If you accidentally lost important data from memory card, here are several useful ways to get them back on a Windows PC, including built-in functions and data recovery software. It can easily recover lost files from accidentally deleted, formatted, or RAW-formatted memory cards.
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Method 1. Quick data recovery from memory card
Method 2. Assign a new drive letter to the memory card
Method 3. Try CHKDSK command to recover data from memory card
Method 4. Free recover files from SD/memory card with Windows File Recovery
I accidentally deleted all files from my memory card. What should I do to recover it? Is there a memory card data recovery software for free use? Please let me know. Thanks."
- Question from Reddit
As flash data storage devices, memory cards are commonly used in digital cameras, cell phones, laptops, portable media players, and other devices.
Accidentally delete the data in your memory card, you may feel very frustrated. Because precious photos/videos, favorite songs, and important personal files can be easily lost on the memory card. I
If you are also in the dilemma of data loss, please don't worry. In this article, we will help you to recover files from memory cards easily with 4 methods.
Memory cards can lose data for a number of reasons, including:
✦ Operation error: Delete files and folders by mistake, or accidentally formatted the memory card and no backup is available.
✦ User error: For example, ejecting the card before it's finished writing data
✦ Card failure: This can include firmware failure, power loss, or file system corruption
✦ Contamination: This can happen when the card comes into contact with liquids
✦ Physical damage: Dropping, bending, or breaking the card can cause data loss
✦ Under attack: Virus infection or malware attack.
Can memory card data be recovered? Yes, it is. In fact, as long as the lost data is not overwritten, there is still a chance to retrieve it.
Immediately turn off the device and remove the memory card from the device, stop storing new data as lost files may be overwritten if the card is still in use.
In this part, we summarize 4 effective methods for how to recover deleted/formatted memory card without formatting.
MyRecover is one of the leading data recovery tools for Windows that can recover more than 200 types of files including photos, videos, images, documents, audio, etc., from memory cards, SD cards, external hard drives (HDDs/SSDs) with original format, filename, and content.
🔊 Apart from recovering data from memory card after format, it also supports many other data loss situations such as accidental deletion, disk formatting, system crash, and virus attack. 🔥 The tool provides quick and deep scanning modes to help you completely recover lost data in Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server systems without any misses.
Free download and install this memory card data recovery software to get back your data in just a few clicks.
Step 1. Find the memory card, and click Scan.
Step 2. Then, it will scan the memory card automatically or you can search the files you want.
Step 3. Click Recover x files to restore deleted files from memory card.
Assigning a new drive letter usually resolves many memory card problems. This action resolves errors related to drive number conflicts, which can occur when the operating system fails to update efficiently.
You can check Disk Management to determine if its drive letter has been changed or if the card is RAW. then refer to the following steps to assign a new drive letter to the memory card and perform a RAW SD card recovery:
Step 1. Open “Disk Management” from your device.
Step 2. Right-click the memory card and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths"
Step 3. Next, click “Add” to assign a drive letter to it.
If the card contains internal errors or bad sectors, your PC will not be able to read it. However, you can use the CHKDSK command to correct and solve this problem.
Step 1. Pree "Windows + R" to open Run. Then, type the” cmd” and hit Enter.
Step 2. Type chkdsk H: / f / r and hit Enter (H is the drive letter of your memory card).
Step 3. Finally, Check if you can recover data from the memory card.
If you want to recover deleted data from memory card and find no signs of deleted files in Recycle Bin, you can try Microsoft's official data recovery tool - Windows File Recovery. It is a powerful command-line utility, that supports Windows 11/10 and later, and can recover deleted media files, office files, ZIP files, photos, or videos, and more from local or external hard drives, and SD/memory cards with the winfr command.
Note: Novice users may find this option complicated because Windows File Recovery is a command-line application with complex parameters that offers several recovery modes. Next, we will show you some basic instructions about it, if you need a comprehensive understanding of Windows File Recovery, you can refer to How to Use Windows File Recovery.
Step 1. Get Windows File Recovery in the Microsoft Store.
Step 2. Open Windows File Recovery, you need to enter the command format like this: winfr source-drive:destination-drive:[/mode] [/switches]. This is the general command line syntax for restoring files via Windows File Recovery.
What each specific command means is shown in the following figure.
There are two basic modes to choose from: Regular & Extensive. And Extensive mode includes two advanced modes: Segment & Signature. The file system of the disk determines which mode you use. You can check the memory card drive file system by clicking This PC, right-clicking the drive, check the file system Properties to choose the corresponding Mode and Switch according to the following figure.
Tip: Regular only supports the NTFS file system.
For example, if you want to restore files from E: drive to D: drive, you want to use Segment mode, and the files you lost are Docx files, then as shown in the figure, your command is: winfr E: D: /segment /n *.docx.
Step 3. After that, a recovery folder will be created in the destination drive of your choice. You can go to check if the lost data is recovered.
Note: As you can see, Windows file recovery is not very friendly to a green-hand. There is another Windows File Recovery alternative, a 100% free tool called WinfrGUI. This software can help you get rid of complicated commands to recover deleted files with a graphical user interface. You can try it out.
That’s all on how to recover data from memory card. We've covered 4 methods to help you restore memory card files. In comparison, MyRecover is a better choice among these methods. It not only saves your time and energy but also with a high recovery rate.
Finally, to prevent data loss in the memory card, it is suggested that you choose a reliable memory card and replace it with a new one after a certain period of time. After using the memory card, safely remove from the device, do not pull it out directly, and do not rashly delete files.