How To Fix “SD Card is Damaged, Try Reformatting it” Error?
| Summary: This post outlines various methods to fix the ‘SD card is damaged, Try reformatting it’ error. It also mentions a photo recovery software that can recover lost media files, i.e. photos, videos etc. from the SD card. |
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| User Query: I received an error message, “SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it,” when I attempted to share some pictures on my phone through Facebook. When I clicked, Android reminded me that “Format SD card? All data on your card will be lost”. I didn’t format the card as there were many important files, including hundreds of pictures. |
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In many instances, an SD card gets damaged or corrupt because of the way you keep or use it. Due to improper usage, the SD card may get corrupted and become inaccessible. Eventually, you need to format it, which would result in data loss. To avoid this and fix the damaged SD card issue, follow the solutions mentioned in this blog.
Reasons behind Damaged SD Card Error Message
Below we have mentioned some common reasons that may cause “SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it” error:
- Physical damage to SD card
- Improper or sudden removal of SD card while transferring data
- Presence of bad sectors
Also Read: How to Recover Photos from SD Card BAD Sectors ?
- Corrupt SD card file system
- Virus attack
Methods to Fix Damaged SD Card
As the error message prompts, you can format the SD card to fix the issue. However, doing so would delete all the data on the card permanently. To avoid that, you can look for ways to fix the SD card issue without formatting and recover the saved files.
Here, we have mentioned some methods to fix the damaged SD card issue and recover the photos.
Also Read: Best Ways to Fix Corrupt SD Card/ Memory Card
A: Methods to Fix Damaged SD Card Error without Formatting
Here, we have listed some easy-to-use solutions that can help you resolve the ‘SD card is damaged, try formatting it’ error.
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Change the Card Reader
There might be an issue with the card reader and not the SD card. To check if the SD card is damaged or not, you can try changing the card reader.
For doing so, proceed with the below-given steps:
- Turn off the device and take out your SD card reader.
- Then, remove your SD card and insert the same card in another SD card reader.
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Run Drive Error Checking Tool
The drive error checking tool in Windows identifies and automatically corrects the file system errors.
Follow the below-given steps to run the drive error checking tool:
- Connect the SD card with your PC.
- In Windows Explorer, right-click on the SD card and select Properties.
- Go to the Tools tab and click on Check under the Error checking menu. Wait till the scan and repair process is complete.
- Refresh your PC. Then, disconnect and connect the SD card and check if this fixes the damaged SD card reformatting error.
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Use CHKDSK Command
Remove the damaged SD card from your device and connect it to your PC via a card reader. Then, run CMD command to check the SD card for disk error and fix it. Follow these steps:
- Click on the Windows icon and type CMD in the search box.
- Right-click the Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator.”
- In the Command prompt window, enter the following command: chkdsk g: /f /r /x (replace g with your SD card drive letter) and press Enter.
- Restart the computer.
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Clean and Re-insert the SD Card
Many times, over-used SD card develops dust or moisture. In that case, clean your SD card using a soft dry cloth and then re-insert it properly. Make sure to use a card reader for connecting the SD card to computer.
Check here for how to get activation key of stellar photo recovery software?
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Disable and Enable the SD Card
To fix the “SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it” error, you can disable and enable the SD card in Device Manager. To do so, follow the below-given steps:
- Click on the Windows icon and type Device Manager. Then, press the Enter key.
- In the Device Manager window, right-click the SD card and select Disable under “Universal Serial Bus controller.”
- After a few seconds, click Enable and restart your computer.
Watch Video to know more about How to recover deleted photos from SD Card
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Assign a New Drive Letter
Assigning a new drive letter can also help you resolve the “SD card is damaged. Try reformatting it” error. Follow these steps:
- Open Disk Management and search for your SD card.
- Right-click on the SD card and choose the “Change the Drive Letter & Paths” option.
- Save the changes. Then, reboot your PC and connect the SD card back to your device to see if the error is resolved.
Also Read: Free Data Recovery Tools from Stellar
B: Recover Stored Media Files
The chances of data loss increase with errors, like ‘SD card is damaged, try formatting it.’ Thus, whenever this error appears on your digital camera LCD screen or other device, immediately connect it to your computer and recover the media files saved on it. However, if you continue to do any read/write operation, it can further reduces the data recovery chances.
You can use a reliable and professional photo recovery software, like Stellar Photo Recovery to recover the stored media files from the SD card.
