How to find out the VID, PID of a flash drive and what are these identification numbers used for? How to find out the VID and PID of a flash drive: a review of utilities.
Greetings to all blog readers!
Probably most people who work with a computer more or less often have a flash drive (or even more than one). Sometimes it happens that a flash drive stops working normally, for example, due to unsuccessful formatting or as a result of some errors.
Often file system can be recognized in such cases as RAW, the flash drive cannot be formatted, it cannot be accessed either... What to do in this case? Use this small instruction!
These instructions for restoring the functionality of a flash drive are designed for the most various problems With USB media, except mechanical damage(the manufacturer of the flash drive can, in principle, be anything: kingston, silicon-power, transced, Data traveler, A-Data, etc.).
And so... let's get started. All actions will be described step by step.
1. Determining the parameters of the flash drive (manufacturer, controller brand, amount of memory).
It would seem that it is difficult to determine the parameters of a flash drive, especially since the manufacturer and amount of memory are almost always indicated on the flash drive body. The point here is that USB drives, even from the same model range and from the same manufacturer, can have different controllers. A simple conclusion follows from this - in order to restore the functionality of the flash drive, you must first accurately determine the brand of the controller in order to choose the right utility for treatment.
A typical type of flash drive (from the inside) is a board with a microcircuit.
To determine the brand of the controller, there are special number-alphabetic values specified by the VID and PID parameters.
VID - vendor ID
PID - Product ID
They will be different for different controllers!
If you don’t want to kill the flash drive, then under no circumstances use utilities that are not intended for your VID/PID. Very often, due to an incorrectly selected utility, a flash drive becomes unusable.
How to determine VID and PID?
The easiest option is to launch a small free utility CheckUDisk and select your flash drive from the list of devices. Next you will see all the necessary parameters to restore the flash drive. See screenshot below.
VID/PID can be found without using the utility.
To do this, you need to go to Device Manager. In Windows 7/8, this is conveniently done through a search in the control panel (see screenshot below).
In Device Manager, the flash drive will usually be labeled as “USB Mass Storage Device”, you need to click on that device right click mouse and go to its properties (as in the picture below).
In the “details” tab, select the “Equipment ID” parameter - the VID/PID will appear in front of you. In my case (in the screenshot below) these parameters are equal:
2. Search necessary utility for treatment (low-level formatting)
Knowing VID and PID we need to find special utility, suitable for restoring our flash drive. It is very convenient to do this, for example, on the website: flashboot.ru/iflash/
If suddenly nothing is found on the site for your model, it is best to use a search engine: Google or Yandex (query like: silicon power VID 13FE PID 3600).
In my case, the Formatter SiliconPower utility was recommended for a flash drive on the flashboot.ru website.
USB flash drives are reliable devices, but there is always a risk of failure. The reason for this may be incorrect operation, firmware failure, unsuccessful formatting, and so on. In any case, if this is not physical damage, you can try to restore it using software.
The problem is that not every tool is suitable for recovering a specific flash drive, and using the wrong utility can permanently damage it. But knowing the VID and PID of the drive, you can determine the type of its controller and select the appropriate program.
VID is used to identify the manufacturer, PID is the identifier of the device itself. Accordingly, each controller on removable storage marked with these values. True, some unscrupulous manufacturers may neglect paid registration ID numbers and simply assign them at random. But this mainly concerns cheap Chinese products.
First, make sure that the flash drive is at least somehow detected by the computer: audible characteristic sound when connected, it is visible in the list of connected devices, displayed in "Task Manager"(possibly as an unknown device) and so on. Otherwise, there is little chance not only for VID definition and PID, but also for media recovery.
ID numbers can be quickly determined using specialized programs. Alternatively, you can use "Device Manager" or simply disassemble the flash drive and find information on its “internals”.
Please note that MMC, SD, MicroSD cards do not have VID and PID values. By applying one of the methods to them, you will receive only card reader identifiers.
Method 1: ChipGenius
Reads the main one perfectly technical information not only from flash drives, but also from many other devices. Interestingly, ChipGenius has its own VID and PID database to provide guessable device information when the controller fails to interrogate for some reason.
To use this program, do the following:
- Launch it. At the top of the window, select the USB flash drive.
- Below opposite the value « USB Device ID" You will see VID and PID.
Please note: older versions of the program may not work correctly - download the latest ones (you can find the exact one using the link above). Also in some cases she refuses to work with USB ports 3.0.
Method 2: Flash Drive Information Extractor
This program gives more detailed information about the drive, of course, including VID and PID.
