Data Recovery from an SD Card

These days, that lost file is as likely to have gone missing from an SD card as from your hard drive. The handy little miniature drives hold an amazing amount of memory, more than would have been thought possible on a full size hard drive just fifteen years ago. Their very portability makes them prone to data loss because it’s just too easy for a little SD card to drop from your pocket and fall into a puddle, or get lost in the bottom of your purse and damaged. No matter how careful you plan to be, there are times when you’re going to be faced with the task of data recovery from an SD card.

If you need to recover lost photos, music or other files from an SD card, you can send it off to a data recovery company, such as Fields Data Recovery, and let the experts have at it, or you can attempt to recover the data yourself. If you do decide to attempt the data recovery yourself, be aware that your attempts may make it more difficult – or even impossible – for experts at a data recovery service to recover any of your lost files. If you’re willing to risk that, you can attempt the following steps to find and recover deleted or lost files from your SD cards.

A final word of warning – if the SD card itself is damaged, do not attempt to recover the data yourself. If the files are important, send your card to professionals at a facility, like Fields Associates, that have the tools and software to work with your SD card safely.

Background on Data Recovery for SD Cards

Most SD cards use the same FAT/NTFS file system that is used by Windows OS to store files on your internal hard drive. That means that you can use most data recovery tools to attempt to recover your lost files. You can find many file recovery utilities online, including free software that will allow you to list and recover files on your SD card. Most of the work the same way, so these generic instructions will be applicable. But always follow the instructions with the software if there is a difference.

Install the data recovery software on your computer – not on the SD card.

Insert the SD card into your card reader. If it’s not a built-in card reader, attach it to your computer using a USB cable.

Run the file recovery software. When you’re prompted to choose the drive to scan, choose the SD card.

When the scan has finished running, follow the instructions to copy your files to your computer or to a new flash drive or SD card.

If your attempted data recovery is unsuccessful, you can call in the experts at Fields Data Recovery or another professional data recovery service. Be sure to tell them about any attempts you’ve made to access the files yourself so that they understand what they’re dealing with.