A memory card, a monolithic USB stick and a portable SSD are branded with "SanDisk," yet they appear to have little in common. The path you take, the cost you pay, and your chances for recovery will all depend upon what type of SanDisk product you own. Therefore, these should be treated as separate and distinct jobs.
The card is a monolithic unit that is accessed via test points. A USB stick can be either monolithic or discrete. In contrast, a portable SSD presents a controller-based challenge, and on certain models a well-documented one.
Cards are also the most common SanDisk product that we encounter.
Most often cards do not support TRIM. Deleted files remain until overwritten, so if the card is removed from the camera immediately after deletion/formatting, nothing new can be written over those images. An accidental format is also generally easily recoverable.
A card is monolithic. In other words, all components such as the controller and the flash memory chip have been fused together in one sealed package. Therefore, there are no components to disconnect when the controller has stopped responding. This means that if the controller still functions, you will be able to recover your lost data by using software against a functional device. However, once the controller stops functioning, access is through test points located internally within the card. Unfortunately, accessing the data via these test points requires knowing the specific configuration of those test points for that particular device. As a result, this method is significantly slower than other methods and generally only applicable to specific types of devices; however, in many cases, it is also very effective.
The one type of device that cannot be recovered is a counterfeit device. High-capacity cards that report much greater capacity than they actually have will accept write operations into "nothing" and no method exists to retrieve data that was never written.
There are two builds that appear to be identical from an external perspective:
Discrete (separate) chips where the controller and the NAND flash memory chips are each packaged separately. When the controller fails the NAND flash can be removed and accessed directly for recovery purposes. Then it can be reassembled in software. A more common occurrence in older or higher-capacity devices.
All components combined into a single package with the majority of new sticks having them as default. Access via internal test points based on the pinout of that specific part.
Independent of both and the best case there is. The solder point breaks off, leaving the memory beyond it almost always intact.
Controller hits an area of flash that it can't read causing it to hang, and the self-activated reset is due to its built-in watchdog. Stop removing/replacing the stick over and over again. Each time you do, it will run the same loops.
Important enough to be addressed directly since a good many of these are still in circulation.
Reports of SanDisk Extreme and Extreme Pro portable solid state drives suddenly failing (and losing data) across capacities began appearing throughout 2023. This prompted Western Digital (the parent company of SanDisk) to issue an acknowledgement of the problem and release a firmware update. In addition, litigation was initiated in the United States regarding this issue.
For those who own one of these portable drives, the solution is simple. If your device still works, update your firmware with the latest version and ensure that at least one backup copy of any critical files is available on another storage medium. The failures were described as "sudden," therefore users will not see any signs of impending failure before the loss of data occurs.
For those whose units already failed, do not attempt to restore them using a firmware update. Attempting to write new firmware to a unit that cannot even retrieve its existing firmware creates a situation where the same area of the memory required to recover the unit must be rewritten. Units are recovered like any other controller fault, via their manufacturer's diagnostic interface, where the controller may be reset to operational status with encryption established first (since portable models encrypt by default).
These pictures exist until something is written over them. Decline every prompt for repair or formatting from a camera.
Once it kicks out, then you have a controller that is crash-looping. Repeating will accomplish nothing and may create a write. Ship it as-is with all pieces; broken or otherwise.
Portable SSDs have encryption enabled by default. Flash storage devices that are operating normally cannot provide any readable data without the correct password or decryption key. Before you do anything else, determine what your password/key is for your device.
Any manufacturer’s utility software that claims to format, repair, or restore your device will write to your device. Recovery of a memory card or USB media costs from £250 + VAT, while a portable SSD costs from £300 + VAT, after our complimentary 48-hour diagnostic.
Mostly yes, and probably completely. Very few memory cards support TRIM technology, which allows previously deleted files to be removed from physical space on the card. Therefore, deleting/formatting an image does not remove it physically until new data is written over it. Remove the memory card and stop shooting. That should be all you need to do.
It depends on construction. If the controller and flash memory are on two different chips, the flash can be read directly if the controller fails. In the case of a monolithic chip you will need to use the internal test point pins to get at the flash. It's going to be slower, but frequently successful.
In 2023 many users experienced a sudden failure of their drives along with data loss, regardless of capacity. Western Digital acknowledged the problem and released an update for the firmware. There was also litigation in the US regarding this. So long as your drive works properly, go ahead and do the firmware update. Then back up that drive again and store that backup somewhere else.
No. After a drive has failed to load its firmware there is little hope of making things better by running an update. The update will overwrite the area needed to perform a recovery and can make the condition permanent. Do not attempt to run an update on any failing drives. Run updates as normal maintenance items only on drives that are working just fine.
Yes, which makes knowing your password or having your recovery key the first thing you'll need to figure out. A healthy flash chip yields nothing readable without knowing these pieces of information. Therefore, determine whether you even have either piece of information prior to attempting to recover your files.
Card/USB stick data recovery: from £250 + VAT; portable SSD data recovery: from £300 + VAT. All prices are agreed upon in writing after a free 48-hour diagnostic.