Vista - The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error

My thumb drive (or Samsung MP3 player) stores some important data I
can no longer retrieve. Windows OS detects the plugged-in drive but
when I click on assigned letter, the error is:

E: is not accessible. The request could not be performed because of an
I/O device error

It happened after I plugged it into somebody's MAC, created a new
folder and copied some content in there. However, I never had problems
using the thumb drive with my own MAC.

Anyway, I do not want to format it and Fix Errors did not work. What
should I do now? Please recommend. I need to somehow get that data.

Thanks

PS Somebody recommended me to force mount my drive on a Linux machine
with Samba installed. I do not have Linux available yet. So in a
meantime maybe there is another fix?

vunet wrote:
I move my thumb drive from my MacBook to PCs all the time and create
folders, delete stuff, etc. from either system(s) with no problem. I have
noticed that on every Vista machine, Vista wants to scan my thumb drive
first. This doesn't happen in any other Windows OS. I always say "no" of
course. Perhaps you allowed Vista to scan and "fix" your thumb drive.

So, let's determine if the drive is at fault or the data is just corrupted.
Attach the thumb drive to your Mac.

1. If it can be seen:

Copy the data to the hard drive and burn to a CD/DVD-R. Make sure you use a
burning format that works in both Mac and Windows. Toast gives you this
option; if you don't have third-party burning software you'll need to
research whether OS X's built-in burning capability will do this.

Once you have the data safely off the thumb drive, take it to a PC and
format it. Now copy the data from the CD/DVD-R to the thumb drive. Don't
ever let Vista "fix" your thumb drive again.

2. If the thumb drive can't be seen on the Mac, then it has died. The only
way to get data off a dead thumb drive is to send it to a professional data
recovery company like Drive Savers (my preference) or Seagate Data
Recovery. I don't know if the recovery prices Drive Savers charges are
different for flash drives as opposed to hard drives, but you can figure on
something like $500-$3,000. Only you know if this data is worth spending
that kind of money. I understand that some insurance companies are now
covering data recovery charges so check with yours.

Drive Savers - http://www.drivesavers.com
Seagate Data Recovery Services - https://www.seagatedatarecovery.com/

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

On May 12, 10:03 am, Malke <ma...@xxxxxx> wrote:On Windows my drive is assigning the letter fine. Changing drive
letter will not fix anything. I tried different PCs. However, Windows
does not even see that the file system of my drive is NTFS. But the
device name is read correctly.
On MAC device is not showing up at all.
I think the data is fine but no Windows or Mac can read it. Spending
hundred of dollars for recovering seems expensive procedure. Besides,
what can they do what I cannot (at least in a long run)?
Thank you for any additional support.

vunet wrote:
I never suggested changing the drive letter. Either try data recovery
software, or send the drive to a professional company (and they can do
quite a bit you can't), or call it a day and forget about it. Thumb drives
are great but they are too fragile to use as a permanent backup solution.
You've just found this out the hard way. I don't think this is a Vista
issue.

Here are some links to various programs. I use Easy Recovery Pro, but it is
expensive. People whom I respect have recommended R-Studio and Restoration.
YMMV.

http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html
PCInspector File Recovery -
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/welcome.htm
Executive Software ?Undelete? -
http://www.undelete.com/undelete/undelete.asp
R-Studio - http://www.r-tt.com/
File Scavenger - http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm
Ontrack's EasyRecovery - http://www.ontrack.com/software/

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

>>>Besides, what can they do what I cannot (at least in a long run)?<<<

The below link is only "one" example. They are some labs that cost thousands
of dollars to build. For many the price is to costly for repair, but for
some and especially some company's, price is no issue when it could cost
them thousands for loss of data.
http://free-backup.info/how-is-a-har...very-done.html

--
All the best,
SG

Is your computer system ready for Vista?
https://winqual.microsoft.com/hcl/
Want to keep up with the latest news from MS?
http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn&ned=us&topic=t
Just type in Microsoft

"vunet" <vunet.us@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:64a8e61e-60d1-4f0a-bf80-8477ec87f299@xxxxxx

On May 12, 11:18 pm, "SG" <so...@xxxxxx> wrote:I tried all of the recovery software and only some of them detect the
drive but NONE of them can access/read data.
Does it mean I either have to pay a lot for professional recovery or
lose data for good?
What could have happened with my drive?
Thanks.

Hi Vunet,

I really don't know my friend what could have happen to your drive. As for
recovery, you only have as it appears to be two choices. Professional
recovery or bite the bullet and take your loss. Wish I had I better answer
for you, but I don't. Maybe someone can jump in here and be able to help
you, so keep checking this thread for awhile.

--
All the best,
SG

Is your computer system ready for Vista?
https://winqual.microsoft.com/hcl/
Want to keep up with the latest news from MS?
http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn&ned=us&topic=t
Just type in Microsoft

"vunet" <vunet.us@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6e2582d3-65c2-43fa-8d76-85a72c3622c6@xxxxxx

"vunet" <vunet.us@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6e2582d3-65c2-43fa-8d76-85a72c3622c6@xxxxxxGreetings Vunet,

Although I can't suggest what might have happened to your thumb drive (USB
Flash drive) I have had success reclaiming data and photographs from dead
hard drives (The Master Boot Record was damaged) with 'On Track Easy
Recovery Professional' www.ontrack.com. I found that large files of data
which spanned across several sectors/ segments? were not recoverable however
all the smaller files were recovered.
It might be worth a try as you seem to think that the data is still on your
thumb drive.

Good Luck

N1800