You should search for controller model, not vid/pid.
http://flashboot.ru/files/file/310/
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2015, 08:05:58 pm »
You should search for controller model, not vid/pid.
http://flashboot.ru/files/file/310/
So do you think it is safe to assume, that the ChipGenius identified the chip correctly? And if so than this tool is the one I want to use for recovery?
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2015, 08:27:00 pm »
You should search for controller model, not vid/pid.
http://flashboot.ru/files/file/310/
So do you think it is safe to assume, that the ChipGenius identified the chip correctly? And if so than this tool is the one I want to use for recovery?
If it is wrong chip model, this utility just won't do anything.
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2015, 09:28:27 pm »
If it is wrong chip model, this utility just won't do anything.

Well I dont know what I do wrong but this utility not showing any flash drive regardless what I put in. Maybe the problem is between the screen an the chair.

Ps: At the end of the install it asked for the driver type but I dont know what to set so I left it type 0.
A manual for this tool is kind of scarce.
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2015, 09:34:53 pm »
Did you press F3/Enumerate?
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2015, 10:00:00 pm »
Did you press F3/Enumerate?

Yes i pushed it. It did nothing. But I guess I'm missing something. So on the screen I see the device tree list with all the set (maximum) ports. But I do not see any devices listed on any ports regardless of what flash drive I plug in. I tried to play around with the maximum devices settings but sadly it did not help
plus the same result on two different computer
 

Offline wraper

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2015, 10:07:56 pm »
It shouldn't show anything with different controller. Anyway this is production tool, not something designed particularly for recovery. Try to install it with different driver setting. Comment left by some guy on the download page says that tool worked for the flash drive with the same VID/PID as on yours.
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2015, 12:23:18 am »
It shouldn't show anything with different controller. Anyway this is production tool, not something designed particularly for recovery. Try to install it with different driver setting. Comment left by some guy on the download page says that tool worked for the flash drive with the same VID/PID as on yours.
I solved it thanks to your link. I searched around for a different tool there, and found this: http://flashboot.ru/files/file/313/ The B Letter at the end was a clue. Because the ChipGenius designated the controller as IT1167 B0AA. I assumed the space was just a separation and no real difference in the product code. Thankfully the tool come with a compatibility manual. So I was able to check whether it supports the flash chip and it did (29F64G08CBAAA Micron). It worked! Of course it formatted everything so now I have to try and unformat, salvage, recover... anything I can (lots of hour of photorec). But at least now I can access it and have options.

Anyways: Thank you for pointing me in the right direction
Cheers
 

Offline amyk

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #9 on: May 04, 2015, 01:12:32 am »
Sorry to say, but if you formatted the flash your data is GONE.
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #10 on: May 04, 2015, 10:38:22 am »
Sorry to say, but if you formatted the flash your data is GONE.

Not necessary. I've gotten back data from flash drives after formatting in the past. (But if you know something than please enlighten me I'm always wiling to learn)
In this case I had no choice... because the tool wouldn't do it any other way
 

Offline amyk

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #11 on: May 04, 2015, 10:54:43 am »
The OS formatting (especially if it's a "quick format") is very different from the "low-level format" that the controller tool does.

You're more than welcome to prove me wrong, but the latter often involves erasing every block of the flash and then building the block mapping tables (BMT) and bad block tables (BBT) depending on the result. Dump the raw flash and you're likely to find nothing left but 0xFF in every byte.
 

Offline Psi

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #12 on: May 04, 2015, 10:55:47 am »
If it did a "quick format" then you can recover stuff because only the FAT tables are gone, data is still there.
If it did a "full format" then it's over. All the bits have been changed.
Greek letter 'Psi' (not Pounds per Square Inch)
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #13 on: May 04, 2015, 11:32:37 am »
The OS formatting (especially if it's a "quick format") is very different from the "low-level format" that the controller tool does.

You're more than welcome to prove me wrong, but the latter often involves erasing every block of the flash and then building the block mapping tables (BMT) and bad block tables (BBT) depending on the result. Dump the raw flash and you're likely to find nothing left but 0xFF in every byte.

Well I dont know exactly what the tool do but since the drive is 8GB and the whole procedure was like 20 sec... I say there is a chance. Not a big one but still a chance.
 

Offline Fraser

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2015, 12:11:54 pm »
I have followed this thread with interest. Other members of this forum have commented on the fragility and unreliability of FLASH memory cards and sticks. I have not had such an unfortunate experience but have recovered other peoples photographs using a commercial recovery tool. IF it cannot see the flash drive it cannot do its job however. How does this apply to your situation ? Well when I am presented with a dead flash stick I always ask.... a) did you back it up anywhere ? (usually the answer is no) and b) did the data on the stick reside on a PC prior to moving onto the flash stick. The answer is often a yes. I then use my recovery tool on the original data host from where the data was moved. I have had good levels of success finding the 'lost' data that way. Always consider where the data was stored/processed before it got onto the memory stick.That is another avenue of data recovery.

I used Encase forensic analysis and recovery software in an official capacity and realised how difficult it is to truly erase a data file on a PC unless you completely blow away the build, and even then there are techniques to recover data for legal cases etc.

Aurora
If I have helped you please consider a donation : https://gofund.me/c86b0a2c
 

Offline quarrosTopic starter

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2015, 05:30:16 pm »
I have followed this thread with interest. Other members of this forum have commented on the fragility and unreliability of FLASH memory cards and sticks. I have not had such an unfortunate experience but have recovered other peoples photographs using a commercial recovery tool. IF it cannot see the flash drive it cannot do its job however. How does this apply to your situation ?

Quite as you expect it. No access to the drive with any operating system means no way for me to recover anything at all.

In this particular situation the biggest hurdle was. That I had no feasible access to any physical components. Normally if the data was important enough for me than I de-solder the NAND, read out its content, back it up, resolder it, than try anything with the controller. Than even if the controller is unrecoverable. The only thing would be lost is the wear levelling data (which is very important mind you but not absolutely essential). And than reconstruction is possible, albeit hard.

In my case I had partial success but unfortunately some data is beyond recovery (no file extensions on the originals). So life goes on and I'm richer with some new experience.

Thank you guys for the input.
 

Offline amyk

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #16 on: May 05, 2015, 02:01:43 am »
Well I dont know exactly what the tool do but since the drive is 8GB and the whole procedure was like 20 sec... I say there is a chance. Not a big one but still a chance.
29F64G08CBAAA has 4096 (erase)blocks. Erasing one block takes ~3ms. Whole device can be erased/checked in ~12.3s.
 

Offline markjohson121

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #17 on: January 03, 2016, 02:55:25 pm »
I was having the same problem. and I found this solution which helped me: how to recover data from USB flash drive

You may also take a look at this article: usb drive recovery

hope this helps.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2016, 03:34:06 pm by markjohson121 »
 

Offline amyk

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Re: Corsair Voyager mini Flash Drive Recovery - Help Needed
« Reply #18 on: January 03, 2016, 04:12:54 pm »
You need to dump the flash and then recover the data from that.
 


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