To recover photos and videos from the SD card using the software, proceed with the below-given steps:
- At first, connect the SD card to your computer.
- Then, download, install, and run the Stellar Photo Recovery software.
- Select the damaged SD card, toggle the ‘Deep scan’ button, and then click on Scan.
- Preview the found photos and click Recover.
- Lastly, click Browse to save the recovered media files at your desired location.
C: Format the Damaged SD Card to Fix the Error
If you have the data backup or don’t require the data saved on the SD card, you can format it as it would resolve the issue.
Proceed with the below-given steps to format the SD card:
- Connect the SD card to your computer and open This PC.
- Right-click on the SD card and select Format under the Devices and Drives menu.
- Further, click on the File System box in the format window.
- From the dropdown menu, select the file system and click on Start.
Summing It Up
The error ‘SD card is damaged, try formatting it’ may lead to data loss. However, you can recover the saved media files using a photo recovery software, like Stellar Photo Recovery. Do not try hit and trial methods as this may limit the chances of data recovery.
About The Author
Sapna Trivedi
Sapna Trivedi is a Sr. Online Marketing Executive at Stellar. She has more than 5 years' of experience in the data recovery industry. Specifically, she has knowledge of data recovery services, photo recovery software, and SQL Repair software. She has always been a learner and she loves to implement her technical & marketing skills in her professional career. She has been successful in creating a blend of her hard skills and soft skills and utilize it effectively in her domain area of expertise.
My SD card is broken, how can i recover my data?
Hi Sarita,
First, let me know what exactly happened with your Memory SD Card? In most of the cases, data recovery is possible, if the required part is not damaged. I suggest you submit your SD Card (Data Recovery Center) for analysis. After analysis, you will be able to know; data retrieval is possible or not and how much data you can retrieve.
Hello,
Removable disk is not displaying in my computer. How do I recover my data.
Hi Shakti,
Hope you have tried above methods to make your removable disk visible. If the steps given above won’t work then you can check once with Data Recovery Services Provider. I will suggest you to go through with https://goo.gl/tr3lvg
An error occurred card not formatted’ while inserting SD card on Camera. What should i do?
In this case, you need to format your SD Card, and by doing this you might lose your data. If your data is not important then format the SD Card. Else check your sd card with the data recovery service provider. Also, stop using your SD Card and don’t overwrite the data.
Hello,
How to fix SD Card is not detected by the system, how do i recover my data ? Please help me.
Try to cleaning the card reader slot to solve the issue or check it with another slot if it works. You can also follow the points given above fix memory card. If unable to fix consult once with memory card recovery service providers.
Nice Blog!
If you want to recover your corrupted or deleted data then you can go through pen drive recovery service. These services are recovered your all data immediately.
Hey,
Thank you for appreciating our blog… stay connected with us for more updates !!
My SD card is total damaged the size showing 2kb how to fix?
It seems your SD Card is showing that means you can try to recover your data using the software. I recommend you to download the data recovery software and perform the specified steps to recover your data….if it does not work then you should contact a professional data recovery service provider.
Hi, My Sd card is corrupted for my tablet and it has some file in it that impossible to formated I totally confused because I try many ways!!!
Hi Kazem,
SD card is a very sensitive device and a single mishandling can lead the further damage. Could you explain what methods you have tried to recover your data?
If your data is important, I advise you to contact a data recovery service provider for SD Card Recovery.
Note- Do not try random methods to avoid data loss.
Thank you for the great post !!
We appreciate your feedback. Keep visiting our blog for more updates.
Thank you for the wonderful post
Thank you for your feedback!
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Thank you for your feedback!
After scanning 6% it stopped. What next.What to do now ??
Please help me.
Dear Sankalp,
Please let us know which software you are using so that we can serve you better?
After scan check, if you preview your files or not? If you are facing any problem in scan then you can also use deep scan to complete the scanning process.
Hello!!
The problem with my sd card is that I can’t add or delete anything. Whenever I am deleting something it is again retrieved and vice versa. Please help me out with this
My sdhc card disconnects and reconnects constantly when i try to format it or delete from it. Pls what do i do
My sd card got damaged by virus. Can I retrieve my old pictures & videos? And it was an sd card of my anroid mobile phone.
Recently I have to remove the sd card from my android phone then inserted a new one. Later 2 days back when I inserted the old one on the same phone it is saying format all data will be erased. or backup it but the backup option is not showing anywhere.