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Restoring a flash drive via controller firmware. Obtaining VID and PID values ​​of usb drives

Step-by-step instructions for USB flash drive recovery in which I will try to answer the question in an accessible language How to recover a flash drive independently and without much effort.

Sometimes you help a person, and then he will tell everyone that you are so good and there are already crowds of people thirsty for help. This is roughly what happened when I restored several flash drives colleagues.

Now the people bear not only their own flash drives, but also flash drives your friends, acquaintances and relatives. Well, at least someone else would bring a bottle of beer or a cookie.

It’s not difficult for me to help, but when I suggest you learn how to do all this yourself, you refuse. Next time I’ll just sew them off. If you don't want to study, pass by.

I’ll finish with the lyrics here and move directly to the topic of the post..

If your flash drive stopped be determined like a disk, doesn't want to formatted, does not allow you to write down information or something else happened to it, BUT it has no mechanical damage, then you know that all is not lost. Most likely a glitch controller and you will have to tinker with it a little. This procedure takes approximately 5 minutes.

I’ll say right away that there is no universal programs For recovery all varieties flash drives. You will need to find exactly the one that can work with your controller. flash drives.

First we need to define VID And PID non-working flash drives.

Determine VID and PID for flash drive recovery

Stick it in flash drive into your computer and run device Manager. Start – Execute - mmc devmgmt.msc.


Then go to the section Universal Serial Bus Controllers.


We find ours in the list flash drive. Usually, everything flash drives have a name USB storage device.


Press the right button on the device and open Properties.

Go to the tab Intelligence.

Select the item from the drop-down list Instance code devices or Equipment IDs.

In this window we see PID And VID.

Finding a flash drive recovery program

We go to the website FlashBoot.ru and enter the received VID And PID.


Click on the button Search.

In the results we look for our manufacturer and model of the flash drive. I have Kingston DataTraveler 2.0.


In the right column there will be the name of the program we need or a link to it.

All. Now search Google for the program by name or download it from the link provided. Launch and follow the instructions. Usually, in such programs for recovery There’s only one button, so you shouldn’t have any questions.

That's all!

If you have any questions, ask in the comments.

Good day!

If your flash drive begins to constantly fail: it cannot be formatted, when connected to a computer it often freezes, when copying files to it errors occur, but it has not been subjected to mechanical stress - there is a CHANCE for restoring its functionality!

It would be nice if, when connecting a flash drive, it was at least somehow detected, for example: a connection sound is made, the flash drive is displayed in "my computer", the LED on it blinks, etc. If the computer does not see the flash drive at all, then first I recommend reading this article:

In general, it is impossible to give universal instructions on how and with what program to do what to restore a flash drive! But in this short article I will try to give an algorithm that will help even novice users to understand the problem and solve it.

Restoring a flash drive // ​​step by step

Controller Model Definition

By the will of fate, it turned out that I had one flash drive, which Windows refused to format - an error occurred "Windows can't complete formatting". The flash drive, according to the owner, did not fall, no water got on it, and in general, it was handled quite carefully...

All that was clear after examining it was that it was 16 GB, and its brand was SmartBuy. When connected to a PC, the LED lit up, the flash drive was detected and visible in the explorer, but it did not work properly.

SmartBuy 16 GB - "experimental" non-working flash drive

To restore normal operation of the flash drive, you need to reflash the controller chip. This is done with special utilities, and for each type of controller there is its own utility! If the utility is chosen incorrectly, then with a high degree of probability you will ruin the flash drive completely... I will say even more, the same model range of flash drives may have different controllers!

Each device have their own unique identification numbers - VID and PID , and the flash drive is no exception. To select the correct flashing utility, you need to determine these identification numbers (and the controller model based on them).

One of the easiest ways to find out the VID, PID, and model of a flash drive controller is to use special utilities. One of the best of its kind is .

Flash Drive Information Extractor

A small free utility for getting maximum information about a flash drive. No need to install it!

The program will determine the model of the USB flash drive, model and type of memory (all modern flash drives are supported, at least from normal manufacturers)...

The program will work even in cases where the file system of the flash drive is not detected, or when the computer freezes when connecting the media.

Information received:

  • controller model;
  • possible options for memory chips installed in the flash drive;
  • type of installed memory;
  • maximum current consumption declared by the manufacturer;
  • USB version;
  • the full physical volume of the disk;
  • disk space reported by the operating system;
  • VID and PID;
  • Query Vendor ID;
  • Query Product ID;
  • Query Product Revision;
  • Controller Revision;
  • Flash ID (not for all configurations);
  • Chip F/W (for some controllers), etc.

Important! The program only works with USB flash drives. MP3 players, phones and other devices - it does not recognize. It is advisable, before starting the program, to leave only one flash drive connected to the USB ports, from which you want to get maximum information.

