Why is my SD card not working or unreadable?

In daily life, more and more we use U disk, mobile hard disk, mobile phone U disk, etc. to store mobile information, but for photography enthusiasts, SD memory card is still very necessary.

When using a memory card to store photos or data, the following situations are often encountered:

The sd card cannot be read, and it requires me to format it before I can use the sd card. How can I back up the data in it, or how can I restore the sd card to read normally?

First we need to test if our SD card is working

Test SD card

If the SD card works with your device (for example, you can see pictures on the camera) but not with your computer, it's safe to assume the computer card reader is at fault. A workaround is to use a USB cable to connect the camera, phone or other device to the computer and use an SD card in the device. Once connected, you can transfer data from your device to your computer without using an SD card in your computer. Skip to Checking the USB Adapter to start troubleshooting and find a more permanent solution.

If the SD card doesn't work with your device (such as a camera) and isn't recognized by your computer, there might be a problem with the SD card. Skip Check for write protection to start troubleshooting SD card related issues.

How can we recover data in these situations?

1. SD card cannot be recognized

It is clear that the SD card has been inserted, but it still shows that there is no disk. When the SD card cannot be recognized, the following reasons can be considered.

Determine whether it is the cause of the SD card

1) If it is plugged into the computer but cannot be recognized, it may be caused by the mismatch of the driver of the SD port. Find the correct SD card driver and update it.

2) SD card is not clean. When the SD card is not well maintained and stained with dust or oil, the card slot is not in good contact and cannot be read. At this time, you need to clean it up and try.

3) The SD card is damaged. Use a card reader to connect to the computer. If it can display normally, the SD card is in good condition. If it cannot be read, the SD card is damaged.

4) Whether the SD card is infected with virus. If the SD card is poisoned, it will not be able to be read normally. Use anti-virus software to sort out, if it still cannot be processed, format the SD card, save the files during formatting, and solve the problem together with the file recovery method.

2. The SD card prompts to format

Whether it is a U disk or an SD card, you will encounter a situation where you will be prompted to format it before inserting it.

At this time, you can access the SD card, search for "Run" in the menu bar or use the shortcut key Win+R to open the run window, and enter "chkdsk H:/F" in the run window to execute the repair command, where "H: ” is the drive letter of the SD card, which can be modified according to your actual situation. After the run is over, the repair is complete.

If the above methods do not work, you need to use data recovery software to scan and recover, such as recovering the system, after inserting the SD card, open the recovery system software, select an external disk, click Start in the small right corner, and then scan the SD card. This method More files can be retrieved.

3. SD card poisoning, files disappear

SD cards often spread files between cameras and computers, or between computers, which are prone to poisoning, resulting in unrecognized SD cards and even file disappearance.

After the SD card is poisoned, use anti-virus software for anti-virus directly, and some anti-virus software can also retrieve files.

Then use data recovery software to recover. For the specific operation steps, please refer to the previous Recoverit. After scanning, remember to save important files in a safe place.

If the above solutions don't work for you, you may need to buy a new SD card as a replacement. Like any storage medium, an SD card can fail over time, depending on how much and where it's used. Extensive use or harsher environments (extreme temperatures or humid climates) can cause SD cards to fail.