A Trojan killed my USB key...?

BopNiblets

Ok, I'm on holliers in Bangkok and I'm using PortableFirefox from my Swissbit SWISSMEMORY 1GB USB key, it picked up a trojan from some crappy internet cafe PC a few weeks ago that I thought I got rid of (in another internet cafe that at least had AVG Scan)
I noticed the trojan or whatever it was when it replicated an .exe with the foldername inside all the folders on the key, and it overwrote PortableFirefox.exe!

It's stopped working altogether, I know it's not the ports I'm using because my SE K750 USB cable works in all I've tried.

What does happen is I plug it in, the mouse pointer flicks to working timer (little eggtimer beside the pointer and back again) but nothing shows up in Explorer, and no Autoplay thingy.

Can a trojan kill a USB key? The virus scanners deleted some .exes but wouldn't have deleted anything to make it top working, right?

Physically I can't see any damage inside the key (clear plastic) other than a little bit of dust in the plug-in part, which I'll clean out later. And it didn't get wet or anything (last year I lost one of these to a leaking shampoo bottle)

The data on it doesn't matter very much to me, a few pics that I have on CD too, but it's the key itself that's pricey to replace.
Thanks.

Khannie

BopNiblets wrote:

Can a trojan kill a USB key?

Nope. No software can (reasonably) damage hardware.

majiktripp

Khannie wrote:

Nope. No software can (reasonably) damage hardware.

I agree its probably the usb key itself giving up on you,try formatting it and throwing all your files and stuff back onto it and see does that help.

Hobbes

Khannie wrote:

Nope. No software can (reasonably) damage hardware.

Actually it is possible to destroy a USB key using software, but it is unlikely that is what happened.

Khannie

Hobbes wrote:

Actually it is possible to destroy a USB key using software

How?

astrofool

i'd be guessing some type of firmware rewrite? But that would have to be tailored for each USB key, and even then only if it had a rewritable chip in it.

Khannie

That makes sense alright.

BopNiblets

majiktripp wrote:

I agree its probably the usb key itself giving up on you,try formatting it and throwing all your files and stuff back onto it and see does that help.

That might work, if it showed up in My Computer!

Fragnammin' techmology.

ressem

Usual checklist:
Possibly try holding down the shift key while you insert the key, in case of an autorun issue.
Download and burn bootable knoppix on a cd. Just to rule out a windows issue.
Try other USB ports, sometimes I've seen devices stop working on one port, possibly due to the drivers associating a particular device with a particular port and not clearing once the device is removed.
Try a different computer.

astrofool

OT a bit, but if anyone is using the latest Asus boards (the one I used was an M2N32-SLI Deluxe), it allows the flashing of the bios from within the bios, via USB key or CD.

BopNiblets

Bah, none of those things worked.
I'm in an IT shopping centre in Bangkok now (key doesn't work on this machine either, no surprise) and there's lots of little stalls that fix PCs, the few guys I went to wanted to open it up and check the insides:
The price is rediculously cheap at about 6 euro, but I risk losing any warranty on it (not sure if I even have one) and risk them breaking it further as it's snugly sealed inside!


Yargh.

GrumPy

Buy a new ne for a fiver ffs, and take the chance on that one, they might be able to fix it.

Pacifico

Surely its €6 to get it fixed, not for a replacement?

Sounds like its dead tbh, send it back, warranty intact!

BopNiblets

Yeah, 6 euro if the guy could fix it, and I'm not about to trust some random guy sticking a stanley blade into my USB key!

I'll see what those swiss lads say.

GrumPy

BopNiblets wrote:

Yeah, 6 euro if the guy could fix it, and I'm not about to trust some random guy sticking a stanley blade into my USB key!

I'll see what those swiss lads say.

ITS JUST A USB KEY!!! buy one for cheap over there, I know you might have data on the one thats not working, but remember, it's better to regret something you did (getting it repaired) than regretting something you didnt do( you wont find out if it is fixable or not till you try!)

Standard Toaster

http://www.bootdisk.com/canada/hpflash1.exe

Download that and format the thing. You should be good to go.