Working with Flash Drive Information Extractor

  1. We disconnect everything that is connected from the USB ports (at least all drives: players, external hard drives, etc.).
  2. Insert the flash drive to be repaired into the USB port;
  3. We launch the program;
  4. Press the button "Get information about the flash drive" ;
  5. After some time, we get maximum information about the drive (see screenshot below).
  6. If the program freezes- don't do anything and don't close it. Remove the flash drive from the USB port after a couple of minutes, the program should “hang” and you will see all the information that it managed to pull out from the flash drive...

Now we know the information about the flash drive and we can start searching for the utility.

Information about the flash drive:

  • VID: 13FE; PID: 4200;
  • Controller model: Phison 2251-68 (second line in the screenshot above);
  • SmartBuy 16 GB.

Addition

You can reliably determine the controller model if you disassemble the flash drive. True, not every flash drive case is collapsible, and not every one can be put back together later.

Usually, to open the casing of a flash drive, you need a knife and a screwdriver. When opening the case, be careful not to damage the inside of the flash drive. An example of a controller is shown in the screenshot below.

Disassembled flash drive. Controller model: VLI VL751-Q8

Addendum 2

You can find out the VID and PID of a flash drive using the device manager (in this case, you don’t need to install anything). True, in this case we will not recognize the controller model, and there is some risk that VID and PID it will not be possible to accurately identify the controller. And yet, suddenly the above utility freezes and does not provide any information at all...


How to find a utility for flashing a flash drive

Important! After flashing the flash drive, all information on it will be deleted!

1) Knowing the controller model, you can simply use search engines (Google, Yandex for example) and find what you need.

The operating algorithm is as follows:

  1. We go to the site:
  2. Enter yours VID and PID into the search bar and search;
  3. You'll likely find dozens of lines in the results list. Among them you need to find a line that matches: controller model, your manufacturer, VID and PID, flash drive size .
  4. Further in the last column you will see the recommended utility. By the way, please note that the version of the utility also matters! All that remains is to download the necessary utility and apply it.

After you find and download the required utility, run it and format the media - in my case, you only had to press one button - Restore .

Formatter SiliconPower v3.13.0.0 // Format and Restore. An end-user utility designed for both low-level and high-level (FAT32) formatting of flash drives on Phison controllers of the PS2251-XX line.

After a couple of minutes of blinking the LED on the flash drive, it began to work normally, messages from Windows about the impossibility of formatting no longer appeared. Result: the flash drive was restored (became 100% working) and given to the owner.

That's all, actually. I would be grateful for any additions on the topic. Good Luck!


Utilities for low-level work with flash drives allow you to restore the actual capacity of the drive, eliminate errors in operation, adjust the operation of the controller, etc. But the main feature of such programs is that they are very narrowly focused. And only with their help is it possible or a memory card. Each chip and even controller has its own specialized program. And until you find it, there can be no talk of any recovery or resuscitation of the flash drive.

How to determine the memory chip, VID and PID on a flash drive without opening the drive?

All of the programs below are completely free and show the most accurate data.

For this, there are special diagnostic programs for flash drives and memory cards. It is with their help that you can find out all the necessary information. First of all, these are programs such as Chip Genius, CheckUDisk, UsbDeview and others.

1 . Determining memory chip, VID and PID using ChipGenius. This is one of the most convenient and powerful utilities in its class. The main feature of the program is automatic updating when a memory chip is recognized. The utility connects to the server and updates the database, so it shows the best results.

2. These parameters can also be found using CheckUDisk. A pretty good functional program that allows you to find out all the information about flash drives in a matter of seconds. However, in some cases the memory chip cannot be recognized, especially when it comes to Chinese memory chips from little-known manufacturers.

3. USBdeview is another diagnostic program for a USB flash drive. Allows you to quickly and effortlessly find out all the necessary information to find low-level utilities for formatting flash drives.

These are the most convenient and functional programs for working with USB flash drives that need to be used for recovery. Of course, this is not a complete list of possible ways to resuscitate memory cards. Depending on the situation and the availability of free time, you need to try others.

Almost every computer user has a flash drive. This is a very convenient storage medium on which you can quickly write something down and throw it in your pocket. The era of disks is becoming a thing of the past, and flash drives are confidently taking their place. For the most part, this is an “indestructible” device that is very difficult to damage. But, nevertheless, due to incorrect operation, a failure of the media firmware or unsuccessful formatting, the flash drive may stop working. What does this mean? The computer writes “Unidentified USB device” instead of its name, the capacity is displayed as 0 bytes, and when trying to format the device, a constant error occurs.

To restore the functionality of the flash drive, you need to figure out the cause of the problem.

Some users immediately think that they need to run to the store for a new flash drive. But this is completely optional, since almost any mistake can be corrected. Well, unless the flash drive is physically damaged, then nothing will help. We provide information on how to find out the VID and PID of a flash drive, and how this will help with recovery.

What are VID and PID for?

