OSDev.org

Hi, I managed to break my sandisk 16gb usb stick where i store all my files. including at least 6 months worth of OS-dev and most of my other source/projects. It broke right after the connector, while still inserted in my laptop, so the circuitry and components are as far as I can see unharmed. It's just that I can no longer directly connect it to any computer. The connections goes from larger USB format copper thing to less then a millimeter wide "strings" in the middle of the board, so to connect directly to those (which are somewhat visible in the breaking point edge), I'd need to file off some of the board plastic to reveal enough off it to solder some wires onto it.

Another option would be to solder onto some round holes with small copper rings round it near the controller chip, looks like they might be for diagnostics or something? The other side of the board is completely filled with the actual storage chip, but as i said the other one has some form of controller chip and a bunch of really, really small resistors/transistors and whatnot. If I could possibly extract information from talking to the controller chip directly from those points of more solder friendly "rings" it would be much easier then to try and solder on to the original connection wires.

Problem is, I have no idea what I'm doing here - and sending the USB stick to professionals for data recovery cost something like 1000 dollars, which I can't afford atm. Any idea where I might get more information about the chip(s) used on sandisk cruzer blade? Some sort of pdf specification? Debugging interfaces, or well anything related to a blueprint? Or should i just give up and start collecting empty bottles for those 1000 dollars = FML?

Could you take a picture of the board and post it here please? Might help us a bit.

The holes with copper around them are "vias" - they're used for getting a circuit trace from one side of the board to the other.

Presumably, the PCB itself formed part of the connector; assuming only the connector (and no components) broke off, you could simply take a USB cable, cut it in half, work out which pin on its connector goes to each of the four cores in the cable, and then solder those to the corresponding trace on the PCB.

Its unlikely any of the vias connect to the USB signal wires - they would have no reason to cross to the other side of the board. If theres a big copper plane covering most of the board though, thats likely to correspond to the ground pin - a multimeter will tell you

Sorry for the general crappyness of this picture. I'm not in Baghdad, just poor lighting and lack of proper camera.


or URL http://bayimg.com/IABHNaAeb

should say "I have no specs" in the pic. So unless i want to start trying to connect directly to the "wires" that's embedded inside the plastic board, those round spots looks like nice soldering ready connection spots - it's just that I have no idea what they do or how to use they correctly if it's even for/possible to extract data there...

the first four, "vias" as you call them, from the left seems to be directly connected to legs on the controller chip. could be diagnostics interface maybe, i'm sure i'm not lucky enought for it to be a secondary interface for getting any data..

The vias are definitely not the USB connections.

Why not buy another usb stick of the same kind and carefully replace what's broken ?

--Thomas

Thomas wrote:Why not buy another usb stick of the same kind and carefully replace what's broken ?

--Thomas

I've considered that, but the actual storgage chip in surface mounted with what looks like a few hundred legs, less than a millimeter apart. I would most likely fry the chip with my tools.
Still haven't had the courage to try and file off some plastic and reveal better soldering areas to the real USB connections either - seems for now that my best bet would be to save up for a company to do the extraction for me.