Data recovery from water damaged XD memory card

aberamanboy

Hi All,

I've got a water damaged XD card that contains some nice family holiday snaps, I'd love to retrieve them.

There are some companies that could probably do this for me but they charge an obscene amount of money to do this, in excess of 150 pounds and up to 400 pounds! :eek:

Can't afford this so have done some research and it seems that recovery companies will remove the damaged controller from the device and use their own controller to retrieve data stored in the memory chip. If I can buy the equipment to achieve this myself at a lower cost I will.

If anyone has any ideas please post and let me know. Anyone know of a company that will do this at a low cost?


Thanks.

espresso

I've never heard of a water damaged xD card. I have not lost data on flashdrives that have been through a full cycle in the washing machine. Have you tried cleaning the contacts with a rubber?

isofa

Dry it thoroughly and gently first, preferably in an airing cupboard for a few days to a week.

Do not use, or try to use it, until it is absolutely bone dry.

Then run Recuva to see what can be picked up. There are more technical tools, but this is the most straightforward for a non-tech user and it works very well. Come back if you need more help.

aberamanboy

Thanks. Appologies but I should have elaborated earlier........

The card fell into a puddle of water and stayed there until it was found a few minutes later. My other half came home and put it straight in the card reader to see if it was dead, obviously it was not thoroughly dry at this point and has not worked since.

After some web research I have since dried the card (know it was probably too late by this point) using a low temperature oven that we have in work 60 degrees celcius. Still nothing.

After a considerable amount of additional web research and having read some in depth technical articles on the subject I have come to the conclusion that the controller is probably dead as a result of being shorted out when inserted into the card reader while wet. Of course, I may be wrong, I am by no means an expert on the subject.

The card has been sent to FujiFilm as they said they may be able to retrieve some data and were offering a much lower price than other specialist companies. They have failed, so no charge to me, and they are returning the card along with a FREE new one!

I am a mechanical engineer by trade but tend to get involved ine all sorts from electrical wiring to electronic circuits to mechanical design during my day job, so I'm more than happy to get technical. I've repaired all sorts of electronic devices in the past, games consoles, iPod's etc. for family members as I enjoy researching, repairing, learning this sort of thing as a bit of a hobby. Feel free to get technical if need be.

By the way, I beleive that flash drives are a slightly different memory format to the type of chip contained within a XD card. I have just read elsewhere of a flash drive being retreived from the bottom of a river bed and still working!

espresso

aberamanboy wrote: »

Thanks. Appologies but I should have elaborated earlier........

The card fell into a puddle of water and stayed there until it was found a few minutes later. My other half came home and put it straight in the card reader to see if it was dead, obviously it was not thoroughly dry at this point and has not worked since.

Putting a card in water for a few minutes or even one week would not lose any data, however putting it a card reader without drying it thoroughly has likely damaged it.

The one and only rule for water damage is WAIT until thoroughly dry before using again.

aberamanboy

Yes, I have already gathered that much, my question is.........

How can I recover the data cheaply? I will do it myself if possible?

I have also gathered that there is no loss of data. The data is likely to still be there. The controller will be damaged. Recovery companies replace the controller, then retreive the data.

espresso

aberamanboy wrote: »

Yes, I have already gathered that much, my question is.........

How can I recover the data cheaply? I will do it myself if possible?

You may not be able to recover any data if excess current has flowed into the data/address lines.

The only option is to try programs like isofa mentioned in post #3, have you?

aberamanboy

espresso wrote: »

You may not be able to recover any data if excess current has flowed into the data/address lines.

Interesting........

The only option is to try programs like isofa mentioned in post #3, have you?

Yes, no joy. I have not specifically tried isofa, will try this tomorrow. Thanks.

Money_Grabber13579

Are you sure it hasn't destroyed the card reader as well?

aberamanboy

Yes. I've used it since then. Thanks anyway.

cit_k

Jolly_Rog wrote: »

I had a problem with a 4GB PNY SD memory card for my camera. snipped rest...

Spam spam spam, exact word for word post as posted on another different forum.