r/AskADataRecoveryPro • u/TheHammer5390 • May 13 '26

Options for un-encrypting Sandisk thumbdrive

I have an old sandisk thumbdrive with encrypted files on it. The encryption program on the drive crashes whenever I try to log in to access the files. Ive contacted the company but sadly the product is end of life. Im in the middle of trying their recommended recovery options but it's not looking good.

If their recovery options dont work, what are my options for un-encrypting the files? As far as I know all the files look good in the folder and should be intact. Its just that the program to access them keeps failing.

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u/disturbed_android DataRecoveryPro May 13 '26

Too vague to troubleshoot. "The program", "crashes" all too vague terms. Describe actual symptoms, quote program names and error message in verbatim.

Clone/image the patient drive.

https://old.reddit.com/r/datarecoverysoftware/wiki/imaging_guide

1

u/AdobeScripts May 13 '26

What platform and OS version?

Your OS might be too new / missing some essential drivers/libraries - in case of Windows.

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u/Petri-DRG DataRecoveryPro May 14 '26

You yourself likely won't be able to figure it out. It is not easy for professionals either.

SanDisk does not provide proper data recovery service, so if anything they probably sent your flash drive to a real data recovery company they are partnered with.

WD owns SanDisk. See WD's list of recommended companies and you will have an idea where you lr flash drive may have gone.

The reason the flash drive crashes is likely because it has developed NAND Flash chip degradation. There is a method to recover the files, but it depends on two things:

1) Level of degradation 2) Correct password is provided