Do not format the SD cardimmediately
If your SD cardis damaged, do not attempt to format it or you will lose everything stored inside. This procedure is recommended once you have recovered the contents. Before you pick up the SD card from file recovery companies, we recommend that you follow our guide and onlythen, in case itdoes not work, contact them.
Try using another card reader first. If your laptop or PC has a microSDcard slot and its insertion is not recognized, try another PC or cardreader. The same applies if you are using your smartphone as a reader. This is often a defect of the card reader and not of the SD carditself.
How to recover files from a damaged SD card
Now that you are sure that your SD card is permanently damaged, you will need to use a program to recover the saved files. One of them is Disk Digger, which can also be useful for recovering accidentally deleted files. A valid alternative to Disk Diggeris ZAR (Zero Assumption Recovery) or Recuva .These programs work in a similar way and the steps to follow are pretty much the same even though some of them limit the number of files to be recovered.
Note: we cannot 100% guarantee that by using this software you will be able to recover all your files. Also beaware that files lose their original names, but this should not be a major problem.
Download and install DiskDigger on your PC
Insert the damaged SD cardinto the PC.
Open DiskDigger with administrat or rights
Select the microSD card and click Next.
To recover as many files as possible, select the option that allows you to dig deeper into your files
The program will display all the files found: select the one you want to recover and click Next.
At this point, DiskDigger will try to recover the selected files by scanning the SD card : wait for the end of the process which should take a few minutes
At the end of the process you will see the list of recovered files: select the ones you want to restore and select the destination folder.
How to repair a corrupted SD card
Now that you have recovered the files, focus on the SD card and make sure it will not be damaged anymore. Keep in mind that the SD card can be damaged for several reasons, one of them is simply keeping it in your pocket (or wallet) without protection. This can cause the write switch to break and make it unusable with any device that needs to write on the card, such as a smartphone.
If the cardis "physically" fine, you'll need to dig a little deeper. If your computer recognizes the SD card, you can rely on Windows to identify the problem:
Right click on the
Select Properties> Tools>Check .
By doingso, Windows willanalyze the map to identify the malfunction. If your cardis not recognized correctly by the PC, you will need to go to Computer / This PC. If the SD cardis not there, it means it is badly damaged or the card reader you are using does not work.
It can also happen that the card is listed but does not have a directory letter. In this case, you can assign one by right-clicking on it and choosing one of the options provided. You can also change the file system of the card so that Windows can readit (FAT32 is the most compatible). Once you have recovered all the data and you are sure that the SD card can be reused, you will need to format it to make it look like new. This process also works for micro SD cards on Android.