An MMC card is an efficient storage media that is widely used by digital cameras, navigation systems, and other devices. Similar to other data storage devices, MMC cards are prone to data loss as well. If your MMC card fails, you can get a comprehensive MMC card data recovery tutorial from this MiniTool post.
What Is an MMC Card
MMC stands for MultiMediaCard. The MMC card is a kind of flash memory card introduced in 1997 by SanDisk. It is used as a storage medium for portable devices to save photos, music, videos, and other files.
MMC cards are considered the predecessor of SD cards that were unveiled in 1999. The two cards are different in many aspects including usage, size, and storage capacity. The following chart shows you several differences between them.
| MMC Card | SD Card | |
| Dimensions | Standard size: 24mm*32mm*1.4mm | 32mm*24mm*2.1mm |
| Compatibility | Compatible with both SD card slots and MMC card | Only compatible with SD host devices |
| Storage Capacity | Mostly 152MB-32GB | Mostly 152MB-2GB |
| Transfer Speed | Up to 8MB/Second | 10-20MB/Second |
| Security | No security protocol | Has a serial of security protocol |
To obtain detailed information about different cards, you can read this post: Common Memory Card Types: SD, TF, CF, MMC, MS, xD, and XQD.
How to Recover Deleted Data from an MMC Card
Files can be lost for various reasons, such as human error, device corruption, or virus attacks. When you encounter an MMC data loss scenario, don’t worry. Your data still exists in the MMC card until they are overwritten. Thus, you should stop using it to store data and recover lost/deleted files as soon as possible.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is an ideal MMC data recovery software for the following advantages:
- Recover types of files, including pictures, videos, and audio files.
- Restore data from numerous data storage devices, like external hard drives, SD cards, MMC cards, USB flash drives, etc.
- Compatible with all Windows systems. You can run this software on Windows 7/8/10/11.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free can recover 1GB of files for free. You can download and install this software by clicking the following download button to have a try.
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Recover Data from MMC Card with MiniTool Power Data Recovery
After you have successfully installed this file recovery tool on your computer, you can follow this step-by-step guide to recover files.
Step 1: Connect the MMC card to your computer via a card reader. Then, double-click on the software to launch it.
Step 2: You can double-click on the corresponding partition of your MMC card under the Logical Drives section to scan it. Alternatively, by changing to the Devices tab, you can choose the MMC card to scan the whole card at once.
Step 3: Wait for the scan process to complete. You can browse the found files during the process, but it is not advised to interrupt the process in order to ensure the recovery of all lost files.
On the result page, you can find files sorted into Deleted Files, Lost Files, and Existing Files. You can find deleted or lost files by expanding corresponding folders. Considering MMC cards are generally used to store photos and videos, you can change to the Type category list which classifies files according to their types.
There are other three practical features you can use to improve the efficiency of finding files:
- Click on the Filter button on the top toolbar to set filter criteria: file size, file type, file category, and file modified date. This feature can help you filter out a large number of unwanted files.
- If you remember the name of the target file, you can type its name into the search bar and press Enter to find wanted files.
- After you find files with the above features, use the Preview function to verify the chosen files are the correct ones you need.
Step 4: Add checkmarks in front of the files you need and click on the Save button.
Step 5: You need to choose a storage path for these files in the prompt window. To avoid data recovery failure, do not save files to the original path.
If you choose files larger than 1GB, you will be prompted to get an advanced edition. MiniTool Power Data Recovery contains many editions to meet different requirements. If you are a personal user, the Personal Ultimate can be your best choice with its unlimited file recovery capacity and a lifetime free update. You can go to the License Comparison page to take a closer look at different editions.
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How to Prevent Data Loss on an MMC Card
You know that, when it comes to data, prevention is better than recovery. To avoid data loss or mistaken deletions, you’d better back up files in your MMC card in time or periodically. In addition to Windows built-in backup utilities, I’d like to recommend a reliable data backup software, MiniTool ShadowMaker, with powerful functions to you.
If you need to make automatic backups, incremental backups, or differential backups, MiniTool ShadowMaker can fit your demands. You can use this tool to back up files, folders, disks, and partitions to an internal hard drive, USB drive, and other devices. MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial provides you with a 30-day free trial. Now you can get it via the download button below.
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Step 1: Install MiniTool ShadowMaker on your computer.
Step 2: Connect your MMC card to the computer and launch the software.
