My sd card is corrupted: FAQ

How to recover corrupted micro sd card? Today we are going to answer the questions we've received and examine different situations.

Before asking a question (you can do this via our feedback form), read the checklist on fixing a corrupted memory card.

Read the guide

Also when stating the question and describing the problem please specify what device do you have, the model of the memory card (if possible) and the version of Android.

Questions from the readers

1. [Phone cannot recognize SD card after 3 days of using]

My phone is vivo y53 can read my old SD card but the new one is 32gb. in the first place my phone can read it but while transferring files from phone to SD card. Some files are corrupted and in sharing files to other device the SD card is automatically unmount. what would i do to restore corrupted sd card??

2. My phone says that the sd card is damaged. But when I plug it in the computer it reads the files. It happend after a failed transfer of file from internal storage to sd card. How to restore corrupted sd card?

3. i have nokia 2 which recognizes 4 gb sd card. i have recently purchased 8 gb sd card. nokia 2 is not recognizing it. i formatted sd card to FAT32 (using command prompt). after this, nokia 2 is giving same response sd card is corrupted. but my another phone (not a smartphone) is recognizing sd card after its formatting to FAT32.

The answer. You need to check the memory card for reading errors: possibly you have extracted it incorrectly or during the time defective sectors have appeared which prevent the memory card from having anything recorded on it or allowing anything to be read. Chkdsk or the Command Prompt are suitable for scanning (read manual on fixing errors).

If there are no errors found, copy the memory card contents to the computer (remember to backup it) and then format the sd card with the help of SD Formatter utility. For these purposes programs that are available on the website of the sd card manufacturer are also suitable (if there are any of them available).

1. [SD card is corrupted… 3 full days trying to fix it and nothing]

Hi guys, so about 3 days ago my micro SD card got corrupted unexpectedly. My images are unable to be seen and none of my videos can be read. This is what i have tried:

1. I've tried to see if it works on a different device
2. Tried Command Prompt: "chkdsk : D/F" on my PC and nothing
3. Tried restarting and turning off my phone multiple times.
4. Already tried to see if it worked on my PC and nothing again.

Does anybody know anything else i can do, how to uncorrupt an sd card? I have all my pictures from Europe and Cuba. I would appreciate any sort of help.

2. My 8gb sd card is corrupted. No downloaded recovery software has ever been able to recognize this card. I need to recover photos from this micro sd card. What are my options. Can I take the micro sd card somewhere that can recover it? If so, where exactly?

The answer.

1. Look for firmware on the website of the memory card manufacturer. In some cases usb flash formatters may be useful.

2. You can check the disk for errors not only through the command line. You can try other utilities, for example, HDD diagnostic tools which is similar to HDDScan.

3. If the sd card content isn't available but the drive is detected in Explorer (Windows suggests formatting it) what can help you is a quick formatting of the flash drive and restoring afterwards it via Recuva or any other similar recovery software.

How to fix sd card without formatting

We bought a new digital camera before going on vacation. Of course, we also bought a new memory card for it. So here is what happened. We were walking and taking pictures (we have taken already 900 pictures) and the flash drive was with the capacity of 32 GB which should have been enough for a lot of photos but suddenly the camera gave an error that we had damaged the flash card. And the photos wouldn't open. We came home and started looking for the solution but the drive wouldn't open on any device.

The question: is the problem with the camera or the flash card? How can we recover corrupted files on sd card now?

The answer. In theory the error may be caused by a camera but this happens very rarely. For example, if the camera software contains errors this problem can be solved via reflashing the device.

But most often the problem is connected with improper use of a memory card: for example, if you have extracted it from a camera without turning it off or you have connected it to another device / extracted it from the card reader unmounted.

The best thing you can do is:

1. Check the memory card for errors by connecting it to a PC
2. Format the media if there are no particularly important photos on the sd card anymore.

Also check whether the contacts of the storage device are clogged. If you were taking photos at the time of severe weather conditions it could have caused the clogging and thus  the deterioration of the electrical conductivity of the memory card.

