How to Recover Data from Damaged SD Card and Fix It?

Symptoms and possible causes of damaged SD memory card

When doctors diagnose their patients, they look for symptoms that are clear signs that something is wrong. Experienced doctors can recognize the various symptoms so well that they can make the correct diagnosis and confirm it before the laboratory results arrive.

Like the human body, storage devices usually show certain symptoms when something goes wrong with them. Here are some of the most common signs that your SD memory card is corrupt:

• SD card not recognized
• Read/write errors
• Incorrect capacity
• The files are missing
• Unknown files
• Visible physical damage

Recover data from damaged SD card with data recovery software

Whenever you lose important data due to SD card logical damage, the first step is to use SD card data recovery software that is specially designed to locate file fragments from damaged or malfunctioning storage media. Done, backup and restore from broken SD card. and return them.

Then how to get damaged SD card data recovery? Is there a good software that allows users to search for information? Of course yes. MyRecover is a recommended choice among all Windows data recovery tools.

As a powerful and useful tool, MyRecover is embedded with high-performance scanning technologies. It helps users to check deleted and lost files from hard drive in different ways.

• Scan and recover deleted data preserving the original file format, name and directory.
• Support data recovery from HDD/SSD/USB/SD card.
• Return more than 200 data types.
• Recover data while scanning, no need to wait.
• Support Windows 11/10/8/7 SP1 and Server.

Taking the help of professional Windows recovery software is a better option to save valuable time. Download MyRecover now to enjoy its features.

Step 1. Run the software > Connect your SD card to the card reader > Mouse over the deleted files stored in the SD card and click Scan.

Step 2. Files can be sorted by size, type, date modified, etc. Filters and file search are also available.

Step 3. Select the data you need > Recover x files to recover data from SD memory card. Save the files to another location to avoid overwriting the data.

Repair physically damaged or broken SD card with and without formatting

Every problem has a solution; And there are several for each damaged SD card.

Some methods to recover data from a damaged SD card do not require formatting, while others do. You can read a comprehensive overview of 11 solutions to fix corrupted SD card and logical damage repair so that you can familiarize yourself with the most available methods before attempting any specific solution.

Method 1: Use the SD card in another device

Although this method is not a true repair, it is often enough to use an unread SD card and copy all the data from it to a safe place. Best of all, you don't even need a second computer because most Android smartphones, smart TVs, and video game consoles can read SD cards.

If you don't have another device with an SD card slot, at least buy an inexpensive external card reader to rule out the possibility that your current card reader (internal or external) is causing the problem.

More tech-savvy users can create a live USB drive with a Linux distribution that supports a variety of file systems, such as Ubuntu, and use it to access files stored on an SD card. This approach allows you to avoid possible compatibility problems with file systems not recognized by Windows.

Method 2: Scan the SD card using CHKDSK

But if you're short on time and only interested in the most effective methods, you can read the following quick summary of several top solutions for repairing a damaged SD card (with and without a computer):

1. Open a command prompt by typing "cmd" in the taskbar search field.

2. Type the following command and press Enter: chkdsk X: /r (replace X with the letter assigned to the SD card).

3. Wait for CHKDSK to finish.

Method 3: Fix file properties to show hidden files

Your files have a number of properties that determine how they are displayed and manipulated. When file attributes get messed up, bad things can happen, like losing the ability to access them.

The good news is that you can modify the file properties to show hidden files with a single command.

1. Open the Start menu, type "Terminal" in the search field, and launch the Terminal program as an administrator.

2. Enter the following command and press Enter: ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D X:*.*

Method 4: Run Windows Error Checking Tool

In addition to the CHKDSK File System Repair utility, Windows has a graphical error checking tool that basically does the same thing, but in a different way.

1. Start File Explorer.

2. Select this computer in the left pane.

3. Right-click on your SD card.

4. Select the Properties option.

5. Go to the Tools tab.

6. Click the Check button under Error Checking.

7. Wait for the tool to check your SD card for file system errors.

Method 5: Assign a new drive letter to the SD card

Has Windows detected your SD card, but it cannot be accessed because it is not listed as an available storage device? It is then possible that no drive letter is assigned to it. And if your SD card has a drive letter but you can't access its contents, changing the drive letter can help fix the problem by forcing the system to reformat the card.

1. Specify a new drive letter as follows:

2. Press Win + X and select Disk Management.

3. Right-click on the SD card and select Change drive letter and paths option.

4. Click the Add button to assign a new drive letter to the SD card.

5. You can also use Disk Management to change an existing drive letter by selecting the Change option instead of the Add option.

How to prevent an SD card from being corrupted

Usually, SD card corruption can be resolved using the tools and techniques discussed in this article, but not always. To avoid losing important data, you must first learn how to prevent your SD card from getting corrupted, and you can start by familiarizing yourself with the following tips and tricks:

• Always eject safely
• Use a protective case
• One card per device
• The more the merrier
• Spend more, don't worry

Conclusion

Just because your SD card is damaged doesn't mean the files stored on it are gone permanently. In this article, we have described several methods that you can use to repair the damage and recover files from corrupted SD card without formatting. We hope that at least one method will produce the desired results and help you avoid a data loss disaster.