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USB flash drive question

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fohat.digs:
I have a couple of USB flash drives (in the 16GB to 32GB size range) that do not seem to work any more, although they look good on the outside.

They report as "Unable to mount USB drive .... " and something like "likely corrupted file system .... "

My guess is that they cannot be trusted for future use, but I would like to find out what is on them if I could. Linux Mint will go no further than telling me that it is unable to mount them.

Is there anything to do with them except drop them in the waste basket? Would leaving them on a strong magnet for a few hours allow me to reformat them?

Thanks!

Osidian:
Hello!
I wouldn't recommend using a magnet on the USB flash drives. Flash memory is different from hard drives that have magnetic storage, it might cause further issues. There are some applications you can use that may help to recover data like TestDisk. Hope this helps!   

Leslieann:
Magnets shouldn't effect flash memory at al.

I've had drives go bad like this, sometimes you can format and use them, just don't trust them for anything important, most times though they either won't format but even if they do, the drive usually fails again soon after. My fix at that point is to drill a hole through the chip and toss it. Flash drives aren't built well, the number of writes is usually pretty low and the electronics inside are often cut rate even from decent brand names, this is why they aren't recommended for backup unless you have several copies.

fohat.digs:
Thanks guys. The answer is: the garbage can.

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