USB & Flash Media Recovery

Cards used to store data in digital cameras, MP3 players and USB storage devices are often ‘solid-state’ memory devices. This means that the data is stored on chips rather than on moving media such as hard disk drive platters or tape.

Chips come in two main types, being volatile, and non-volatile. Where a chip set is described as volatile, any loss of direct power to the chip means that the data is lost. Where a chip set is non-volatile, the data is retained, even if electric power is not continually applied.

The logical structure of data on non-volatile storage media, like most ‘flash memory’ is very similar to that on a disk drive, and can be recovered in a similar way. See Disk Recovery.