3.

Live Linux ISO

Sometimes operating system or automatic driver updates may introduce
incompatibilities with particular hardware. To ensure you’re not dealing with such a
problem, you can use a Linux distribution as a USB flash drive repair tool instead of
an alternative operating system.
Let’s see how you can do it using the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution. Start
by downloading it from its official site and creating bootable media with it. Then, boot
your PC from your new bootable media – you might have to check your
motherboard’s manual to find how to do that.
1. When Ubuntu’s installation wizard welcome screen appears, ignore “Install

Ubuntu” and click on “Try Ubuntu”.

2. After a short while, you’ll find yourself on Ubuntu’s default desktop. Click on
Files from the icon dock on the left side of the screen.

3. If your USB flash drive is accessible under Ubuntu, you’ll see it listed on the left,
under a list of popular locations. Click on it to “Mount and open” it.
4. If you can access your files, copy them to an HDD or other type of storage media.
Make sure you’ve copied everything you need.

After finally accessing your USB flash drive, are some files missing or corrupted?
That’s where software specializing in data recovery can help, as we’ll see right next.

If you go for a different Linux distribution, check beforehand that its installation media offers
a live desktop environment – many don’t.

4. GUI Error Checking

Windows 10 offers multiple paths that lead to the same error-checking tool. The
quickest way to reach it is through the operating system’s File Explorer.

1. Run File Explorer ( Windows Key + E). Right-click on your flash drive from the list on the
left, and choose Properties.
2. Move to the Tools tab of the window that appears, and click on the Check button in

the “Error checking” section.

3. Click on “Scan and repair drive” to do precisely that. The dialog might look different
from our screenshot since the USB drive we used for testing didn’t have actual

errors.
4. After a while, the Windows error-checking tool will inform you about the outcome

of the process, successful or not.

If the process fails, you can also skip the command line approach that follows. Although the
graphical and command-line solutions appear different, they work similarly and don’t lead to
different results. Which you use is purely a matter of preference.

5. CHKDSK
Checking your USB flash drive from the command line is equally easy.

1. Press Windows Key + X to access Windows 10’s quick menu of administrative tools.
From there, run Windows PowerShell with administrative privileges.

2. Use the command get-psdrive -psprovider filesystem to see a list of all storage
devices attached to the computer and locate your USB flash drive.
3. Use chkdsk DRIVE LETTER /r /f , where DRIVELETTER is the one of your USB flash drive,
to check for and try to repair any errors on it.

Even if repairing your USB flash drive fails, not all is lost. You might be able to
reformat it to keep using it.

6. File Explorer Format

Even if the actual hardware of your USB flash drive is failing, maybe by reformatting
it, you will be able to keep using it for a while. The quickest and easiest way to format
your USB flash drive is once again through Windows 10’s File Explorer.

We must stress that you should stop storing essential data on the device in such cases – a total
failure is only a matter of time. We suggest you order a replacement before the inevitable
happens.
1. Run File Explorer and right-click on your USB flash drive. Choose Format…

2. Windows 10’s format dialog will show up. Choose the filesystem you want to use
(FAT32 is the most popular and widely supported option) and enter a volume label.
Since you are dealing with a potentially problematic device that you want to check
 in its entirety, disable Quick Format. Click on Start to begin the Formatting process.

3. You will see a final warning before formatting the device. Click on OK if you are

sure you want to proceed.

7. Diskpart
If you’d prefer the feeling of control offered by the command-line, you can use
Diskpart instead to format your USB stick:

1. Press Windows Key + X to see Windows 10’s quick menu of administrative tools and,
from there, run PowerShell with elevated privileges.
2. Type diskpart and press Enter to run the app.
3. Use the command list disk to see the diskpart-compatible storage devices
attached to the computer. Note the number of your USB flash drive.

4. Choose your USB flash drive by typing select disk DISK_NUMBER ,

where DISK_NUMBER that of your USB flash drive you noted in the previous step.

5. Erase everything on your USB flash drive with the command clean .
6. Make a new partition by typing create partition primary . Then, format it

with format fs=fat32 .

When the process completes, type exit and press Enter to quit Diskpart. You can then
close PowerShell’s window.