Step 3: Move to the Backup tab.
- Click on SOURCE to choose the content you need to back up and click OK to confirm.
- Choose DESTINATION to select the save path and click OK.
Step 4: After returning to the Backup interface, click Back Up Now to start the backup process. You can also choose Back Up Later and go to the Manage tab to configure the suspend process.
MMC Card Troubleshooting
You may encounter different MMC problems in daily use. Different operations are needed to tackle different issues. Here I will briefly introduce you to three situations and put forward corresponding methods.
#1. MMC Card Is Not Detected by Computer
Sometimes, you might find the MMC card doesn’t show up after connecting it to your computer. This problem can be caused by many reasons, like improper ejection, outdated device driver, corrupted file system, broken USB port, etc. To fix this problem, you can try the following methods.
Solution 1. Update the Device Driver
1. Right-click on the Windows icon and choose Device Manager from the context menu.
2. Expand the Disk drives option and right-click on your MMC device.
3. Choose Update driver from the context menu.
4. Choose Search automatically for drivers in the following window.
Your computer will install the latest compatible device driver automatically. If the problem is caused by the outdated driver, you can find the MMC card showing up after the above steps.
Solution 2. Run the CHKDSK Command
1. Press Win + R to open the Run window.
2. Type cmd and press Shift + Ctrl + Enter to run Command Prompt as administrator.
3. Type CHKDSK X: /f /r and hit Enter to execute this command line. You should change X with the drive letter of your MMC card.
This command will fix the corrupted file system and repair some device errors.
#2. MMC Card Is Encrypted
Although encrypting your device is a great way to protect your data, you might be stuck by the encrypted device in some cases. When the computer says your MMC card is encrypted but you haven’t done this, you will have no way to access your files on the MMC card. You can use a professional tool, like MiniTool Partition Wizard, to format your MMC card to fix this problem.
Solution 1. Format with MiniTool Partition Wizard
1. Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard.
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2. Connect your MMC card to the computer and launch the software.
3. Choose the MMC card and select Format Partition under Partition Management on the left pane.
4. Set Partition Label and File System and click OK to start formatting.
5. Click Apply to fully apply the change.
To get other methods to decrypt the MMC/SD card, you can read this article: SD Card Security Solutions and How to Decrypt SD Card.
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Solution 2. Format Using Command Prompt
1. Type Command Prompt into the Windows search bar.
2. Right-click on the best-matched result and choose Run as administrator.
3. Type the following command lines and hit Enter at the end of each.
- diskpart
- list disk
- select disk x (You should replace x with the number of the MMC card)
- clean
- create partition primary
- format fs=* (You need to change * to the file system that is compatible with the computer)
When the formatting process is complete, you can exit Command Prompt properly and your MMC card will be decrypted successfully.
#3. MMC Card Has I/O Device Error
An I/O device error, standing for an Input/Output error, will block you from accessing the device. This error happens on many devices, including external hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, MMC cards, and more. It can be triggered due to incorrectly connected, incompatible device drivers, a logically or physically damaged device, etc.
If the computer recognizes your MMC card after connecting, you can work with the next methods. If not, you should seek help from a professional repair company.
Solution 1. Change Drive Letter
1. Connect the MMC card to the computer.
2. Press Win + X and choose Disk Management from the WinX menu.
3. Right-click on the target disk and choose Change Drive Letter and Path.
4. Click Change and select a new drive letter from the dropdown menu. Then, click OK to confirm.
Solution 2. Run the CHKDSK Command
1. Type Command Prompt into the Windows search box.
2. Choose Run as administrator on the right pane.
3. Type CHKDSK E: /f /r /x and hit Enter. Replace E with the drive letter of your MMC card.
Bottom Line
Like other data storage devices, you might encounter data loss in an MMC card. Now, you can try MiniTool Power Data Recovery to recover deleted data from an MMC card.
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Additionally, this article shares with you three possible situations and the corresponding solutions in the MMC Card Troubleshooting section. If you are troubled with the problems above, try these fixes to solve them. Please feel free to share your puzzles about MiniTool software with us via [email protected].
MMC Card FAQ
1. Download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
2. Connect the MMC card and use the software to scan it.
3. Choose the wanted files from the file list and save them.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Andrea graduated in English and has a keen interest in the IT industry and questions that arise when computers are used. She is passionate about new things and challenging things and has a wide range of interests like playing guitar, gaming, and crafting.