How to Repair the “SD Card Not Detected” Issue in Windows/Android – Ultimate Guide
27 July 2023 Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
Summary
Learn about practical methods to repair a Micro SD card that is not recognized or readable by Windows or Android devices in this informative article.
Table of contents
There are many reasons why the Micro SD card cannot be recognized, the following are a few possible reasons:
① The Micro SD card is not installed correctly or the metal contacts are oxidized
If the Micro SD card is installed incorrectly, the Micro SD card will not be recognized. It is recommended that you read the memory card installation instructions first, adjust the direction and position of the card according to the instructions, and reconnect the Windows or Android device for inspection after correct installation. If you find that the metal contacts of the Micro SD card are oxidized, you can use an eraser to remove it.
② virus infection
Micro SD card not recognized could be due to virus or malware attack. At this time, you need to use a card reader to connect the Micro SD card to the computer, and open the antivirus software to scan and clear the virus.
③ Micro SD card has been encrypted
If the encrypted memory card is placed on other devices, it will not be recognized. The solution is to decrypt the encrypted memory card on the device and try again.
④ The file system of the Micro SD card is wrong or damaged
Please install the memory card to other Android phones/Windows devices to confirm whether it can be recognized. If it cannot be recognized, it means that the memory card may be damaged or the file system is wrong. In this case you can passChkdsk command to repair Micro SD card , or put itreformat to solve.
The driver of the device connected to the computer is outdated, which may cause the device not to be recognized or used normally. The repair method is to update the corresponding driver.
If you have tried the above methods and found that the Micro SD card can occasionally be recognized by the computer, the most important thing in this case is to back up or transfer the data on the Micro SD card as soon as possible. If you find that the data is lost, you can use the data described below Recovery software for recovery. After recovering or transferring the data of the Micro SD card to other safe places, you can use the Chkdsk command to repair the Micro SD card or format it.
Rene.E Laboratory ™ data recovery software It is a software specially used to restore system data files. When you accidentally delete important files, empty the recycle bin, or format the disk/storage, you can use this tool to retrieve the lost data. The software covers four functional modules, including file recovery, format recovery, partition recovery and image creation, which can help you solve all data loss problems in an all-round way.
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Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial 800 people have downloaded!The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Connect the Micro SD card to the computer through a card reader, download and install Renee Undeleter on the computer, and run Renee Undeleter . Select the (Format Recovery) option on the main interface.
Note: Do not install Renee Undeleter in the disk where data is lost to avoid data overwriting.
Data recovery function introduction:
File Recovery – Quickly retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
Formatted Recovery – Quickly recover files lost due to inaccessible or formatted partitions.
Partition Recovery – Analyze and get partition information and perform a full scan of the entire partition.
Create Mirror – You can create a mirror image for a partition to back up the current partition state.
Step 2: Next select the Micro SD card partition. After the selection is complete, click (Next).
Step 3: Then wait for the scan, the scan time will depend on the size of the Micro SD card memory. During the scanning process, you can double-click to preview the file. If you have found the file you need to recover, you can check it and click the (Recover) button. At this time, the scan will be terminated to start recovering the file. You can also wait for the scan to end, check the files to be recovered from the scan results, and then click the (Recover) button.
Note: It is recommended to save the recovered files in other partitions instead of the original Micro SD card to avoid data overwriting.
When the Micro SD card is connected to the Windows computer but cannot be recognized, you can try to change the drive letter of the Micro SD card. Specific steps are as follows:
Step 1: Use a card reader to connect the Micro SD card to the Windows computer, right-click on the (Start) menu, and select (Disk Management).
Step 2: Right-click the disk corresponding to the Micro SD card, select (Change drive letter and path), change a drive letter for the Micro SD card, and then go to the file explorer to check whether the Micro SD card has been recognized.
Step 1: When the Micro SD card is connected to the computer, you can right-click the (Start) menu and select (Device Manager).
Step 2: Find the Micro SD card device in the device manager (you can try to find it in “Disk Drive” or “Universal Serial Bus Controller”), if the icon in front of the Micro SD card device has an exclamation mark, it means the driver of the device There is a problem with the program.
Step 3: Right click on the Micro SD card device and select (Update Driver).
Step 4: You can select (Browse my computer for driver software) if you have a suitable driver on your computer, or (Search automatically for updated driver software) if you are not sure. Then follow the prompts to complete the operation. Check again after the update to see if the problem with the Micro SD card has been resolved.
Use the file system error checking function that comes with the Windows system to check and repair the Micro SD card. The premise is that the Micro SD card has been successfully connected to the computer. The following operations are performed in the file explorer. If the file explorer If the Micro SD card is not displayed in , you can go to “Disk Management” to operate.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Connect the Micro SD card to the Windows computer through a card reader.
Step 2: Open the file explorer, right-click on the Micro SD card, select (Properties) > (Tools), and click (Check) in the “Error checking” column.
Step 3: Click (Scan and Repair Drive). If errors are found, restart the computer to repair the file system. After repairing the drive, eject the Micro SD card, then reinsert it into the Android phone to see if the Micro SD card is recognized.
Formatting the Micro SD card can fix many problems, and you can also format the file system of the Micro SD card into a file system supported by Android phones, such as FAT32 and exFAT. If the Micro SD card is not displayed in the PC file explorer, please right-click the (Start) menu and enter (Disk Management) to format the Micro SD card.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Connect the Micro SD card to the computer via a card reader.
Step 2: Copy the entire Micro SD card data to other disks for data backup.
Step 3: Open File Explorer, right-click on the Micro SD card drive, and select (Format).
Step 4: In the formatting window, choose an option from “File System”. If the Micro SD card is 32GB or smaller, select FAT32; if the Micro SD card is larger than 32 GB, select exFAT. (Click here to learn about the characteristics and differences of each file system)
Step 5: Click (Start) to start formatting the Micro SD card. After safely ejecting the Micro SD card, reconnect the Android phone to see if the problem is resolved.
As long as the Micro SD card is not physically damaged, and the computer can successfully connect the Micro SD card (that is, it can be displayed in the disk management), then you can use the Chkdsk tool to repair logical errors. Note: This method will clear the data in the Micro SD card, please back up important files first.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Connect the Micro SD card to the computer through a card reader.
Step 2: After the connection is successful, search for (cmd) in the computer search box, right-click (command prompt), and select (run as administrator).
Step 3: In the command prompt window, enter the command (chkdsk H: /f) (H: is the drive letter of the Micro SD card, /f is the repair parameter), and press the (Enter) key. The repair process will take some time, depending on the severity of the damage and the size of the storage capacity. Exit Command Prompt when the repair is complete.
Kind tipsIf this command does not repair the Micro SD card, you can also try the (chkdsk H: /r) command, (/r) is also a repair parameter, which can find bad sectors and restore readable information. (/r) includes the functionality of (/f) with additional analysis for physical disk errors.
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