Memory stick problem

I have had some trouble with my puter and now my memory stick is not recognized, is there a way to fix this.

 

Do you mean a Flash drive/pen that plugs in to a USB port?

 

What kind of trouble were you having with your computer? Did your system recognize the media device before you started having trouble? Is it a brand new memory device or one that you already had files on? What type/brand is the memory device? Are you plugging into a USB port or a card reader slot?

Generally, a bit more info about your system/problem is recommended.

 

I was building a new computer, it was running fine, so I installed a backup HDD that I purchased on ebay, I know I know, but this one came with a 12 moth warranty so I assumed it was OK, so after installing it I pressed the power button, there was a flicker of the PCU fan and then nothing, so uninstalled the HDD and powered up again, putter fired up but then asked for boot drive, anyway the outcome was that the boot HDD was not recognized in BIOS, it would not recognize any HDD that I tried, so I assumed the m/b was up the shoot, I checked that the HDD controller was still showing up, it was, later on I realized that the 2 USB sticks would not work, tried both in my other 2 puters, so I think the HDD must have shorted something out and blew everything. so what I'm asking can I rescue the memory sticks.
Wal

 

I'm not an electrical engineer but it doesn't sound very likely that plugging a faulty HDD into your system is going to fry media plugged into that unit's USB ports. It was a HDD that you plugged into your computer, and not a pipe bomb, right? Anyway, I'm still not clear about your original story. Were these two memory sticks plugged into the USB ports of the computer at the time that you tried to fire up the new HDD for the first time? Are you sure these two memory sticks were working before you plugged in the HDD? Were they brand new? Did they have data on them? When you ask whether you can "rescue the memory sticks" are you referring to the data that's on them or are you asking whether you can salvage the hardware? When you now plug these memory sticks into your other 2 computers, do the computers recognize them (do they assign drive letters to them)? Do the built-in lights of the memory sticks come on when they are plugged in? And what OS are you using on the 3 computers?

I don't mean to nag but... look, I just bought a bunch of SanDisk USB thumb drives that worked fine on my new system with Win7 installed. My other older box with XP3 didn't even recognize the thumb drives until after I reformatted them. So, you see, there's a reason why I'm asking all of these questions.

Bottom line, if you just want to know whether the data on your USB sticks can be recovered then yes, mankind has the technology to recover every byte. Just call the FBI and confess to an unsolved murder. They'll come right over and confiscate your computers and every piece of media they can find, and then they'll go back to their high tech labs and recover all of the data. Until you get a little less tight-lipped about your situation, that's the best advice I can offer you.

 

Hey oxooxo, sorry about the tone of that last post. Just having a bad day. Didn't mean to take it out on you. I am genuinely interested in the situation you've described and would like to help if I can. I just need more info. Anyone would need more info for that matter. Take a look at the FAQ for this forum. It addresses what kind of info is appropriate (and expected) for inclusion in a request for help. The more thoughtfully you state your request, the more likely you are to receive useful assistance.

Again, I hope you would be kind enough to accept my apology.:-o

 

See http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/isobuster.html

"IsoBuster v3.3 is data recovery software that can rescue all sorts of data, files, music, video from bad or otherwise malfunctioning optical media, such as CD, DVD, BD and HD DVD. This software communicates directly with the drive and does not rely on Windows to provide the files and folders. This way IsoBuster can access data that Windows can't."

I've used it in the past to recover data from corrupted CD/DVD and Iomega ZIP disks (worked great) but I've never tried it on a USB memory stick because I've never had one go bad. Not sure if memory sticks are even supported but you can download the program and see if it recognizes the data on those memory devices of yours.