Since a flash drive is an electronic device, like any equipment, it has a digital identifier. VID is the manufacturer identifier, and PID is the device. In addition to them, other information may be useful, for example, the serial number. Each chip has its own meaning. It is very important to know these parameters exactly, otherwise, if you restore the flash drive with the wrong utility, you will kill it completely. Therefore, knowing the VID and PID, you can most likely restore the performance of the media.

How to find out VID and PID

Via Device Manager

Go to “Start” - “Control Panel” - “Device Manager” - “USB Controllers” - “USB Mass Storage Device”. In the “Details” tab, select “Hardware ID”. On the bottom line you will see the IDs of your flash drive.

CheckUDisk utility

With its help, you can find out technical information about connected USB devices. Displays all the necessary information about the controller in order to perform recovery in the future.

Flash Drive Information Extractor utility

The utility helps determine the controller model and the memory type of many external drives. Reads information directly, works even with partially damaged boot sectors.

Using the application you can find out the following information:

  • Current consumption.
  • VID and PID.
  • Flash ID.
  • Physical volume.
  • Installed memory chips.
  • Device model and manufacturer.

USBDeview utility

An application for displaying data about USB drives connected to the computer. There is a history of connected equipment. It will help you find out the device developer.

ChipGenius utility

Product from Chinese developers. Determines data from flash drive controllers, card readers and MP3 players. Will be able to determine indicators such as VID, PID, serial number, controller model, manufacturer. Has excellent compatibility with a huge number of drives. There are three versions of the program, one of them will definitely start.

Open the flash drive case

As a last resort, if none of the utilities cope with the task, try carefully opening the flash drive casing and reading the information directly on the electronic chip itself. But we hope that we won’t have to do this, since there is a certain risk of physical damage.

What to do next

Once you have found out all the necessary information, use this page to find the utility you need. At the top, enter the VID and PID data in the appropriate fields and click “Search”. A list of results will open in front of you. The leftmost column displays the manufacturer, the second column shows the model of the flash drive, and the rightmost column shows the recommended utility that will help perform the recovery. If you are lucky, you will be able to find the program you need. After its completion, your flash drive will be as good as new.

USB flash drives are reliable devices, but there is always a risk of failure. The reason for this may be incorrect operation, firmware failure, unsuccessful formatting, and so on. In any case, if this is not physical damage, you can try to restore it using software.

The problem is that not every tool is suitable for recovering a specific flash drive, and using the wrong utility can permanently damage it. But knowing the VID and PID of the drive, you can determine the type of its controller and select the appropriate program.

VID is used to identify the manufacturer, PID is the identifier of the device itself. Accordingly, each controller on the removable drive is marked with these values. True, some unscrupulous manufacturers may neglect the paid registration of ID numbers and simply assign them at random. But this mainly concerns cheap Chinese products.

First, make sure that the flash drive is at least somehow detected by the computer: a characteristic sound is heard when connected, it is visible in the list of connected devices, and is displayed in "Task Manager"(possibly as an unknown device) and so on. Otherwise, there is little chance not only of determining the VID and PID, but also of recovering the media.

ID numbers can be quickly determined using specialized programs. Alternatively, you can use "Device Manager" or simply disassemble the flash drive and find information on its “internals”.

Please note that MMC, SD, MicroSD cards do not have VID and PID values. By applying one of the methods to them, you will receive only card reader identifiers.

Method 1: ChipGenius

It perfectly reads basic technical information not only from flash drives, but also from many other devices. Interestingly, ChipGenius has its own VID and PID database to provide guessable device information when the controller fails to interrogate for some reason.

To use this program, do the following:

  1. Launch it. At the top of the window, select the USB flash drive.
  2. Below opposite the value "USB Device ID" You will see VID and PID.

Please note: older versions of the program may not work correctly - download the latest ones (you can find the exact one using the link above). Also in some cases it refuses to work with USB 3.0 ports.

Method 2: Flash Drive Information Extractor

This program provides more detailed information about the drive, of course, including VID and PID.

After you have downloaded the program, do the following:


Method 3: USBDeview

The main function of this program is to display a list of all devices ever connected to this PC. Additionally, you can get detailed information about them.

Instructions for use are as follows:


Method 4: ChipEasy

An intuitive utility that allows you to get comprehensive information about the flash drive.

After downloading, do this:

  1. Launch the program.
  2. In the top field, select the desired drive.
  3. Below you will see all its technical data. VID and PID are on the second line. You can select and copy them ( "CTRL+C").

Method 5: CheckUDisk

A simple utility that displays basic information about the drive.

Further instructions:

  1. Launch the program.
  2. Select the flash drive from the top.
  3. Check out the data below. VID and PID are located on the second line.

Method 6: Study the board

When none of the methods helps, then you can take radical measures and open the flash drive case, if possible. You may not find VID and PID there, but the markings on the controller have the same value. The controller is the most important part of the USB drive; it is black in color and square in shape.


What to do with these values?

Now you can start using the information received and find an effective utility for working with your flash drive. To do this, you should use it, where users themselves create a database of such programs.