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How do you dry a flash drive

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eyec

Technical User
Aug 20, 2004
1,493
US
my eldest son ran his flash drive thru the wash.
can it be dried out or is it kaput?

 
it is possible to dry it out...

but you will need to open it up, then get a soft toothbrush and some WD-40, soak it with WD-40 and agitate it with the toothbrush, blot it dry and let it sit for a while...

Water Displacer - 40 is great for this... I have fixed motherboards and a CD changer (after my mom had spilled liquid soap on it) with great success...

but it is not guaranteed to work...

hope it works... if not, they are pretty cheap now anyhow...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
thanx for the quick response.

this will be a project for my son!

in the mean time, you are correct on the price of them, but my son is determined not to spend the money for a new one if he can salvage this one.
 
Eyec,

yep I know about budget constraints, I am still on one for another year or so, so I know where your son is coming from...

good luck...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
I see no need to open it up...in fact I would rinse it with MORE water to be sure all traces of detergent are completely gone, then let it air-dry for a day or two.

I had a friend that worked for Motorola (hand-held devices) in the 80's and he claimed their first step in the repair process was to wash everything with de-ionized water and test again...more often than not this was the "repair".

Now tap water is not DI but it is safer for electronics than detergent residues. I read a Maximum PC article where they subjected a number of different flash drives through a torture test that included a drive in a pocket going through a washing machine/dryer, as I recall all devices passed that test.

Tony

Users helping Users...
 
Warning: As far as I know, DI water is not to be used with bare hands. It will harm your skin, so beware of that.

Besides, using normal tap water will solve your problem. Once you recover your data, trash the drive and get new one as the old one might ditch u anytime.
 
DI water doesn't harm your skin. I washed ceramic crystals in the stuff for 3-4 hours a day for 3 years. It feels really cold after a while. It's just water that has no (or very few) charged particles in it.

Chances are that bottle of commercial water you have in your hand has been de-ionized.




"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 
For those that might want to know what DEIONIZED WATER is.






This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.
 
Well, I have worked in an IC Fabrication lab where we were trained to handle different chemicals.

And we were told specifically not to treat DI water as ur normal tap water. It is harmful to skin. As it lacks ions, it will absorb ions from your skin.



Adnan

 
The absolute best proven way to dry a flash drive or other equipment is as follows. I guarantee this method!!!!

Don't get it wet in the first place. Sorry, had to say that. Accidents do happen though, and I tell everyone I meet the following:

Don't rely on a single, hard drive, CD-RW, DVD-RW, floppy, flash drive, tape, etc. to keep backing up your data on repeatedly. Have at LEAST two that you rotate between. None of these items is reliable enough that you should feel comfortable as a long term solution for data storage as a standalone device.
 
On the water part, (aside I know). I think the risks are from prolonged exposure, same as getting abit of Oil based paint on your hands won't hurt.

I think it also come down to your skin type. Must of had gallons of Ethylene glycol isopropyl ether (a nasty solvent) on my hands when I was I printer and the wife says they are in better condition than hers (well except for the scars)

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004
 
adnan1100,
Have you any references for your assertion? All I can find is an unresolved debate over whether it's safe to drink DI water, no mention of it being harmful to the skin. In the US, OSHA requires an MSDS fact sheet on any chemical used for commercial or industrial use. Here's one for DI water:
Please note the following paragraph:
Potential Health Effects
Eye: Non-irritating to the eyes.
Skin: Non-irritating to the skin.
Ingestion: No hazard expected in normal industrial use.
Inhalation: No hazard expected in normal industrial use.
Chronic: None



"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes
 
As it lacks ions, it will absorb ions from your skin.
which get replaced everyday from drinking regular water or IONIZED Sport Drinks...

which only leads me to think that the reason why this was told to you guys, is that DE-IONIZED water is more expensive, and that drinking it instead of the bottled or tap water, would be a COST factor...

also:
Deionization is a physical process which uses specially-manufactured ion exchange resins which bind to and filter out the mineral salts from water. Because the majority of water impurities are dissolved salts, deionization produces a high purity water that is generally similar to distilled water quickly and without scale buildup. However, deionization does not significantly remove uncharged organic molecules, viruses or bacteria, except through "accidental" trapping by the resin.

It should be noted that removal of all ions from water is next to impossible, since water self-ionizes quickly to reach equilibrium.
Source: Wikipedia


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
Well, I really dont mean to say you guys are wrong .. I only put forward what I was taught in a real Semiconductor fabrication lab ... I can give you their contact and you may ask them abt it .. :)

cheers !!

Adnan

 
I'll stick with OSHAs recommendation, thanks. They are the hazardous materials authority in the US, after all.



"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 
Don't you love how sometime TT becomes comepletly random :)

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004
 
Stu, I don't believe that it is completely random... it leads from using De-ionized water to what De-ionized is...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
Agreed BBB this is actually ON topic. When someone makes an assertion about something as common as DI, it needs to be checked out and verified by our resident fact-checker, LawnBoy.

Many come here and believe every word they read to be true, in some cases there's misinformation and that needs to be cleared up.

Tony

Users helping Users...
 
resident fact-checker
<blushes> Hey I've been wrong on a few occasions too, as some of you are well aware. Half the battle is getting good information, the other half is clearing up old misconceptions.

Besides, I'm always ready for a good debate. I spent way too much time on Usenet in my youth.


"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 
My usb drive went thru the wash and dry and I left it under a regular table lamp for 2 weeks upon which point I tried it and all data was intact and it is still in regular use today.
 
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