Even though SD Card stands for Secure Digital Memory Card, data stored on SD cards are not entirely secure. You may experience various problems, such as accidental deletion, virus attacks, or severe damage that will result in lost files.
But amidst all these, you can still recover your files. Many users don’t know how to do this, causing them to panic about returning their files. In this post, we will be explaining the proven methods to recover deleted files from SD cards.
Learn About SD Card File Recovery
Below, you will learn the most common reasons for SD card data loss and some tips & tricks you can use to rescue deleted files from SD cards.
Common Causes of SD Card Data Loss
| Causes | Description |
| 🗑️ Accidental Deletion | Mistaking an unwanted file for another, and going ahead to press Delete is a common cause of SD card data loss. But you can still recover it with data recovery software, especially if the storage space has not been overwritten by a new file. |
| ℹ️ Formatting Issues | Windows and Mac have different file systems. Inserting an SD card that’s formatted with an incompatible file system may result in data loss. You can recover formatted SD card data by using professional data recovery software, file history backups (on Windows), or Time Machine (on Mac). |
| 📁 File System Corruption | Your SD card file system may be corrupted by viruses and malware attacks, resulting in loss of data. But you can fix a corrupted SD card and restore your files by using specialized data recovery software to scan and retrieve lost files. |
| 💾 Physical Damage | SD card data loss because of severe damages like water damage or physical impact can be tough to rectify. You need the help of professional data recovery services to restore missing files. |
Tips for Secure Digital Card Recovery
Below are preventive measures you can integrate to restore deleted files from SD card successfully. They ensure that the deleted files are not completely lost.
📝 Stop Using the SD Card: When a file is deleted from your SD card, it doesn’t completely get deleted as long as the storage space is not occupied with other data. Hence, when you notice a missing file, stop using the SD card so that the file won’t be overwritten.
📝 Use Reliable Recovery Software: There are several recovery software on the market, but only a few can be trusted to recover files from SD cards efficiently. Therefore, choose a reliable recovery software that will safely retrieve your files.
📝 Save Data to Another Device: It’s recommended that you recover your lost files to a different storage device to avoid overwriting. Also, the SD card may have other damages, so recovering your files to another device ensures their integrity.
📝 Avoid DIY Fixes: If your SD has suffered physical damages like cracks or contact with water, do not attempt any DIY recovery method. Seek help from professional data recovery services to prevent further damage.
How to Recover Deleted Files from SD Card with ONERCOVERY
The best method to restore deleted files from an SD card is choosing the right data recovery software. Amongst the options in the market, ONERECOVERY is one of the best data recovery software you can rely on. It provides an all-in-one data recovery solution, ranging from restoring files lost as a result of deletion, overwritten errors, formatting issues, file system corruption, software crashes, etc.
ONERECOVERY is a free secure digital data recovery tool that’s compatible with several memory cards (e.g. MiniSD card, MicroSD card, SmartMedia, CF card, & xD-Picture card) and operating systems (e.g. Windows & Mac). It has a straightforward and user-intuitive interface that allows users to easily recover lost files without the need for any expertise or knowledge.
Within a few seconds, you will recover all your SD card missing files, including images, audio, videos, documents, archives, etc. If you are finding a powerful photo recovery software to get back the lost pictures on your SD cards, don’t hesitate to download it.
Follow these steps to recover deleted files from SD cards using ONERECOVERY:
Step 1. Download and install ONERECOVERY on your computer.
Step 2. Insert the SD card into your computer.
Step 3. Launch ONERECOVERY and click on your SD card.
Step 4. Automatically, ONERECOVERY begins to scan your SD card for all lost files, including deleted, overwritten, and corrupted files.
Step 5. Preview the results, select the files you want to restore and click Recover.
This software also supports the recovery of SD card on Mac. If you didn’t back up the files using the Time Machine, this data recovery software can help you retrieve the lost data in only 3 steps.
📥 Give it a free test run—download it today!
