I have a retractable thumb drive where I store important stuff for 10+ years. Now it is stuck and will not come out. I tried pulling, pushing, squeezing, praying. Nothing. What to do?
Your flash drive is Sandisk Cruzer Slide. The in-out mechanism of the USB connector is like an old fashioned door latch slide. Repeated use makes that loose on its track, and it is likely hitting against some edge and not moving. You may simply open the unit [these units are fused at a couple of spots along its edge and opens like a clam], and push the USB connecter out. this is a more drastic measure than the one below... USB connectors have two rectangular holes on top, and a frontal gap that is about 1mm high for any tool to get through. Find an unshielded USB-male connector and look at it. You may have one on your printer cable, or some other USB thing. You can insert a suitable tool into the USB connector (thinner than 1mm, and has a hook that would go into the hole, and pull the connector out of your flash drive. Make a tool from a paper-clip. You can certainly ruin the drive and destroy all information. Unfortunately there is no specifications for "finesse".
Thank you for this. I will try it when I get the chance. I certainly don't want to ruin data on the drive (although I re-created it elsewhere)
