The memory is divided in 128 blocks of 64 kb each. A block starts with a 76 bytes block header, which holds information about the block. The rest of the block contains data sectors and sector headers. Each data sector has a 27 bytes wide header located just after the block header header. Data sectors [...]

The flash file systems on USB memory sticks are usually relatively simple mechanisms that only translate the Logical Block Number used in high level file systems to a low level physical address and do not support wear levelling. In the file systems described in this chapter, the block size of the flash file system is [...]

FILE SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Data acquisition results in one or more binary files containing linear bitwise copies of flash memory data. Before any volume analysis and succeed ing file system analysis can take place, the sectors of data as used by the high level file system need to be placed in the right order.
For devices with a [...]

How to prepare a chip for further processing: Pins of a TSOP chip can be cleaned with solder wick and flux remover. Make sure that the pins are nicely aligned and no old solder is left behind on the pins. If a micro BGA chip is removed from a PCB the balls on the chip [...]

De-soldering of flash memory chips: Most chips are packed in a TSOP or micro BGA casing nowadays. This article discusses methods to remove these chips because special de-soldering equipment is needed for de-soldering to prevent damaging of chips and therefore loss of data. Especially chips packed in micro BGA casings need special
care.
* How to remove [...]

The most easy and non-invasive way to read flash data is by using a simple hardware interface and software that
copies all flash memory data from the target system to another system for further analysis. Unfortunately there’s no general method for this procedure because every embedded system can have its own dedicated interface to data stored [...]

There are several ways in which flash memory can be used as file storage in embedded systems. Three of them are explainedbelow.As implified diagram of components involved in host Operating System (OS) access to a flash file system is shown in figure 3.  As a reference, the situation for a hard disk is shown on [...]

The physical mechanism to store data in flash memory is based on storing electrical charge into a floating gate of a transistor. This charge can be stored for extended periods of time without using an external power supply but gradually it will leak away caused by physical effects. Data retention specifications for current flash memory [...]

Ever thought of setting up multiple partitions on a USB flash drive? Well, if you have been wondering whether it is possible to do so then the answer is ‘yes’. You can easily set up more than one partition on a USB flash drive using Windows XP. This article will show you exactly how to [...]

Page and Block
Page: Reading unit in flash chip with times of 528 or 536 bytes.(528x or 536x).
Page Size: 528 bytes, 2112 bytes, 4224 bytes, 4288 bytes, etc.
Block: Erasing unit in flash chip with times of 2^x pages, i.e. 32 pages, 64 pages etc.
ID and Mark
Data: 512 bytes data
Service words: including ID, Mark, ECC etc. 16 [...]