SD card is a non-volatile memory card format, and it is commonly used in portable electronic devices (such as digital cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players, and so on) to store digital information. However, more and more users reported that they had encountered various SD card errors but didn’t know how to solve them, as shown below.
- SD card unexpectedly removed.
- SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it.
- Read write error on SD card.
- Blank SD card. SD card is blank or has unsupported file system.
- …
Have you ever encountered the memory card errors above? Do you know how to fix corrupted or damaged SD cards without losing data?
Now, in today’s post, I am going to introduce the 4 most common SD card errors as well as corresponding solutions.
Before Solving SD Card Errors – Recover SD Card Files
SD card errors and memory card repair solutions both could lead to permanent data loss. So, before trying to carry out SD card troubleshooting, you need to recover SD card files.
“How to recover data from a corrupted or damaged SD card with ease?”
When it comes to corrupted, damaged, or formatted SD card data recovery, you can try using MiniTool Power Data Recovery. It is a piece of free data recovery software that can help to effectively recover data from corrupted, damaged, and formatted internal hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, and other storage devices without affecting the original data.
Now you can click the button below to download MiniTool Power Data Recovery and start SD card data recovery.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1. Connect the SD card that reports errors to your computer via a card reader.
Step 2. Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery to get its main interface. Then select the SD card partition and click the Scan button to continue.
Step 3. After scanning, you can make use of the Filter or Search features to quickly find your files. You can filter found files by file size, file category, file type, and date modified or search a certain file by entering its file name in the search box and pressing Enter.
Also, you can move on to the Type category list to select to view files of a specific type or format. For example, you can choose to view images in the .jpg image format only.
Step 4. Preview found files and select all needed items. Then click the Save button to store them to a safe location (You had better not store them to the original drive to prevent data overwriting).
As you can see, MiniTool Power Data Recovery can easily and quickly recover lost USB data without bringing any damage to the original data.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
After rescuing your data from the problematic SD card, now let us see the specific SD card errors and corresponding solutions.
1. Solved – SD Card Unexpectedly Removed
The first SD card error is “SD card unexpectedly removed”. To solve this issue, you have to figure out what is causing it, and then you can easily solve it. We list several possible reasons for this error and corresponding solutions as follows.
1. SD card is damaged.
When you receive the SD card removed unexpectedly error, the first thing you should do is to check whether the memory card is corrupted. To do this: remove the SD card, and then connect it to another machine. If you still cannot access the SD card, the SD card may be corrupted or damaged. The only solution is to recover its data first and then change to a new SD card.
2. SD card is not formatted.
Sometimes, the “SD card removed unexpectedly” issue is caused by an unformatted error. In this case, formatting this SD card will resolve this issue.
3. SD card has been infected with viruses.
If your SD card has been infected with viruses, you may also receive the SD card removed unexpectedly error as well. In this situation, you can run antivirus software to scan the SD card and remove viruses.
Next, let’s talk about another SD card error.
2. Solved – SD Card Is Damaged. Try Reformatting It.
“SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it” is another annoying SD card error that troubles lots of users. A true example is shown below:
My phone gave me the following message: "Damaged SD Card. SD Card is damaged. Try reformatting it". I took out my SD card and place it back in. It worked fine but after about 30 minutes I got the same message again. Has anyone had this problem? Should I reformat my SD card or will I keep on having the same issue?
androidforums.com
As the error message says, when facing this issue, you need to format the SD card and then you can re-use it.
Warning: Before formatting the SD card, make sure you have recovered the data on the SD card with the help of MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
There are various ways to format an SD card, such as using File Explorer, using Disk Management, using the best partition manager – MiniTool Partition Wizard, and so on. For the detailed steps, you can refer to this article: SD Card Format for Android | How to Format SD Card for Android.
Alternatively, you can watch this video to see how to solve the “SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it” error:
3. Solved – Read Write Error on an SD Card
Now let’s see the problem of “read write error on an SD card”. This error often occurs due to the write-protected mode and corrupted file system. Here, to solve it, you can try the following ways.
Solution 1: Check SD Card’s Physical Components and Its Connection.
The SD card read write error may be related to your external card reader. You can connect the SD card to other devices to make sure there are no compatibility issues.
Solution 2: Remove Write Protection.
If the SD card is write-protected, you also cannot access its data. In this situation, you can read this post “How to Remove Write Protection on Micro SD Card – 8 Ways” to know how to effectively solve this issue.
If the above 2 methods cannot help you, you can try the following ways.
Solution 3: Use CHKDSK Command.
CHKDSK command can help to identify and fix errors that are present on the memory card. You can perform a CHKDSK scan to remove the read write error. Here you may be interested in this post: Solutions to CHKDSK Not Working in Different Cases.
Solution 4: Format the SD Card.
If you still cannot use your SD card after trying all the methods above, you can try formatting it.
4. Solved – Blank SD Card
When it comes to SD card errors, we have to talk about the error “Blank SD card. SD card is blank or has unsupported file system”. If you visit some forums like Windows forum, you will find many people are talking about the blank SD card issues. A true example is shown here:
I recently formatted my phone as I want it to be factory reset. Before doing this, I backed up all my images to my 64 GB Micro SD card, which has been used in my phone since I got it (almost a year ago). The SD card has been working fine since I got it. However, after factory resetting my phone, my SD card doesn't work. I try to mount it and it says "SD Card is blank or has unsupported file system". It gives me the option to format it. However, I don't want to do that since all my images are on there. Any fix?
tomshardware.com
Have you ever encountered a blank SD card? Now you can find a couple of feasible solutions to remove the blank SD card error as long as you read this post: SD Card Is Blank or Has Unsupported File System.
Alternatively, you can watch the following video to get a more intuitive guide:
Thus, the 4 most common SD card errors as well as corresponding solutions are nearly closed.
In a word, no matter what error you encounter, if you want to fix corrupted or damaged SD cards without affecting the original data, you should transfer its data out first, and then take some suitable ways to remove the error.
Conclusion
After seeing the above 4 most common SD card errors, I guess you already have a basic understanding of how to effectively deal with SD card errors without damaging the original data.
And here, I want to emphasize SD card data recovery again. If you cannot access your SD card, the first thing you should do is transfer its data. And, MiniTool Power Data Recovery is the most excellent choice for you to recover lost data because of its powerful features, easy operations, and high security.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
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Should you have any questions or any ideas about the common SD card errors or MiniTool software, you can leave them in the following comment zone or directly send an email to [email protected]. Thanks in advance!
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Shirley graduated from English major and is currently an editor of MiniTool Team. She likes browsing and writing IT-related articles, and is committed to becoming a professional IT problem solver. The topic of her articles are generally about data recovery, data backup, and computer disk management, as well as other IT issues. In spare time, she likes watching movies, hiking and fishing.