After you have downloaded the program, do the following:
Method 3: USBDeview
The main function of this program is to display a list of all devices ever connected to this PC. Additionally, you can get detailed information about them.
Instructions for use are as follows:
Method 4: ChipEasy
An intuitive utility that allows you to get comprehensive information about the flash drive.
After downloading, do this:
- Launch the program.
- In the top field, select the desired drive.
- Below you will see all its technical data. VID and PID are on the second line. You can select and copy them ( "CTRL+C").
Method 5: CheckUDisk
A simple utility that displays basic information about the drive.
Further instructions:
- Launch the program.
- Select the flash drive from the top.
- Check out the data below. VID and PID are located on the second line.
Method 6: Study the board
When none of the methods helps, then you can take radical measures and open the flash drive case, if possible. You may not find VID and PID there, but the markings on the controller have the same value. The controller is the most important part of the USB drive; it is black in color and square in shape. 
What to do with these values?
Now you can start using the information received and find an effective utility for working with your flash drive. To do this, you should use it, where users themselves create a database of such programs.
The flash drive has ceased to fulfill its direct responsibilities for storing and transferring information, issuing, when connected, messages about zero volume, connection unknown device, and also refuses to format. Among the main reasons why a flash drive is no longer detected is incorrect operation, for example, the flash drive was removed from the device without using safe removal, low-quality components, power failure, and so on...
If the flash drive is somehow detected in operating system, then there is a chance to restore functionality. To restore the functionality of the flash drive, you need to reflash the controller chip in which the failure occurred. We will reprogram the controller using special firmware. We will look for this program based on what model of controller is installed inside the flash drive.
Let’s say right away that it would be most correct to search for the model of the controller installed in the flash drive using special programs. Below we will tell you about them all possible methods defining and finding a controller model and why software method is the most correct.
Defred Dividing the controller model by disassembling a flash drive
The controller model is applied to the chip body; to see it you will need to disassemble the flash drive. You should disassemble the flash drive very carefully. If you don’t want to open your flash drive or this is not possible due to the design of the flash drive (many models of flash drives are sealed in plastic and disassembling them is difficult), then you can go the other way. Scan flash drive special programs, which will tell you which controller is installed in your flash drive, more about that at the end of the article..
Defining flash drive VID and PID parameters
VID—controller manufacturer identifier.
PID - device identifier.
VID and PID identifiers exist for every USB device and USB flash drives are no exception. If the VID and PID identifiers turned out to be empty or could not be read, there may have been mechanical damage to the microcircuit, then the programs are powerless here.
After determining the VID and PID identifiers, you can determine the manufacturer and type of controller installed in the flash drive, and knowing the type of controller, you can start searching for the manufacturer’s website and necessary program for working with a flash drive. But currently this method lost its relevance.
The thing is that at the dawn of the development of flash drives, controller manufacturers could be counted on one hand, and the lineup wasn't great. One utility could work with all controllers from one company. Now the situation has changed dramatically, with the development of the flash drive industry, the number of companies producing controllers has increased significantly.
Often, companies assign their VID and PID to the flash drives they produce. As a result, one cannot count on the objectivity of determining the controller model based on the VID and PID parameters.
The most correct and in a simple way determining the controller, the flash drive will be scanned using special programs. Which determine the model of the controller being used and, in addition, allow you to find out a bunch of other information about the flash drive.
Controller model definitions using Flash programs Drive Information Extractor
Utility from Russian company ANTSpec Software allows you to interrogate the flash drive controller and obtain information about the device. The difference between the utility is that this data about the flash drive is determined directly, and not by indirect signs such as VID and PID, the incorrectness of which was indicated above.
The program does not require installation, download, run and click the “Get information about the flash drive” button. After completing the survey, the program will display the information. Below is the result of scanning a USB flash drive; the first line indicates the controller model: Phison 2251-32 (2232).
This is what the controller of this flash drive looks like on the Phison website. The website also contains specifications of this controller If anyone is interested, you can read it.
Now that you know the controller model, you can start searching for the firmware. This is done simply, we enter the name of the controller into a search engine, and we get a bunch of sites offering to download the utility for the desired model controller. It’s as simple as that, the Internet can help you, good luck with your recovery!
Almost every computer user has a flash drive. This is a very convenient storage medium on which you can quickly write something down and throw it in your pocket. The era of disks is becoming a thing of the past, and flash drives are confidently taking their place. For the most part, this is an “indestructible” device that is very difficult to damage. But, nevertheless, due to incorrect operation, a failure of the media firmware or unsuccessful formatting, the flash drive may stop working. What does this mean? Instead of its name, the computer writes “ Unidentified device USB", the capacity is displayed as 0 bytes, and when trying to format the device, a constant error occurs.