HOW TO REPAIR YOUR USB FLASH DRIVE

If your USB Flash drive no longer works correctly, it may be possible to
repair it. This tutorial shows you how to identify and repair your USB flash
drive using some of the Flash drive tools that the manufacturers use.
If you have purchased a 'fake' flash drive (one that has been 'clocked' so it
reports a larger capacity than it actually is), then although a factory utility
described below may appear to fix it and correct it so that it reports it's true
capacity, it will probably fail at some time in the future, as these devices
often contain defective memory chips which failed the manufacturers tests
and were sold off as defective 'reduced capacity' Grade C stock (or just
pinched from the dustbins behind the factory!). Before using the tools
mentioned in this Tutorial to reprogram your USB drive, check that it is not
a 'fake' USB drive by running FakeFlashTest.
WARNING: These manufacturers flash tools can easily trash a working USB
flash drive, so if you are using this tutorial on a good, working USB Flash
drive and afterwards it no longer works, don't blame me!
As most of the reprogramming utilities install a low-level USB Windows
driver and were designed a few years ago, they may not work on 64-bit
operating systems and they also may not work on Vista/Win7 or later
Operating Systems. Admin rights will be required. I would recommend using
them on an XP system only.
1. Download and install the latest version of ChipGenius (currently v 4.00 -
WARNING! Check for viruses using an Online Scanner like VirusTotal
before you run it!).
2. Run this tool to identify the Flash memory controller used by your USB
flash drive. In my case, I had an Intenso Rainbow 8GB USB flash drive that
Windows had problems accessing - it flashed the LED for several minutes
and could not be formatted using RMPrepUSB or Windows format.
Unsupported embed

Chipgenius has identified the Controller chip as USBest UT165.

3. The Chip Vendor and Part-Number is the bit we need to find out. In my
case I can see that the Intenso Rainbow USB Flash drive has a USBest
UT165 flash memory controller chip.
If it does not identify the Part-Number, you will have to take the flash stick
apart and read the very small print on the controller chip.

The controller chip is smaller than the memory chip(s) on the other side
and usually has a small metal cylindrical can (a crystal) next to it.
4. Now go the the Russian site flashboot.ru here and search for your
controller chip (tip: if the search button does not appear to work with
Chrome, try Internet Explorer).
Beware of viruses in the downloads!

If you have a PNY (SMBest controller) try one of these utilities. For an SMI
SM3257 controller try this download.
Here is an Alcor MP Tool for AU69xx controllers which works under Win7
x64 and XP 32-bit.
A good site for fixing USB flash drives with links to many Repair Tools
is here.
Tip: If you have a USB Flash drive that reports 'No Media' in Disk
Management - try this Transcend JetFlash Repair utility.
5. Download the appropriate chip utility. They differ widely in how they
work, so I am only going to describe the USBest UT165 tool here. I strongly
recommend that you install the tool on a Windows XP system (or at least a
32-bit OS) as these utilities usually install a driver which may be
incompatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7/8/10 x64. For instance, the
UT165 tool did not work under Win 7 64-bit but worked fine under XP.
Before you start, I strongly recommend that you do NOT have any USB
storage device attached so first unplug all USB storage devices.
Do not run any executable with 'Auto' in the name - these will automatically
format any USB drive that you connect!
Note: The utility URescue (v1.3.0.71) did appear to work under Win 7 64-
bit but I do not know how good it is, as I had already repaired my Intenso
using the UT165 tool and so could not test it fully.Unsupported embed

INSTALLING AND USING THE MP (MASS PRODUCTION)

TOOL FOR THE UT165 V1.65.30.0

Before you start, I strongly recommend that you do NOT have any USB
storage device attached so first unplug all USB storage devices.
This tool does not work under Windows Vista/7 64-bit OS (untested on 32-
bit) but does work on XP 32-bit OS.
1. When you install the MP tool (UT165-MPTool_V1.65.30.0.exe), it may
prompt you to Select a Driver. With the UT165 tool, during software
installation, I could choose from Type 0 - 3, OSE-AUTO, KYT-AUTO, ZKT-
AUTO, AUTO-CHECK or Network. I chose AUTO-CHECK which seemed to
work fine under XP. If it does not work for you or you cannot see any AUTO
option, try the default option offered.

2. Usually a link is installed on the Windows Desktop. Double-click on the

link to start the utility.You should see that a driver is automatically
installed. This driver is required in order for the utility to access your USB
stick.