[sd card says corrupted]

my sd card of 32gb damaged when i was trying to download a file from torrent. I can read the data from sd card but i can't delete it neither can paste a new files into it. i tried cmd to solve the problem but stuck in primary partition. i couldn't partition it.

please help me uncorrupt sd card. thank you!

The answer. If you have downloaded a virusware from the torrents, it could be blocking the access to removable media. Therefore, I recommend checking the PC and the sd card for errors.

The second point. If you record the files on unallocated space which has bad sectors Windows will give an error. To resolve this error you need to check the memory card for errors or move the bad sector to the file table end using the diagnostic software.

1. About five days ago the phone started showing the icon saying that the memory card (flash drive) is damaged and offering to erase everything from it. I didn't do this. Two days later all the audio disappeared. And today I found out that the majority of the photos disappeared too. Is it possible to recover them? How do i fix a corrupted sd card, what should I do?

2. I have 32 gb sd card its not working in my phone its says its has a damaged i don't want to reformat it cuz it will lost all data but its working in my desktop. how can i fix this problem?

The answer. As a rule, if the sd card is damaged Windows suggests formatting it (= erasing). Before doing this, it's better to copy all the remaining data on a PC.

The next step is to perform a quick formatting (Quick not Full!) and scan your memory card with the help of  recovery programs. We suggest using such free programs as Recuva, PhotoRec and DiskDigger for a PC.

I ordered a sd card from aliexpress. I inserted it into the phone and everything was working. In an hour I rebooted the phone and it stopped seeing the flash drive and the computer wouldn't see it either but the sd card is connected to it and is present in the list of drives. I open "My Computer" and it's not there but in "Disk Management" it's shown that the drive is working fine. Nevertheless I can't format the flash drive or copy files to it. I inserted it into the tablet with Android 5.0: it shows that the flash drive is corrupted and suggests formatting. I started the formatting via Window OS which was successfully completed but after the procedure nothing happened.

What should I do in this case? I will accept any options of how to do it on my own.

The answer. Replacing the flash drive under warranty would be the fastest solution. But it's difficult to return to the seller a sd card from aliexpress: shipment by mail will take months.

If formatting doesn't help, try creating a Disk Volume on the sd card by using Windows standard component: Control Panel - Disk Management. Then assign any free letter to the Disk Volume. 

I had my sd stolen and then returned to me. A few weeks after it being returned and put back in my phone. my phone suddenly stopped reading or recognizing the card. Neither phone nor sd card appears to be damaged and it literally just happened out of nowhere the phone says sd card is not inserted but it is. Can a corrupted sd card be recovered?

The answer. If there is no physical damage on the sd card than it may contain software bugs. Actually this is the topic we are discussing, so read the FAQ and the answers to the questions as it's likely that your case has already been considered.

1. [Damaged SD Card]

I purchased your software. While transferring files from the SD card, the reader disconnected for some reason. It immediately reconnected but Windows said that it could not read the card and asked to format it. I have not.

The problem is, without formatting, Windows refuses to assign the card a drive letter. Without a drive letter, I cannot set Recuva to check the card. So although your instructions suggest not to format, I have no options.

How do I fix my sd card 32GB Pixtor (80MB/s) SanDisk card and recover the files using Recuva in this scenario? Should I quick format simply to get a drive letter and go from there? Thanks.

2. My sdcard was working before so I formatted it in a mobile phone then put it inside my huawei y220 u00 but it cannot read the sdcard it is saying "sdcard damaged try formatting it" but I have formatted it many times it is still the same. How to recover corrupted sd card?

The answer.

It's true that if the memory card contains error the operating system will suggest formatting it. By doing it, you will lose all the data. Quick formatting is a relatively risky option. But if the existing data isn't valuable or important to you quick formatting will be the fastest solution.

Check the memory card via the option of fixing the errors. To fix a corrupted sd card, use chkdsk (standard Windows software) or firmware available on the website of the sd card manufacturer.      

Instead of connecting the phone via USB, you can use the card reader built into the laptop or connected via USB.