[Quick & Efficient] How to Fix: Camera Won’t Read SD Card

Camera won’t read SD card and you want to fix it now? Click here to know something useful about it. You will get to read your pictures after solving the problem.

Zoey

By Zoey / Updated on April 3, 2024

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In the realm of modern photography, SD cards stand as essential companions to cameras. Yet, when you use these memory cards, you may have encountered a vexing situation where your camera won’t read card.

Within this comprehensive guide, we navigate the journey of rectifying the SD card not accessible issue. These strategies are universally applicable across an array of camera devices, encompassing DSLRs to dash cams, ensuring the seamless restoration of data access.

Camera SD Card

My Camera Won’t Read My SD Card: Why?

There are many causes for that your camera exhibits a reluctance to interface with your SD card. Here, we outline prevalent scenarios:

  • Incompatible card type and size: Acquiring a capacious SD card might inadvertently result in compatibility issues, as cameras within the 4-32GB range adhere to the older SDHC standard, while those surpassing 32GB conform to SDXC standards. One-way adaptability from SDXC to SDHC, not vice versa, can lead to non-recognition.
  • Improper insertion: Wrong alignment of the card's terminals with the camera's reader, often attributed to improper insertion, can lead to successful recognition.
  • Locked card mishap: A minute yet significant lock switch nestled at the card's periphery can make USB not recognized. Please ensure the switch's unlocked position all the time.
  • Soiled terminals or physical impairment: The presence of dirty terminals may disrupt seamless memory card interaction, while physical harm to these terminals can render the SD card invisible to the camera's senses.
  • File system issues: Corruption within file systems like FAT32 (typical of SDHC cards) and exFAT (associated with SDXC cards) may transpire due to viral infections or abrupt data-writing cessation.
  • Hardware issues: The camera's SD card port, upon sustaining damage, may culminate in the“my camera SD card won t read” issue.

✍ Note: No matter what causes the error, it is prudent to stop SD card usage upon encountering this predicament, thereby circumventing irreversible data loss due to inadvertent data overwriting or exacerbation of card damage.

Camera Won’t Read SD Card: How to Fix?

Some solutions await, according to the main cause. Here are some effective methods for the camera won’t read the SD card issue. After reading, choose the most suitable one for your SD card and camera.

Method 1. Reinsertion of SD Card

First power off the camera and remove the SD card. It must be reinserted exactly in the direction of the card slot. Gently push the ledge toward the center of the slot until a resonant click is heard, indicating a successful integration.

Method 2. Clean up Viruses on SD Card

The interaction of the SD card with the computer during media transfer can lead to virus intrusion that compromises the file system and data integrity. A strong iteration of antivirus software is the key to the rescue, though there is a caveat. Preventative measures require careful scrutiny of the software's behavior, which is a countermeasure against inadvertent data erasure.

Method 3. Try CHKDSK Utility

CHDSK is a built-in Windows utility that checks file systems and metadata for possible logical or physical anomalies.The tool's ability to repair SD card corruption or bad sectors is dependent on PC's recognition.

Follow the procedural here to launch the CHKDSK utility:

1. Plug the SD card into the PC via a card reader.

2. In the Start Menu, search for cmd. Choose Command Prompt > Run as administrator.

Run CMD as Administrator

3. Commanding CHKDSK with this prompt:

chkdsk F: /x

📌Tip: 'F' corresponds to the SD card’s designated drive letter.

CHKDSK Command

Then, the CHKDSK command will fix errors on your SD card.

Method 4. KeepCamera SoftwareUpdated

If there is a firmware bug that makes your SD card not read, updating your camera software can be a solution. According to your camera brand and camera model, try to update the camera software with the basic principle:

1. Go to the camera brand's official website to download the firmware.

2. Search for your camera model on the web page.

📍 Tip: Please choose the firmware that is suitable for your camera model.

Method 5. FormatSD Card in Camera

While a last-resort measure, formatting holds the potential to remove all errors on SD cards. But you need to be careful because formatting SD card will delete everything on SD card.

To implement formatting SD card:

1. Establish connectivity between the SD card and PC via a card reader.

2. Engage File Explorer via Ctrl + E, selecting Computer (or This PC on Windows device) from the sidebar.

3. Right-click the SD card and select Format.

Format in File Explorer

4. Opt for exFAT for the SD card with more than 32GB or FAT32.

Start SD Card Format

5. Enable Quick Format and commence by clicking Start.

6. Confirm the initiation by selecting OK.

7. After completion, the SD card reintegration into the camera is requisite.

Data Recovery for Unrecognized SD Cards

After fixing SD card errors, you can perform SD card recovery now. No matter what brand your SD card is, like SanDisk, Sony, etc. you can recover data from it via a professional data recovery tool.

Here comes the most reliable data recovery software - MyRecover. With MyRecover, you can get many shining points in MyRecover:

  • Support data recovery from any data loss scenarios: deletion, formatting, virus, and more.
  • Recover data with a high speed and recovery rate.
  • Keep the path, filename, and format of the recovered files.
  • More than 200 types of files are supported to recover: pictures, videos, audio, texts, emails,
Download Software Windows 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

For novices, a simplified, four-step guide is elucidated for MyRecover utilization:

Step 1: Download and install the MyRecover Windows data recovery software. Hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.

Select SD Card to Scan

Step 2: Automation precipitates Quick Scan and Deep Scan, culminating in a repository of deleted or lost files. The Filter can help you locate deleted files from SD cards faster.

Scanning SD Card

Step 3: Elect the desired files and activate the recovery process by pressing the Recover x files button.

Select Files to Restore from SD Card

Written in the End

Confronted with the camera won’t read SD card issue, do not panic and find a suitable solution in this article. After repairing your SD card, you can recover data from your SD card via the best free file reocvery software- MyRecover.

Zoey
Zoey · Editor
Zoey works as an English editor of AOMEI Technology. She provides tech information about backup and restore, mobile data transfer, and so on for AOMEI. She hopes that her articles will be greatly helpful for users. She is fond of music, film, and photography.