13 Best Ways to Fix Damaged/Damaged SD Card in 2024 (2024)

Are you having trouble accessing files on an SD card because it is damaged? We understand your pain and that is why we have put together this comprehensive list of 13 solutions on how to fix corrupted SD card and repair logical damage.

Common symptoms indicating SD card corruption/damage

It's possible for a perfectly functioning SD card to fail without warning, but most SD cards show certain signs of corruption/damage before they stop working. Learning to recognize these signals will help you back up your data in time and fix the underlying problem while you still can.

Signs of SD card corruption/damage:

Ways to fix damaged or damaged SD card

Let's take a look at 13 ways to fix a damaged SD card so that you have plenty of solutions to choose from when you recognize the first signs of corruption or damage.

Way 1. Try a different USB port or change the adapter or card reader

This is by far the easiest solution you can try,Therefore, you should always start with that before moving on to other ways to fix a damaged/damaged SD card.

If you have a laptop with a built-in SD card reader, we recommend purchasing a USB card reader and trying different USB ports, preferably on more than one computer.

You should also rule out that your microSD card to SD card adapter is defective by using a different adapter or plugmicro SD carddirectly to your computer via a microSD card reader.

Way 2. Repair a card by running the CHKDSK command to check for memory card errors

All versions of Windows include a command-line utility that allows you to check a volume's file system and file system metadata for logical and physical errors.This tool is called CHKDSK, and it's actually much easier to use than most people think.

Remark: If your SD card contains important files that you need to keep, it is highly recommended to try data recovery first. Although CHKDSK is useful, it can sometimes make further data recovery more difficult or impossible. We explain how to perform data recovery innext sectionof this article.

Repair a corrupt SD card using the CHKDSK command:

1. PressTo win+Xand chooseTerminal (administrator).
2. Type the following command, making sure to replace X with the letter assigned to your SD card, and press Enter:chkdsk X: /x /r. The /x parameter instructs CHKDSK to unmount the volume before the process begins, which is necessary to perform repairs. Meanwhile, the /r parameter allows CHKDSK to locate bad sectors and recover readable information from them. This option includes the functionality of /f, which tells CHKDSK to fix errors on the disk.
3. Wait for CHKDSK to finish. The process may take several hours depending on the size of your SD card.

If you're wondering how to fix a damaged microSD card, we have good news for you: this and all the other methods described in this article can be used for all types of SD cards.

Road 3. Use SD card data recovery software to recover files

Corruption and damage to SD card can lead to loss of important files. To get them back you can useSD card data recovery softwaresuch as Disk Drill.

Disk Drill is a reliable onedata recovery solutionmetsupport all types of SD cards, including SD, SD High Capacity (SDHC) and SD Extended Capacity (SDXC). It can quickly recover all files (photos, videos, audio, documents, etc.) and you can preview recovered files before recovering them.

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The free version of Disk Drill allows you to recover up to 500 MB, and it comes with several useful data protection and backup features that you can use to protect your SD card from future data loss. It is important that Disk Drill is effective in recovering files from adamaged SD card, provided the card is still recognized in Disk Management without the "No Media" label.

To recover files from SD card using data recovery software:

1. To retrieveand install Disk Drill.

   

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2. Connect the SD card to your computer and launch Disk Drill.
3. Select the SD card and clickSearch for lost data.
4. Select the files you want to recover.
5. click onTo recoverbutton at the bottom.
6. Specify the recovery destination and clickOkayto start the recovery of your files.

Road 4. Try using the SD card on another device/PC

It's possible that your SD card is just fine and any problems you're having with it are caused by your computer. To rule out this possibility, you shouldtry using the card on another computer or device.

You can ask your friend to let you use his/her computer, or you can visit a public library and use one of their computers to verify that the problems you are having occur on all devices.

If you are trying to diagnose a microSD card and have a smartphone with a microSD card slot, you can use it as a handy testing device and verify your card's functionality without a computer. Be careful, becauseyour smartphone may ask you if you want to format the SD card, so make sure you don't accidentally delete it.

Road 5. Assign a new drive letter

A surprising number of SD card errors can be resolved byassign a new drive letter to the SD card. The errors this method resolves usually have something to do with drive letter conflicts, which can happen if the operating system does not update the drive letter information properly.

