Can You Fix Fake DT310 USB Flash Drives?

Is it possible to fix a fake Kingston DT310 DataTraveler usb flash drive, restore it to it’s real size? Fake capacity DT310 are found everywhere at extremely low cheap prices.

As a consumer you really should read these two articles:

Kingston DataTraveler 310 DT310/256GB Fake USB Flash Drives Flooding eBay! Fraud Warning.

Report On Fake DT310 Kingston DataTraveler USB Flash Drives. eBay Seller 1958vardy And The Fake DT310 – No Returns. Counterfeit 310 DT310/256GB Flash Memory Continue To Flood eBay. Cheap. Consumers Frauded With Fake Upgraded Flash Memory. Fraud Warning. Beware Of Sellers Who Refuse To Stand Behind The Advertised Capacity Of Flash Memory Size.

Advertised at 256GB these DT310 fakes are usually under 8GB real capacity. A lot of people want to salvage them, get at least some capacity out of them. Can you?

If you read the two articles, then you know just how big the problem is and how much a real DT310 usb flash drive costs.

So how much did you pay?

Why, is this question important? It is the time you might spend to repair it. You need to ask yourself, is it worth it?

If H2testw reported a real size under 8GB then at most that is all you might get in your repair and only if you are successful.

True, you might have spent up to $100 for your Kingston DT310 fake, but if it is only really 8GB, 4GB or less is it going to be worth the effort? You must consider the time you will spend.

To restore an upgraded usb flash drive you need find out it’s VID and PID. This information is used to hunt the internet for a low level formatting software that could restore it. A lot of people will use ChipGenius to get the VID and PID.

The problem with Chip Genius? It will read whatever VID and PID is encoded on the usb flash controller chip. Fake flash memory reprogrammers are lazy and often use the wrong codes. So if you use ChipGenius you could end up selecting the wrong software to reflash your DT310 fake. It happens a lot.

If you use the wrong low level reformatting software? You could damage the usb flash drive storage chip or wipe out all information on the usb flash drive controller chip making it impossible to attempt another repair. So ChipGenius is not really the short cut anymore. Too many people using it are making mistakes based on the wrong VID and PID encoded. It’s a great software for real flash memory, but poor for getting information to start repairing fakes.

Your best chance in repairing, is the oldest way. Opening the usb flash drive, decoding the flash memory storage chip, the usb flash memory controller chip family and then start searching the internet for a software tool. It requires you are careful in taking the usb flash drive apart. A lot of the DT310 fakes are made of cheap plastic.

Some people enjoy the challenge in restoring fake usb flash drives, rehabilitating them. However, they know repaired flash drives will never be as good as ones not tampered with. They don’t store important information on them. Usually they will use them as transfer usb flash drives, putting second copies of files to move to another machine. They don’t use them to store original files.

So before trying to repair a DT310 fake, take a little time to think it over.

If you decide you really want to take the repair challenge, then start reading:

H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives

or

Linux H2testw Alternative Program Called F3 By Michel Machado

followed by:

Chip Genius – The Good And The Bad About This Software In Identify Flash Memory Chips And Repairing Fake Hacked Memory. How Useful Is Chipgenius?

About VID PID Repairing Counterfeit Flash Drives – Steps To Succeed

While you are working on your repair homework take the time to scan: FAQ – Read! It has a lot of good reference information in one place.

An interesting non eBay article on Kingston fake usb flash memory: kingstonflashdrive.com Another Site Selling Counterfeit DT200 Kingston USB Flash Drives? Many Internet Sites Involved In Flash Memory Fraud

If you chose the repair challenge, feel free to leave comments about your repair method and adventure. It could be helpful to the next person faced with a decision on whether to try and repair a DT310 fake.

See this video by By OutlawedMedia on DT310 Kingston DataTraveler Fakes.

Exposing Fake/Counterfeit USB Drive!

See what a fake counterfeit DT310 usb flash drive looks like for yourself. OutlawedMedia opens it up for you to see what is really inside!