Easy SD Card Data Recovery

SD cards are a versatile way of storing photos, videos, music and other digital media. But like all storage devices, your data isn’t 100% safe. Here are some tips to recover lost data from an SD card.

Although this might seem obvious, you firstly need to confirm that there’s anything wrong with the SD card by ruling out a problem with your card reader. Many modern computers and laptops have SD card slots built in, but you can also use USB SD card adapters. If you haven’t got a spare one, a quick workaround is to use your device – such as a camera or mobile phone – as an adapter, by inserting the SD card into it, hooking it up to your machine and reading it that way. Here, you’re effectively using the device as a card reader. If it still isn’t recognising your card, or the files aren’t showing, it’s likely going to be down to the SD card itself.

Sometimes when an SD card is formatted by a particular device like a mobile phone, it will only be readable by that device, so plugging it in to a computer or laptop will result in it not being recognised. Similarly, if it isn’t working in your device, like a smartphone or camera, it’s probably been formatted in a way that isn’t compatible with the device. Here, you have two options. If you simply want to use the SD card, you can just format it to get it working again. However, if you need to get your data back, you’ll need to consult a professional SD card data recovery service, who should have the tools and expertise to recover your data.

SD cards are very easily breakable, and are often made using cheap materials. They’re also very sensitive to heat, so this can cause your data to disappear. If you’re having trouble modifying data on your SD card, like deleting files, it could be because the card is set to read-only. Check the write-protection switch on the side of the card, which is a fairly common mistake people fall victim to. If your SD card is recognised by your machine, but there are files missing, or if you’ve accidentally deleted them, you can try one of the many free data recovery programs out there. We recommend Recuva, IObit Undelete, and DMDE data recovery. These are powerful programs that allow you to undelete files, and could help you out of a tight spot without consulting a data recovery specialist.

SD Card Data Recovery