MicroSD Card Needs Chip-Off Data Recovery


MicroSD Card Needs Chip-Off Data Recovery

A Secure Data Recovery Services customer from Calgary in Alberta, Canada, recently had trouble accessing data stored on a Lexar Professional 1000x 32 GB microSD flash memory card. The card was formatted for use with macOS and stored mostly personal documents and family photographs, but the items held significant sentimental value.

The sudden and unexpected data loss began when Scott Dainty received several prompts that asked if he wanted to initiate reformatting of the microSD card. Doing so would have permanently deleted all existing contents. But not doing so left the card entirely inaccessible. Mr. Dainty contacted Secure Data Recovery through a local Canadian partner for help.

Diagnostics and Scope of Work

Mr. Dainty took advantage of Secure Data Recovery’s free in-bound shipping service and sent the failed microSD card to our data recovery lab. Our expert technicians conducted a comprehensive diagnostic to determine what caused the data loss and what would be required to restore access to the device.

The diagnostic report revealed several physical issues that prevented the normal use of the memory card and that would require a custom data recovery solution. Upon authorization to proceed, our data recovery engineers soldered off the memory chip and rebuilt the ball grid array.

Secure Data Recovery’s development team then dumped the memory using custom adapters and utilities before manually assembling an image of the lost data. After scanning the entire file system to identify all available data, our data recovery team successfully extracted all user data to a secure storage server.

Data Loss Solutions You Can Trust

Secure Data Recovery engineers successfully recovered 641 files comprising nearly 15 GB from the damaged Lexar microSD card. All user data was transferred to a FIPS-validated and hardware-encrypted SecureUSB KP flash drive for safe return shipment.

NAND-based memory devices such as microSD cards often require complex and customized data recovery tools. Many of these tools, and the techniques to employ them effectively, have been pioneered by Secure Data Recovery engineers. It’s just one of the reasons we have one of the most trusted names in the industry.

All our data recovery customers receive a free diagnostic and no-obligation cost estimate. In addition to a documented 96% successful recovery rate, we also stand by our “no data, no recovery fee” guarantee. If for whatever reason we can’t recover your data, you pay nothing.

Our customers can also choose from a variety of data recovery options, including 24-hour emergency service. Call us now at 800-388-1266 for a free consultation or to open a data recovery case.

Download this customer success story as a PDF.

Philip Bader, Content Writer
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After more than a decade in Southeast Asia as a reporter and editor for magazines, newspapers, and online media organizations, Philip Bader now serves as a freelance content writer for Secure Data Recovery Services. He writes blogs and web content about data storage technology, trends in enterprise data recovery, and emerging data storage technology.

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