recover computer data toronto Archives - Memofix's Data Recovery Blog

SD cards and microSD cards are flash-based storage devices used extensively in cameras and phones. You can see the size difference between a microSD card and a full size SD card in the two pictures below.

Both SD and microSD cards are functionally the same as USB flash drives. Both share similar components including a memory chip(s) and a controller chip to manage the memory device(s). Below is an example of a typical SD card showing both sides of the device with the plastic casing removed. On the left hand side picture you can see two larger memory chips and a smaller black controller chip.

SD card memory chips — Non-monolithic SD Card

SD cards can be manufactured as a device comprised of the individual components (memory and controller) like the example above OR they can be manufactured as a monolithic device like the picture below. ALL microSD cards are monolithic devices.

A monolithic device has the controller, memory chips and any other discrete components, combined and built into a single chip or device. It is one piece so you cannot break a monolithic device down into discrete components. To the eye, a monolithic device appears as just a piece of black plastic like the examples below.

microSD card data recovery — Monolithic MicroSD Card

When monolithic or non-monolithic devices become dead, inaccessible or unrecognized, they require different methods to recover the data.

With non-monolithic devices we can remove the individual memory chips and read the raw data using a standalone chip reader. However, the raw data is “very raw” and still requires extensive analysis to determine the layout of the data and customized software to put the pieces back together into a useable format. Even a flash device with one memory chip requires this rebuilding of the raw data. Some of this complexity is a result of a technique used by flash called “wear leveling” where the device tries to use all the memory cells equally so that no particular memory cell becomes worn out sooner than its neighbours. As a result, many of the storage cells will appear to have copies of the same data, but a closer inspection reveals the contents are older versions of the data waiting to be re-used with new data. Consequently, we must use the raw contents of the device to determine how it all fits together. It is somewhat like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

With a monolithic device, we cannot remove the memory chip(s) as they are all part of the same package. In these situations, we need to remove the plastic coating from the device so that we can visually see and map out the circuitry (see the photo to the right).

monolithic circuit board — coating removed

Then we need to determine how we can connect to this existing circuitry in order to gain access to the memory contents. Some connections for previously discovered microSD cards are shared and available to professional data recovery companies using a web-based database.

However, if the database does not contain details on the “to be recovered” device, the entire mapping out process can be quite tedious and can take anywhere from a 5 days to 5 weeks. Once the circuitry layout has been determined, we can use that information for future data recoveries from the exact same device. The bad news is that very few SD or microSD cards will share the exact same layout.

reading a monolith IC — Monolithic Adapter PCB

Having determined where we need to connect to the device, we now must tediously solder wires from the adapter board to the device. Then we are able to use a chip reader to connect to the adapter and read off the memory contents. Finally, we need to figure out the data layout as we do with the non-monolithic devices and ultimately recover the data. To the left is a picture showing our connections to access the memory devices on a monolithic SD card.

Our typical fees for recovering data from unrecognized SD cards that are non-monolithic range from $500-$1200.

Unfortunately due to the massive amount of work required, our fees for recovering data from an unrecognized monolithic SD card or microSD card are even higher. Expect fees in the range of $1200-$3000. depending on whether we have existing layout information for your particular device.

As always, our evaluations are free and our work is guaranteed to make you happy or you don’t have to pay a nickel. To send us a new case now, please click here.

Recently, another hard drive manufacture announced they would begin offering a data protection plan in the United States and in Canada. The program is simple enough: if you lose your data from an enrolled hard drive within the 2 or 3 year term, the hard drive manufacture will use reasonable efforts to attempt to recover your data. Costs for the plan in Canada range from $40 to $90 depending on the type of hard drive and the number of years of coverage. This is not a new concept, similar data protection plans have existed for over 10 years.

So what’s wrong with these plans? … I am NOT a fan of data protection plans for 3 important reasons:

1. False sense of Security: Let’s start by looking at the basic concept of data protection plans and what they offer. While called a data protection plan, there really is no plan to protect your data! The plan is once your data is damaged or lost the plan provider will see IF they can recover it. The fact that it may not be recoverable is buried in the terms and conditions. Many people will miss this important point buried in the fine print and walk away with a false sense of security that their data is safe. As a result, many people may feel they can bypass backing up their data and this is the real danger. People WILL lose their data!

2. Oops we can’t help you, here’s your money back: These protection plans take your money to protect your data. Then when the time comes to perform and it’s discovered the data is not recoverable “using reasonable means”, they simply refund you initial premium. With most insurance policies if they cannot fix your car, they pay you its value. What’s the value of your data? Imagine you’re in a car accident with your brand new car and your insurance company decides to return your 2 months of premiums versus fixing your car. To add further insult to injury, some data protection plans reserve the right to refund your plan fee in the form of a Gift Card. Oh Yippy!

3. Are you getting the best effort?: Attempting data recovery is often very expensive. For example, to attempt to recover the data from a 3TB external hard drive that’s been dropped, will typically require 1-3 new parts drives and a week or more of computer time to image the hard drive. I believe a technician encountering this situation may be prone to declare the case unrecoverable and simply refund the money versus spending hundreds of dollars on parts and investing a lot of time for a chance to recover the data. What real incentive is there for the data recovery company to spend money and try to recover your data? Now, if there was a large payout of perhaps 5,000 dollars if they could NOT recover the data, then I would believe there would be an incentive to recover the data. For this reason in particular, I believe that an independent data recovery service will try much harder and be much more successful in recovering your data because they have a huge incentive as they won’t get paid unless they are successful.

So, if you find yourself being pressured to enroll in a ”data protection plan” be sure to consider all the facts and don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by a clever marketing program. If you’ve encountered a data loss situation and your company can’t live without the data, do your due diligence and entrust your data recovery to a professional data recovery service.

Click here for a Free Data Recovery Quote whether you’re in Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga, Ottawa, Brampton, Markham, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Burlington, Sudbury, Kingston, Oshawa, Barrie or Thunder Bay.

Recovering Unrecognized SD and microSD cards

Top 3 Reasons to Avoid Data Protection Plans!