Full Guide to Recover Deleted Files from an SD card

SD Card refers to a Secure & Digital Memory Card. Its semiconductor-based flash memory helps it excel in portability and compatibility. However, compared with other storage devices, it is relatively more fragile and prone to data loss. Thus, most people are seeking ways to recover deleted files from SD cards.

Perform SD Card Deleted Files Recovery Using Data Recovery Software

Things will become easier as long as you choose the right helper. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a user-friendly data recovery software that you can restore files in a few steps without any damage. Additionally, this software performs well in SD card recovery and causes no secondary damage to your files due to incompatible reasons.

How To Recover Deleted Photos From SD Card Quickly

There’s a simple way to recover deleted photos from SD card – using a practical data recovery tool that gives support for SD card.

Read More

Start to Recover Deleted Files from an SD Card

You should first get MiniTool Power Data Recovery by clicking on the download button and install this software properly on your computer. Then follow the steps below to start SD card deleted files recovery.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 1: Insert the SD card into a card reader and connect it to the computer. Then, launch the software. It’s OK if you run the software first, but you should click on the Refresh button to make MiniTool Power Data Recovery recognize your SD card.

SD card partitions are usually marked with USB characters. You can choose the partition that contains your lost files and click on the Scan button. Alternatively, go to the Devices tab to scan the whole SD card at once.

Step 2: Depending on the number of files and the capacity of the partition, the scan time is different. To find all the files on the chosen partition, you are not suggested to interrupt the scan process.

When the process is completed, you can look for the wanted files by expanding different folders listed under the Path category list.

To find the wanted files more quickly, you can make use of the features of this software:

• Type: change to the Type category list to find files by their types.
• Filter: set the filter conditions, including file size, file type, file category, and file modified date, to narrow down the file list.
• Search: find files by typing their partial or full names into the search box.
• Preview: verify whether the chosen file is the one you need.

Step 3: Browse the file list and add check marks in front of the box of the files you need to restore. Click on the Save button.

Step 4: In the prompt window, you need to choose a storage path for these files and click OK to confirm. But you shouldn’t save files to the original path, which might cause the data recovery to fail due to data overwriting.

In addition to accidental deletion, you might encounter many other issues on your SD card, such as the SD card being corrupted, dead, inaccessible, write-protected, and more. In the next parts, I’ll introduce you to these errors one by one and show you some methods to resolve errors. 

SD Card Is Corrupted

The system saying the SD card is not formatted is one of the common error messages that indicate your SD card is corrupted. Under such circumstances, you should recover data from a corrupted memory card with MiniTool Power Data Recovery, then repair the corrupted SD card.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

6 Useful Ways to Fix Corrupted SD Card

• Try another USB port/card reader/adapter
• Change the drive letter of the SD card
• Uninstall and reinstall the driver of the SD card
• Use the CHKDSK command to check errors on the SD card
• Run the diskpart command to fix the SD card without formatting
• Format the SD card

This post shows you detailed steps to fix a corrupted SD card and recover pictures from it.

SD Card Cannot Be Accessed

Situations you cannot access your SD card on a computer:

• The SD card becomes RAW
• SD card showing 0 bytes
• The volume does not contain a recognized file system
• Location is not available, access is denied
• Do you want to scan and fix the Removable Disk

Camera Says Card Cannot Be Accessed: Learn Methods from Here

This post can give you practical solutions when receiving the error message that camera says card cannot be accessed.

Read More

How to format an SD card?

You can choose to format the SD card in a camera if the device has this function. Additionally, you can take out the SD card and connect it to your computer for formatting. Here are some methods to format the SD card on the computer.

Choice 1: Press Win + E to open Windows File Explorer > right-click on the SD card > choose Format.

Choice 2: Type Disk Management into the search box > hit Enter to open Windows Disk Management > right-click on your SD card > choose Format.

Choice 3: Type Command Prompt into the search box > choose Run as administrator on the right pane > type diskpart, list disk, select disk * (* stands for the number of the target disk), and format fs=* quick (* refers to the file system) in order and press the Enter button after each command.

Choice 4: Open MiniTool Partition Wizard > select the SD card > Find Partition Management from the left pane > choose Format Partition > click on the OK button in the Format Partition window > press Apply > click on the Yes button in the Apply Changes window.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

SD Card Is Dead

You should be alert when the following conditions are found on your SD card:

1. The SD card becomes strange: files get lost weirdly; the capacity of the card is changing; weird characters & messy codes appear.

2. The SD card doesn’t respond on any devices.

Recover Data From Dead SD Card With This Easy And Safe Way

If you think it’s impossible to recover data from a dead SD card, you’re completely wrong. Read this page to find solutions.

Read More

How to protect your SD card?

• Use genuine data cable and card reader.
• Always safely remove the SD card from the computer.
• Be gentle and careful when using an SD card.

SD Card Is Write-Protected

According to the investigation, most current SD cards have a function called write protection.

Once the write protection function is activated, the SD card will be put in a read-only state. That is to say, you can read data from the SD card but can’t modify or add any data to the SD card.

How to Remove the Write-Protection on the SD Card

Here are three methods for you to remove the write-protection on the SD card.

Way 1: Turn off the lock switch on the SD card (the switch is a small white or silver tab located on the left side of the card generally).

Way 2: Open Registry Editor > find the StorageDevicePolicies folder > select WriteProtect key from the right panel > set the Value data to be 0 > click on OK.

If you find no WriteProtect subkey on the right pane, you can right-click on the blank space and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, then rename it as WriteProtect.

Way 3: Run Command Prompt as administrator > type diskpart, list disk, select disk *, and attributes disk clear readonly in order (press Enter button after each command).

Bottom Line

Although SD cards are portable both in saving files and carrying, you should still be careful in using them. As long as you choose a proper tool, you will find it easy to recover deleted files from an SD card. If you encounter other situations with your SD card, you can also read this article to find solutions.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

You are welcome to share any problems with MiniTool software with us by email via [email protected].

Recover Deleted Files from SD Card FAQ