Alcor Micro Unknown Fa00 F W Fa04 Fixed Verified • Recent

Here’s a technical write-up based on the identifiers you provided: Alcor Micro, unknown FA00, F/W, and FA04 fixed.

5. Recommended Actions (if you are trying to repair the drive)

  1. Identify exact controller – Open the drive or use ChipGenius / USBDeview to get VID/PID (likely VID_058F Alcor).
  2. Use correct AlcorMP version – Wrong version will show FA00 or Unknown.
  3. Check flash chip markings – If visible, match with tool’s FA04 profile.
  4. Apply “FA04 fixed” in MP tool:
    • In settings → Flash Selection → choose FA04 if listed.
    • Set Mode = Fixed (not removable).
    • Set capacity manually if auto-detect fails.
  5. Low-level format – Use “Start (F9)” or “Format” in AlcorMP.

Part 2: Common Causes of the Alcor FA00 FA04 Error

Why does this happen? You might have experienced one of the following scenarios:

  1. Improper Ejection: Yanking the drive out while it was writing a file or, more critically, while the firmware was being updated (e.g., during a "safe removal" failure).
  2. Bad Sectors in the NAND Flash: The NAND chip developed physical bad blocks. When the controller tried to read the firmware backup from these blocks and failed, it crashed into FA04 recovery mode.
  3. Power Fluctuation: A sudden power surge or brownout while the drive was plugged in can corrupt the volatile parts of the controller’s internal RAM or the firmware header.
  4. Failed "Low Level Format" Attempt: If you previously tried to use a generic formatting tool (not the manufacturer’s specific MPTool) and it failed halfway, you likely triggered this state.
  5. Counterfeit Drive Behavior: Many fake "high capacity" USB drives use Alcor controllers. When the real capacity is less than the faked capacity, the controller eventually panics and falls back to FA00.

What is PID FA00?

The Product ID FA00 is a "fallback" or "boot" ID. It indicates that the Alcor Micro controller has entered a specific state where it cannot communicate its full feature set to the host OS. This occurs for two primary reasons: alcor micro unknown fa00 f w fa04 fixed

  1. Missing Firmware/Blob: Some Alcor controllers require a firmware blob to be loaded by the OS driver upon initialization. If the generic Microsoft driver attempts to take control instead of the specific Alcor driver, the firmware load fails, and the device reverts to a basic state, reporting FA00.
  2. Internal Flash Corruption: In rarer cases, the internal flash descriptor of the card reader has been corrupted (often by a failed BIOS update that interacted with the USB controller), causing the device to lose its identity.

4. A Windows 7 or Windows 10 (32-bit) System

Alcor MP Tools are notoriously unstable on 64-bit Windows 10/11. Use an old laptop or a virtual machine (VMware/VirtualBox) with USB passthrough.

Step 1: Open the USB Drive (Physical Shorting)

Carefully pry open the plastic or metal casing of your USB drive. You will see a small circuit board. Locate the Alcor Micro controller chip (a black square with 48 or 64 tiny legs). Here’s a technical write-up based on the identifiers

The Shorting Procedure:

  1. Connect the USB drive to your PC (the error will appear in Device Manager).
  2. Launch the Alcor MP Tool as Administrator. You will likely see "No Device."
  3. While the MP Tool is scanning, use your tweezers to short two specific pins on the controller chip:
    • For Alcor (AU698X, AU699X): Short Pin 29 and Pin 30 (or pins 8 and 9 depending on the datasheet—look for the "ROM mode" pins).
    • Easier method: Short any two data bus pins (D+ and D-) or pins 19 and 20 (common for FA00 recovery).
  4. Hold the short for 3-5 seconds, then release.
  5. Listen for the Windows "USB connected" sound. The MP tool should now show a device in yellow or green.

Why this works: The short forces the controller to bypass the corrupted flash memory and boot from its internal read-only memory (ROM), allowing the MP tool to communicate directly. Identify exact controller – Open the drive or

4. Solution: FA04 Fixed

The term "FA04 fixed" refers to successfully reprogramming the controller with a known working firmware version that reports FA04 (or similar stable ID) instead of FA00.

1. Overview

This document addresses an issue observed with USB storage or card reader devices based on Alcor Micro controllers (commonly AU6xxx or AU8xxx series). The problem manifests as a device reporting a hardware/firmware ID of "FA00" – an unknown or invalid state – which is corrected by applying a firmware update that results in a "FA04 fixed" status.