Just an idea for an alternative way of getting the chip off. I have not performed this kind of thing for forensics but have removed surface mount chips from pc boards occasionally. The most sucessful, for me, is to get a exacto razor knife and slowly cut the pins from the board. The solder is soft and pliable. Trying to get the solder off on multiple pins can be very difficult. Once you cut away the pins you can trim the solder off by clamping the chip once it is off the board. Do the same for the good board. Using this method you minimize the heat applied to the chip, getting the chip off the board, and a better way to clean up the excess solder.
Any method you do attempt you need to have patience.... -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Raymond C. Parks Sent: 05 January 2007 04:44 To: Michael Edwards Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: Physically damaged SD card Michael Edwards wrote: > Any tips or ideas for recovering data from a physically damaged SD > flash > card? One of the cards I'm working with has hairline cracks in it, that > appear to be getting worse with handling. I was able to recover some > data off it at first, but now, no go. The following is based on personal experience with components much larger than SD cards, so take it with many grains of salt. If the cracks are in the PCB, then you could purchase an identical SD card, very carefully desolder both surface-mount chips (I admit this is nearly impossible even for experts but I have seen it done), and swap the one whose data you want onto the good board. Since the difficulty in removing surface-mount chips lies in doing so without damaging the board, you could just remove the chip from the bad board. Once you have that chip, you could implement a breadboard that fulfills the functionality of the PCB. With all of the latest hardware compilers and such, that isn't as hard as it sounds, and you could use the duplicate (still need that) to reverse-engineer the functionality. If the actual flash memory chip is a standard one, you could just implement a breadboard that allows access to it via some easier mode than the SD standard. All of this would require resources far greater than one would be willing to expend for vacation pictures, however. I don't know, off-hand, of any standard kits that might help, although the flash chip manufacturer may offer development kits that could be adapted. Ray Parks This e-mail is intended for the named recipient(s). It and any attachments may contain privileged and/or confidential information. They may not be disclosed to or used by or copied in any way by anyone other than the intended recipient. If you are not one of the intended recipients, or this email is received in error, please immediately either notify the sender or contact OAG Worldwide Limited on +44 (0) 1582 600111 quoting the name of the sender and the email address to which it has been sent and then delete it and any attachment(s). While all reasonable efforts are made to safeguard inbound and outbound e-mails, OAG Worldwide Limited and its affiliate companies cannot guarantee that attachments do not contain any viruses or are compatible with your systems, and does not accept liability in respect of viruses or computer problems experienced. Neither OAG Worldwide Limited nor the sender accepts any responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan or otherwise check this email and any attachments. OAG Worldwide Limited may monitor or record outgoing and incoming e-mail to secure effective system operation and for other lawful purposes. By replying to this email you give your consent to such monitoring. Thank you. OAG Worldwide Limited is a company registered in England and Wales (registered number 4226716), with its registered office at Church Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 4HB, United Kingdom.
