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Broken Flash Drive Help

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blksith0

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I dropped it and now there is no LED indicator light lighting up. And it will not show up in My Computer.
I managed to strip it down to this.
**broken link removed**

So the first thing I notice is that this chip is loose.
**broken link removed**

And on the underside, it has 4 metal contacts, so we know that it goes there in that missing spot.
**broken link removed**

However, it could orient either way, and I've tried holding it there myself and plugging it in, but to no avail. :(

So, now I'm stuck here. I really need to recover this.

Thanks.

(**broken link removed**)
 
Hi,

You could check the four connections on the connector. If one of them broke loose it wont make contact with the computer correctly.
Im surprised it broke as those drives have a softer rubber outer jacket dont they?

Oh that chip isnt the LED is it? If it is really a chip then it needs to be connected.

How did you get it apart?
 
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I'm sure that that chip is important and that the connections on the front are fine.
I got it apart by peeling the rubber sleeve off. And then two plastic parts came off in halves.
 
Hi again,

You probably have to be able to solder that chip back into place. Do you solder at all?
 
As a quick guess, i would say that the part that has come off, is either an self contained oscillator, or a crystal.
But you'll have read the part number from it to find its orientation by checking the datasheet.

Leftfield95
 
Looks like oscillator crystal. The loading caps can be seen next to crystal.

Get a cheap butane soldering pencil that has a hot gas attachment and solder it back on. If PCB solder pads extend beyond crystal you might be able to resolder it with a small solding iron.

In the picture the two crystal terminals are lower left and upper right pads. Other two pads look like just ground connections which are just for mechanical attachment strength (LoL).

It doesn't matter the orientation. Either way it makes the right connections.
 
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