To restore the functionality of the flash drive, you need to figure out the cause of the problem.
Some users immediately think that they need to run to the store for a new flash drive. But this is completely optional, since almost any mistake can be corrected. Well, unless the flash drive is physically damaged, then nothing will help. We provide information on how to find out the VID and PID of a flash drive, and how this will help with recovery.
What are VID and PID for?
Since a flash drive is electronic device, as with any equipment, it has a digital identifier. VID is the manufacturer identifier, and PID is the device. In addition to these, other information may be useful, for example, serial number. Each chip has its own meaning. It is very important to know these parameters exactly, otherwise, if you restore the flash drive with the wrong utility, you will kill it completely. Therefore, knowing the VID and PID, you can most likely restore the performance of the media.
How to find out VID and PID
Via Device Manager
Go to “Start” - “Control Panel” - “Device Manager” - “USB Controllers” - “USB Mass Storage Device”. In the “Details” tab, select “Hardware ID”. On the bottom line you will see the IDs of your flash drive.
CheckUDisk utility
With its help you can find out technical information about connected USB devices. Displays all necessary information about the controller in order to perform restoration in the future.
Flash Drive Information Extractor utility
The utility helps determine the controller model, the memory type of many external drives. Reads information directly, works even with partially damaged boot sectors.
Using the application you can find out the following information:
- Current consumption.
- VID and PID.
- Flash ID.
- Physical volume.
- Installed memory chips.
- Device model and manufacturer.
USBDeview utility
An application for displaying data about USB drives connected to the computer. There is a history of connected equipment. It will help you find out the device developer.
ChipGenius utility
Product from Chinese developers. Determines data from flash drive controllers, card readers and MP3 players. Will be able to determine such indicators as VID, PID, serial number, controller model, manufacturer. Has excellent compatibility with a huge amount drives. There are three versions of the program, one of them will definitely start.
Open the flash drive case
As a last resort, if none of the utilities cope with the task, try carefully opening the flash drive casing and reading the information directly on the electronic chip itself. But we hope that we won’t have to do this, since there is a certain risk of physical damage.
What to do next
Once you have found out all the necessary information, use this page to find the utility you need. At the top, enter the VID and PID data in the appropriate fields and click “Search”. A list of results will open in front of you. The leftmost column displays the manufacturer, the second column shows the model of the flash drive, and the rightmost column shows the recommended utility that will help perform the recovery. If you are lucky, you will be able to find the program you need. After its completion, your flash drive will be as good as new.
Step-by-step instructions for USB recovery flash drives in which I will try accessible language answer the question How to recover a flash drive independently and without much effort.
Sometimes you help a person, and then he will tell everyone that you are so good and there are already crowds of people thirsty for help. This is roughly what happened when I restored several flash drives colleagues.
Now the people bear not only their own flash drives, but also flash drives your friends, acquaintances and relatives. Well, at least someone else would bring a bottle of beer or a cookie.
It’s not difficult for me to help, but when I suggest you learn how to do all this yourself, you refuse. Next time I’ll just sew them off. If you don't want to study, pass by.
I’ll finish with the lyrics here and move directly to the topic of the post..
If your flash drive stopped be determined like a disk, doesn't want to formatted, does not allow you to write down information or something else happened to it, BUT it has no mechanical damage, then you know that all is not lost. Most likely a glitch controller and you will have to tinker with it a little. This procedure takes approximately 5 minutes.
I’ll say right away that there is no universal programs For recovery all varieties flash drives. You will need to find exactly the one that can work with your controller. flash drives.
First we need to define VID And PID non-working flash drives.
Determine VID and PID for flash drive recovery
Stick it in flash drive into your computer and run device Manager. Start – Execute - mmc devmgmt.msc.
Then go to the section Universal controllers serial bus USB.
We find ours in the list flash drive. Usually, everything flash drives have a name USB storage device.
Click on the device right key and open Properties.
Go to the tab Intelligence.
In the drop-down list, select the item Instance code devices or Equipment IDs.
In this window we see PID And VID.
Finding a flash drive recovery program
We go to the website FlashBoot.ru and enter the received VID And PID.
Click on the button Search.
In the results we look for your manufacturer and model of the flash drive. I have Kingston DataTraveler 2.0.
In the right column there will be the name of the program we need or a link to it.
All. Now search in Google program by name or download from the link provided. Launch and follow the instructions. Usually, in such programs for recovery There’s only one button, so you shouldn’t have any questions.
That's all!
If you have any questions, ask in the comments.