To assign a new drive letter to an SD card:

1. PressTo win+Xand chooseDisk management.
2. Right-click on your SD card and selectChange the drive letter and paths...possibility.
3. click onChange…ofAdd…knob.
4. Select a new drive letter and clickOkay.
5. ClickOkayagain to close the Change Drive Letter and Paths window.

Road 6. Reinstall the SD card drivers

Windows automatically downloads and installs the latest drivers through Windows Update, but not all driver updates go exactly as planned. If you suspect that your SD card is misbehaving due to a faulty driver update, reinstall it manually.

To reinstall card drivers:

1. Type "device manager" into the search bar on the taskbar and selectDevice management.
2. Browse the available categories and search for your SD card (we found it underPortable devices).
3. Right-click on the SD card and selectUpdate driver.
4. to electSearch for drivers automatically.
5. to electUpdate driver.

If Windows does not automatically find a suitable driver, you can search for it on the manufacturer's website and install it manually by selectingSearch my computer for driversI tri 4.

Road 7. Repair SD card using Windows Repair Tool

Windows includes a graphical tool that can check disks for file system errors. This utility is commonly called the Windows Repair Tool, and Windows sometimes starts it automatically when you insert a damaged disk. That said, you can also invoke it manually and use it to scan any drive for errors.

Remark: Windows Repair Tool is basically a graphical interface for the command-line tool discussed in "Way 2", namely CHKDSK. So if you have already used CHKDSK to perform an SD card repair but were unsuccessful, there is no reason to expect different results from the Windows Repair Tool as both methods perform essentially the same checks and repairs on the run file system.

To repair SD card/USB drive using Windows Repair Tool:

1. Type "file explorer" into the search bar on the taskbar and selectInventory misunderstanding.
2. to electThis PCfrom the left panel.
3. Right-click on your SD card and selectCharacteristics.
4. ClickToolsand chooseControlpossibility.
5. ClickScan and repair drives.

If you see a warning message stating that Windows cannot repair the drive while it is in use, save any unsaved work to the SD card and choose to repair the drive now or on the next restart .

Road 8. Recover SD card by formatting RAW SD card to FAT32

An SD card may appear corrupted if the file system is unrecognized, missing or damaged, causing the card to appear as a RAW device and be unreadable. Contrary to the assumption that a RAW SD card contains no data, it is possible that the card previously contained files and became RAW due to file system issues.

Therefore, it is important to try to restore before attempting to formatall important data. Once all the valuable data has been retrieved, you can format the RAW SD card to make it usable again.

Format a RAW SD card to FAT32:

1. Connect the SD card to your computer.
2. Type "Terminal" in the search field on the taskbar and selectRun as administrator.
3. Typedisk partand press Enter on your keyboard.
4. Typelistening volumeand press Enter.
5. Typeselect volumeand press Enter.
6. Typeformat fs=fat32and press Enter.

Diskpart is a useful command that can do much more than just format RAW partitions, as we explain in the next chapter.

Road 9.Create a partition on the SD card

It is easy to mistake an unpartitioned SD card for a damaged one, as both severely damaged SD cards and SD cards without a single partition are unusable.

Fortunately, you can create a new partition in just a few steps:

1. Connect the SD card to your computer.
2. PressWin + Xand startDisk managementtool.
3. Right-click on the SD card and choose to create oneNew simple binding.
4. Follow the partition creation wizard step by step.
5. Enjoy your working SD card!

Road 10. Format to fix damaged SD card

Formatting is a drastic way to fix a damaged SD card, but it can quickly and efficiently replace a defective partition table with a new one and restore a damaged file system.

Although there are many different ways to format an SD card, they all achieve the same goal. So, there is no need to use unnecessarily complicated third-party tools as the formatting tool in Windows is more than enough to get the job done.

Format a damaged SD card:

1. OpenInventory misunderstandingand navigate toThis PC.
2. Right-click on your SD card and selectFormat…possibility.
3. Select the desired file system. You can leave the allocation unit size unchanged.
   

   Make sure the Quick Format option is turned off. Please note that if you proceed without Quick Format, a full format will be performed, which will thoroughly erase all data on the SD card and eliminate the possibility of recovering files from the SD card afterwards.

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4. ClickBeginto format the SD card.

The difference between Quick Format and Full Format is that the former simply rewrites the file system declaration, while the latter overwrites every sector on the device with zeros and scans for bad sectors.

