Nowadays, many people use cameras, drones, or phones to capture footage for creating captivating videos and photo albums. However, relying too much on SD cards to store them can make your hard work come to nothing with just an unexpected single click. Though these files disappear, it does not mean that you will lose them permanently. There are multiple methods to recover lost and deleted photos and videos from the SD card, and this article will guide you on how to do that.
Although you may lose some shots and images due to one of the following reasons, it's still important to be aware of the others. In this way, you can at least reduce the probability of errors in the future.
Yes. No matter how the footage is lost, we can always find a way to deal with it. If you find that some files were lost from the SD card, you must terminate using the SD card and perform data recovery as soon as possible. By doing this, it will increase the SD memory card recovery success rate. The following table outlines common problems users encounter, the actual file status, and the corresponding solutions.
| Problems | File Status | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
|
#1. Deleted some photos/videos #2. Formatted the SD card |
Only their entries in the file system are marked as deleted, but the actual content is still stored on the SD card. It's like a book but lacks a table of contents. | |
| #3. The footage suddenly disappeared. | They're still in their original locations, just hidden. | Set the file attribute to visible |
|
#4. Error messages appear when accessing the SD card or file. #5. The computer doesn't recognize your card. |
The file system information is missing, or there is a corrupted file allocation table. It stops the normal communication between the SD card and the computer, preventing photos from being properly located. |
Check and repair the corrupted SD card file system Change the drive letter of the SD card (Windows only) |
| #6. SD card damaged | It's like you lost the key to your strongbox, and it can only be opened with the help of professionals. | Use the professional recovery service |
Some cameras, or digital devices, especially phones, have built-in Recycle Bin options similar to a computer's to temporarily store recently deleted videos or photos. Typically, these are located in settings or menus like "Recently Deleted" or "Trash." If you happen to find such an option, you can easily undelete photos/videos from the SD card there.
Tip: If you're unsure whether your device has such a recovery feature, check the manual or visit the manufacturer's website to learn more.
As we have mentioned earlier, whether it's accidental deletion, formatting, or even SD card failure, the videos and pictures are still there. Therefore, using data recovery software is the second option to retrieve them. There are many programs available, varying in difficulty and platform compatibility. We recommend the following ones as they are reliable and friendly for users.
iBeesoft Data Recovery is a popular data recovery software tool for individuals. You can easily and quickly perform SD card recovery on a Mac or Windows PC with it.
It only takes a few simple steps to recover SD card photos/vidoes with iBeesoft Data Recovery.
While digital devices are a great way to capture high-quality footage, they're often abandoned by many users due to their bulkiness. If you're one of them and your footage has been lost from your smartphone, Dr.Fone is a comprehensive and effective option. Since its computer-based version is more powerful, we'll use it as an example to show you how to recover deleted photos and videos from your phone's SD card.
After ruling out accidental deletion or formatting of the SD card as the cause of pictures and videos loss, the most likely culprit of data loss from the SD card is that files are hidden due to a missetup. It's very easy to make them visible again. Here are the steps:
If your pictures and videos are missing from your SD card without any warning, and the above steps don't work, here are more ways to show hidden files in Windows and Mac.
Sometimes, we know the needed photos are on our SD card, but a malfunction prevents us from accessing them. It is frustrating. Actually, it's easy to restore your SD card to normal with just a little effort.
FAT, exFAT, and NTFS file systems primarily manage data on SD cards, including read/write access, storage space allocation, and access control. Whenever there is a problem with the file system, an error message will pop up when you access the SD card or files. While the symptoms may vary, they ultimately stem from file system failure. In this case, you should take the actions shown below.
If these methods don't help you troubleshoot errors, format the SD card in Mac or Windows after retrieving the files with data recovery software. Formatting can fix these errors.
Drive letters are unique, just like your ID number. When the drive letter of the SD card where you save your photos is the same as a hard drive on your computer, it will be recognized, but it does not appear in File Explorer when connected to your computer. Here's the solution:
If your files are lost due to physical damage to the SD card, the methods mentioned above won't work. In this case, you should consider using a recovery service, especially when the files are precious. The data recovery services typically offer a free assessment of the possibility for SD card recovery and follow a no-data, no-fee policy. If you decide to go that route, simply type "data recovery service" in the Google search box and select a well-rated service near you.
Sometimes, even if the pictures and videos are still on your SD card or computer, they are unreadable because of missing content. An unexpected interruption during transfer or shooting often causes it. Fortunately, you can try a free online repair tool to fix this problem.
It's equally important to learn methods to avoid data loss since it is as important as learning how to restore SD card photos and videos in Windows PC, Mac, and Android.
To make it, please check the tips below:
In this article, we've learned how to recover photos and videos from an SD card in various loss scenarios and the necessary precautions. We believe these methods can help you resolve SD card data loss issues. While performing the SD card recovery, please follow these steps strictly for optimal results.
Not always. Since Android phones run almost 24 hours a day, whether it is the applications you install or the system, they are very likely to generate new files and store them on the card after you format the SD card. If these data overwrite the ones you want to recover, then they will disappear. For this, if you want to increase the chances of data recovery, what you have to do is to use the tools we mentioned as soon as possible.
Any operation on the SD card may cause the photos to be overwritten by new data, resulting in permanently loss. It's like two books stacked on top of each other; you will never know what's underneath.
Recovered files can't be opened mostly because they were corrupted during the loss process or were partially overwritten by new data saved to your SD card. When you encounter this situation, use one of the online repair tools mentioned in this article to fix this error. Additionally, iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac is a useful option for Mac users.
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