SD cards are small and highly portable. They are convenient for storing and transporting gigabytes of data on a very compact form factor. However, SD cards are often fussy and they shouldn’t be treated as long-term data storage. Eventually, some of your files can be corrupted or deleted accidentally. Losing the last photo of your grandma can be soul-crushing for anyone. Although you can’t see the file, it is still there in your SD card. If you have taken hundreds of photos with your smartphone during an overseas trip, recovering your SD card is essential. If you use a smartphone, it is easy to accidentally the entire folder with a few wrong taps. Other than accidental deletion, you may lose files on your SD card due to corruption, virus infection, or unintentional formatting. Fortunately, there are ways to do SD card recovery:
Method #1
Use CMD prompts: If you know how to use command prompts, you can use the computer to recover files on SD card. Follow these steps:
- Use a card reader to connect the SD card with your computer
- Check the File Explorer to know about the assigned drive letter for the card reader
- Press Windows key + R and type in cmd.exe in the field. Hit Enter.
- In the command prompt, type in chkdsk H: /r (H is the drive letter of your card reader, it could a different letter). Hit Enter. Chkdsk is a utility to check the structural integrity of SD card or other storage media. /r attribute tells chkdsk to repair any problem if found.
- In File Explorer, check whether you can recover lost files
Method #2
Assign new drive letter: If your SD card is unreadable, assigning a new drive letter may solve the problem. Connect the SD card to the computer using a card reader. If your computer doesn’t assign a new drive letter, then your SD card is unreadable. In other cases, a drive letter is assigned, but you can’t access the SD card, with the “Please insert the disk into drive E:” message. You may resolve this problem by assigning a new drive letter through the operating system. Follow these steps:
- Type in Disk Management and make sure that you have administrator permission. In the search box, type in Disk Management, right click on the result and choose Run as administrator.
- In Disk Management, locate the card reader and change the drive letter. Choose Change Drive Letter and Paths
- Select a new Drive letter and choose OK. Check whether the SD card is accessible in File Explorer.
Method #3
Reinstall driver: Driver problems may prevent you from accessing the SD card. Follow these steps:
- Connect SD card with your computer using card reader
- On the desktop, right click on My Computer or This PC, depending on the Windows version. Choose the Manage option.
- On the left side, click on the Device Manager
- From the list, double click Disk Drives and right click on the card reader.
- Choose Uninstall Device and click OK
- Disconnect the card reader and restart the PC
- When the PC is fully restarted, reconnect the card reader and check whether your PC properly detect it
Method #4
Recovery with Android app: If your SD card is unreadable and you don’t have a PC or card reader available, you may try to recover it with Android smartphone. Be aware that iPhone and some Android smartphone models don’t have slot for SD card. Follow these steps:
- Turn off your Android smartphone and insert SD card
- Turn on your Android smartphone and go to Google Play
- Install EaseUS Mobisaver and open the app
- Tap the SD Card button and follow the onscreen instructions. Wait until the recovery process is completed.
- Use the file manager in your phone to check whether the SD card is accessible
Method #5
Recovery with Android smartphone and PC: This method is useful if you don’t have card reader available. Follow these steps:
- Turn off your Android smartphone and insert SD card
- Turn on your Android smartphone and connect it with your PC
- Go to File Explorer and click on the name of your smartphone
- Choose the SD card of your smartphone
- Use manual recovery methods or data recovery software to retrieve any missing file
Method #6
Choose the right data transfer mode: This issue is very easy to fix. When you connect the phone with the computer, sometimes the SD card can’t be detected. Follow these steps:
- Connect the phone with your computer
- Depending on the smartphone model, various options are displayed on the phone’s screen. Choose Media Transfer, instead of Mass Storage.
- Check File Explorer on PC to make sure that your SD card is properly detected
Method #7
Fix damaged connectors: If you regularly replace SD cards from your phone, it is possible that there’s hardware issue.
- Remove the SD card and rub its metal connector with cloth
- Reinsert the SD card into your phone and make sure that it’s connected properly
- Try multiple SD cards to verify that the problem is with your phone
If SD card slot in your phone is damaged, it may need to be replaced.
Method #8
Use data recovery software: Nothing worked? Then, you should use a comprehensive solution to recover any lost file. EaseUS Data Recovery Software provides support for many types of portable storage media, including SD cards. It supports many different file types, including documents, pictures, videos and songs. Before scanning and recovering the lost files, it is highly recommended to transfer the recovered files to your computer. Minimize write operations on your SD card to avoid file corruption. Follow these steps:
- Connect your SD card to your PC with card reader and open EaseUS Data Recovery Software
- Choose the SD card and scan. Wait until the scanning process is completed.
- Click filter to look for a specific type of file. Skip this step if you want to recover all files in SD card.
- Double-click any file to preview any file that you want to recover. After you have verified them, click the checkboxes of all files and click “Recover”.
Check File Explorer to make sure that all files are properly recovered