Road 12. Make sure hidden files are shown by your operating system

In some cases, you may find that your SD card suddenly becomes blank or only partial data appears on it after you fix the corruption error. This happens when your data is hidden. To view your data and files, change the display settings and allow all files on your SD card to be viewed.

How to show hidden files on corrupted SD card on Windows 10/11:

1. Open the Windows search bar and typeFile explorer settings. Select the matching result.
2. navigate toDisplaythe tab. findHidden files and folderssection and selectShow hidden files, folders and drivespossibility.
3. (Optional) Disable the To optionHide protected operating system files (recommended)if you also want to reveal system files that are normally hidden to prevent accidental changes.
4. Clickto applyand thenOkayto confirm your changes.
5. OpenInventory misunderstanding, navigate to your SD card and check if the hidden files are now visible.

Road 13.Nothing worked? Use SD Card Data Recovery Center to recover lost files

Have you tried all ten of the solutions described so far in this article, but have had no success with any of them? Then it's probably the right time to take your SD card to a data recovery center and let professionals recover all the lost files for you.

When choosing a data recovery center, keep the following in mind:

• Clean rooms and professional equipment: There are many people online who offer data recovery services, but they do not have the necessary equipment and expertise. While they may charge cheaper prices than professionals, the extra risk is almost never worth the discount.
• Repair guarantee: Avoid data recovery centers that charge money even for failed data recovery attempts. True professionals do not charge their clients for tasks they do not complete successfully.
• Positive reviews: Always read online reviews when choosing a data recovery center. If you come across a data recovery center with a suspiciously high number of negative reviews, we recommend that you avoid it unless you are ready to write your own negative review in the future.

Indatagendannelsestjenestethat meet these criteriaCleverFiles data recovery center, whose offline data recovery services are provided by ACE Data Group, one of the most respected players in the data recovery industry.

Tips to protect your SD card from data loss

We could go on and on about the fragile construction of SD cards or how easy it is to accidentally format them. But instead of telling you something you already know, we'd like to give you some useful tips to protect your SD card from data loss.

• Always remove the SD card from your computer before removing it.Don't be lazy to spend the extra few seconds it takes to eject your SD card before removing it from your computer, as this is the only way to avoid interrupting ongoing read/write processes.
• Do not expose your SD card to extreme temperatures and keep it away from dust and water.While you can purchase SD cards designed for more extreme conditions, regular SD cards cannot withstand long (and sometimes even short) exposure to the elements.
• Avoid writing data to the SD card if there is a risk of sudden power loss (such as when recording video with a camera that has not been charged for a while).It is possible that a partially saved file will be completely impossible to open - it all depends on the file format and its general condition. For example, you may record a video for only 10 minutes and then lose it all due to a sudden power loss. Needless to say, avoiding such situations should be your top priority.
• Transfer files from SD card to your computer or cloud storage regularly.We do not recommend using SD cards for long-term storage. It is much safer to store files in the cloud or even on at least two different internal hard drives.
• Use multiple SD cards and avoid filling them to their maximum capacity.This tip boils down to the old adage that warns against investing all your resources in one thing: don't put all your eggs in one basket. SD cards are affordable these days, so there's no reason to only use one.
• Avoid nameless SD cards of questionable quality.Leading SD card manufacturers maintain strict quality control mechanisms to ensure defective units do not reach their customers. So, it is always better to spend extra money to avoid the risk of device failure.
• Make sure you always have reliable data recovery software on hand. When SD card data loss occurs, it is often possible to reverse it, but you must act quickly. If you already have reliable data recovery software installed on your computer, you can start the recovery process as soon as possible.
• Don't ignore SD card error messages even if they don't seem important.You may think that a particular error message is unimportant and safe to ignore, but if you get it wrong just once, you could lose gigabytes of important data. When an error message appears, we recommend that you scan the SD card with a tool like CHKDSK. Should your SD card error problems persist, it is probably a good idea to stop using the card.

With these simple tips you can extend the life of your SD card and protect it from data loss.

Conclusion

SD cards can become damaged for many different reasons. Fortunately, there are just as many effective solutions you can use to fix them. In this article, we've outlined 13 proven ways to repair a corrupt SD card, including a versatile data recovery software solution called Disk Drill.

FAQ

This article was approved by Brett Johnson, Data Recovery Engineer at ACE Data Recovery. Brett has a bachelor's degree in computer systems and networking and 12 years of experience.