USB Memory Stick

[trees]

I have the above flash drive, it is a Sandisk Cruzer Pop 16GB. I used the flash drive to store information for a couple of charities I belong to, just documents and photos. Inside it is a very small black card the info is stored on to.
I am having problems opening the device, I accidentally knocked against it and the message I get is "you need to format the disk in drive F: before you can use it".
I have not attempted to do this as I am unsure as to whether it will wipe all the information or not.
Can you help me with a solution to my problem? I have seen somewhere that I could send it off but it would cost £300 to have the information retrieved
There is 20 years of work belonging to one of the charities on the disk.

Thank you for your time

 

[tom_e]

Yes formatting it will wipe out all the data.

Have you tried it in another PC?

Also if/when you get it working again for the love of God make backups, no one in their right mind keeps that amount of data on a USB stick as their only copy.

 

[Nix]

When you say knocked against it, what do you mean exactly?

Is the USB damaged?

 

[trees]

No Tom e, I haven't tried it in another computer but I will try this and see. You are absolutely right about the back ups and it is sheer stupidity on my part, a lesson learned.

Nix, I am a wheelchair user and as I turned around in my room my leg or something possibly on the chair must have touched the stick, the stick was located on a drive in the front of the tower, it doesn't look to be damaged, its not like some other sticks in that I thought one of the connectors had broke (not the case), I have since discovered that the info is stored on what looks like a micro card which has 4 brass connectors on the front of it

 

[APM]

may be worth trying the free version of this,

http://www.piriform.com/recuva