How to Restore Deleted Data from SD Cards Using Backups
If you have a backup of your SD card data on other storage devices, you can use these solutions to retrieve the deleted data.
Rescue Deleted Files from SD Card Using Windows Backup
Windows backup is an in-built feature that allows users to create regular backups of files, which can be beneficial in restoring deleted data. This recovery method is easy to set up, restoring deleted files to their original locations.
But for this method to work, ensure you’ve connected your SD card to the computer previously and enabled Windows to create backups of your memory card.
Here are the steps to restore deleted data from SD cards using Windows backup:
Step 1. Connect the SD card to your computer.
Step 2. Go to your Windows search bar, type Control Panel, and click on the result.
Step 3. Navigate to System and Security, and then click on Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
Step 4. Select Restore my files and check for the deleted files you want to recover. Select them and click on Next.
Step 5. Save the recovered files to their original location or choose another location to save them.
Step 6. Click on Restore to complete the process.
Retrieve Deleted Data from SD Card with Time Machine Backup
Just like how Windows has its built-in backup feature, Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of macOS. It’s an excellent tool, great for backup of an entire system, including external devices like SD cards.
This recovery method requires connecting an external drive to the computer for storing the Time Machine backup. Also, you must enable Time Machine and include your SD card in the backup settings so that anytime it’s inserted, there’s an automated backup of files.
Here are the steps for SD card file recovery using Time Machine:
Step 1. Connect the SD card to your Mac.
Step 2. Open Finder and go to the Time Machine menu.
Step 3. Select Enter Time Machine.
Step 4. Browse through the backups available to check for the files you want to recover.
Step 5. Select the files to recover and click on Restore. The restored files will be saved to their original location on the SD card.
💡 Note: If you haven’t backed up your data with Time Machine, you need to choose a reliable SD card recovery software for Mac to get back your lost files.
How to Recover Deleted Files from SD Card without Software
In situations where the software doesn’t work or there is physical damage on the SD card, the only viable solution might be to seek help from professional data recovery services. The cause of the SD card data loss can be traced to several reasons, such as water contamination, crashes on the memory card chip, distortion of the SD card edges, and many more.
To resolve the issue, send your memory card to a reliable data recovery service company for proper assessment and recovery of your missing files.
💡 NOTE: Sometimes, the SD card can be repaired, but attempting to repair it might lead to further damage and complete data loss.
Conclusion
Losing your SD card data can be extremely painful, especially if you have cherished memories or important files saved on it. If you are lucky to have a backup, you can easily make a recovery of your lost files through the Windows Backup feature or Time Machine on Mac.
And if you don’t have a backup, you can recover your missing files with ONERECOVERY – an all-in-one data recovery software that can efficiently recover data in a memory card regardless of the loss scenario.
FAQs About SD Card File Recovery
You can go through these frequently asked questions to learn more about how to recover deleted files from SD cards.
How to find deleted files on an SD card?
You can seamlessly find deleted files on your SD card by using ONERECOVERY. This memory card data recovery tool performs a thorough scan, finding all lost files on the SD card for easy recovery.
These are the processes involved:
Step 1. Insert the SD card into a card reader and connect it to your computer.
Step 2. Download, install, and launch ONERECOVERY on your computer.
Step 3. Click on the connected SD card.
Step 4. ONERECOVERY scans and displays all the deleted files on the SD card.
Step 5. Preview the results, select the ones you want to retrieve, and click on Recover.
How to view deleted files on an SD card?
ONERECOVERY doesn’t just find and recover deleted files on an SD card. It allows you to view them and then choose whether to recover them or not.
This SD card data recovery software comes with a preview feature that enables users to view every missing file on the SD card, confirming their integrity.
How do I recover permanently deleted videos from my SD card?
There are 3 tested and trusted solutions to get back deleted videos from SD cards. They are:
Step 1. Restore deleted videos from the SD card using a video recovery tool.
Step 2. Undelete videos from SD card via backup.
Step 3. Contact data recovery service in case the SD card is physically damaged.