Allow the driver to be installed.

Windows may ask you to OK the install of the FABULK driver.
3. You now should see the utility main form. Now insert your faulty USB
stick into a USB port and click on the F5 refresh button and the F3
Enum button. If this works, you should see your USB drive listed. At this
point a driver may be loaded. If the device is not listed or cannot be
identified, try running the FilesMDPTDriverInfUpdate.exe utility (in the
Start Menu) to update the driver library. If it still does not list your device
correctly, you may have the wrong utility for your USB stick!
If no USB stick is detected, remove the USB stick and then re-insert it and
wait for Windows to detect it, then try F5 and F3 again - the FABULK driver
should be installed.
4. You now need to make a note of the Serial Number and other values
because this tool will overwrite them with default values unless you pre-set
them first. You will need the Serial Number and the Product Vendor and
Model, USB VID and PID (these are usually listed by ChipGenius).

5. Click on the F1 Setting button and set the correct values in all fields
under the Vendor Data tab to match those reported by ChipGenius. Note
that in here you can also set the Disk Type as either Fixed or Removable.
This means that if the Lexar BootIt.exe 'bit flip' utility does not work on your
particular flash drive, you can permanently program the bit here by
changing the RM (removable media) bit in the controller.
6. Click on the Parameter Input tab and change the Serial Number
option so that it will not change the serial number (if you want to keep the
same serial number as it had before).
7. Hit the F6 button and save these parameters so that you can easily load
them again later if you need to. Press F5 to exit the Parameter Settings
form.
8. Now we are ready to re-program the USB flash drive - just hit the SPACE
bar or click on Space Start. If all is well you should see some sort of
successful indication.
Tip: If you prefer to be cautious, try the F12 ScanBlk - The status will be
reported as something like 48(17,31) which means 48 bad blocks were
found, 17 in the first memory chip and 31 in the second memory chip.
9. To see the result of the analysis, double-click on the highlighted entry for
the USB stick.

Bad Block diagram after running the Start or F12 command.

9. Now quit the MP Tool utility. It is important to check that the driver is
now uninstalled (should be automatic). If it is not uninstalled, see if there is
a Start Menu - Program Files entry under the Tool folder which allows you to
uninstall it manually or perhaps there is a menu option in the tools menu
system.
10. Finally, remove the USB flash drive from the USB port and then re-insert
it. Windows should detect it and you should be able to test and format it
using RMPrepUSB again!
WARNING: your USB drive may still be 'bad'. Many of these factory mass-
production tools do not test the memory very well at all. The Alcor tool in
particular does not. You can usually get a clue as to how thoroughly they
test the memory by how long it takes the utility to program the controller
and format the memory. If it only takes a few minutes for an 8GB USB stick,
then it is not thoroughly testing the memory! For this reason you are
strongly advised to TEST THE USB STICK after using an MP tool, by
using RMPrepUSB Quick Size Test first - and if this passes,
run H2TESTW on the formatted, empty USB stick.

USBEST UT165 FORMAT TOOL

Download UT165_1.65.17.rar from downloads below

USB Flash controllers UT165 production USBest (ITE tech).
Instructions on how to use the tool:
OS = Windows XP only (because a special XP driver is installed)!
1. Disconnect the USB Flash drive first!
2. Sets the utility (if prompted to install a new driver, select the Bulk driver,
confirm the driver installation).
3. Run the tool, note the menu Utilities Driver-Uninstall drivers.
4. Connect USB Flash drive, Windows prompts you to install the driver for
the new device, click on "automatically" driver will be installed on the
device FABULK.
5. Click on the "Enum" (F3), on the port will be the device.
6.1 If the device is not defined and the controller exactly UT165, run the file
C:\Program Files\MDPT\Driver\InfUpdate.exe, which has to be done VID &
PID your flash (VID & PID can learn using ChipGenius).
7. If the flash drive was defined, press the space bar (Start). Start the
formatting process. Status should be OK.
8. Then close the program or uninstall the driver (if you do not remove the
device driver FABULK, Windows will not see your flash!)
9. Reconnection flash.
10. Format using RMPrepUSB or
Windows.https://drive.google.com/embeddedfolderview?
id=1polg6LyWkRrMAhSCcRv5cbFLGEfTm6GY#list