Thumb drives + water.... Recoverable, or no?

[SacredCow]

My roommate made the mistake of leaving his thumb drive (with a lot of important data) on the dining room table when he went to bed. Sometime during the night, one of his darling feline babies (or as I call them, useless MFing hairball machines) carried it to the feeding area and dropped it right in the water bowl. He found it this morning- it was next to the water bowl, but water dripped out of it when he picked it up, so he knew what had happened (they've done this before- anything you leave out becomes their toy and 7 times out of 10 they'll dunk it in the water- bizarre creatures).

So, does he have ANY hope of recovering the data? I'm sure someone out there has had a wet thumb drive before- maybe not due to the activities of cats, but....


Thanks!
:hi:

[brendan120678]

1. It may be, as long as it dries out without damage...

I've had one go through washer & dryer and still work. There's not many moving parts on them to get damaged or anything.

[SacredCow]

2. that's what I'm thinking....

I Googled it, and most accounts seem to suggest that it'll probably work after it dries out, unless it was salt water or something exceptionally corrosive.

[supernova]

3. You might see of you could hurry it along

with a hair dryer on a low/no heat setting for a few minutes. It's worth a try.

[wysimdnwyg]

4. Shouldn't be a problem

Thumb drives (aka USB drives) are solid-state devices with no moving parts. It's basically just a small circuit board with an EPROM chip. Once it dries out completely (I mean completely - don't want to short circuit the thing because there's still some moisture inside), you should be good to do. Give it two to three days before trying it out. If you want to try to use it sooner, I suggest getting a dessicant packet (those little packets you find in the box with new electronics) and putting that and the drive in a zip-lock bag or other sealed container.

[gmoney]

5. I found a thumb drive in a parking lot once

it had been run over by at least one car, and looked like it had been exposed to the elements for a while. I took it home and plugged it in, and it mounted just fine.

Give yours time to dry out, and I'm guessing it should work.

[brendan120678]

7. Did you find any exciting files on there?

Maybe some highly confidential Republican campaign strategies that could be used to destroy them?

[gmoney]

10. no, it was almost blank

I seem to recall there was part of a HS kid's essay on something or other, but there was no name or anything on it, so I couldn't return it.

Then again, it might have been the GOP's Health Care Reform proposal.

[Crabby Appleton]

6. I've washed mine in the the washing machine and it still works. nt

[JCMach1]

11. Same here

[conscious evolution]

8. Dunk it in alcohol and then let it dry out

This sometimes works on cell phones also when they get wet.
Don't remember exactly why but it has something to do with alcohol having a lower evaporation point then water.

[Bucky]

12. Dry it normally, first. If it doesn't work THEN try the alcohol thing.

Nothing worse than drunken data.

[LynneSin]

9. Give it a few days to dry out and you may be able to get the data

but I would also suggest getting a new thumb drive.