The Main Causes of Malfunctions of USB Flash Drives and Memory Cards

(USB Flash, CF, SD, XD, SMC, M2, XQD, PCMCIA, SxS, UFC, TF,iStick, SFM, µcard, NT, NT+)

    USB flash drives, like some memory cards, can consist of separately located functional units (controller, memory chips, power circuit, indication circuit), hybrid type, or united in a single-piece case in a monolithic design.

    These devices are not highly reliable. As a rule, not expensive electronic components are used for their manufacture. Due to the scarcity of quality semiconductors on the market, many firms may use rejected NAND memory chips in the manufacturing process. Installed controllers use translation methods, and error correction algorithms, write / read parameters, which are not as advanced as those of SSD drives. Such devices are intended for temporary storage of duplicates, copies of the main files, or for copying copies of files to another device, or for transferring/copying to a computer. There are solid-state data carriers of increased reliability in industrial and military performance.

    Problems in the operation of any USB flash drives and memory cards may arise in such cases:

    1. Software failure of the translator after an unsafe extraction from the computer.

    2. Software failure of the translator when a flash drive or memory card is operating outside the allowable temperature range.

    3. Failure of the translator as a result of physical damage to the memory crystal.

    4. Failure of the translator as a result of natural wear and tear of memory cells.

    5. As a result of physical damage to the interface connector, memory chip, controller, or other elements of the device.

    6. Physical damage (rupture) of micro conductors, or damage to the topology of the printed circuit board.

    For data extraction, in most cases, we use complex solutions based on the use of special equipment. Restoring data from a USB flash drive or card depends on the cause of the failure, the type of device, the physical condition of the memory cells, and the need to use special error correction methods.