💡 This article is written by humans, with all solutions and steps verified.
SD cards are used as extended storage for electronic devices, such as cameras, drones, and dashcams, to store photos and videos. However, accidental deletion, formatting, or some weird glitch can result in you losing some, or even worse, all important files from SD cards. While this can be a headache, there are still methods to restore data from an SD card in Windows or Mac. In this article, we will introduce the workable ways one by one. You’ll see how often this recovery process is surprisingly easy.
When you find that data on the SD card has been lost, the actions you take after the incident will greatly affect the probability of successful recovery. Therefore, please keep the following matters in mind.
Keep these 4 tips in mind; we believe you should be able to recover files from the SD card successfully.
You should know about the many reasons files on the SD card can disappear, get lost, or become inaccessible. Next, we will briefly categorize these issues to help you find the corresponding solutions faster.
| File Loss Scenarios | Solutions |
|---|---|
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Use third-party software, like iBeesoft Data Recovery, or restore them from backups. If you deleted the files after connecting the SD card to your Mac, you can also find them in the Trash bin. Additionally, if the device using this SD card has an automatic upload feature, you can also check whether copies of them are in the cloud. |
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Use your computer's built-in repair tools or third-party programs to repair file system errors. Otherwise, recover data from the SD card using recovery software first, and then format it after that. |
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Check whether they were hidden, or use data recovery tools to scan the SD card for them. |
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Use a service for SD card recovery. |
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Almost no solutions except suspending the data-erasing process before it is complete. Then there may be a chance to recover part of the lost files from your SD card. |
In most cases, regardless of how your photos, videos, or other files were lost, they cannot be recovered without professional software. This is why reliable data recovery software is important when you need to recover deleted or lost files from an SD card.
Here, we recommend iBeesoft Data Recovery as your first choice. Though not as famous as Disk Drill and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, its latest version is updated with algorithms particularly for handling photos and videos taken by cameras, camcorders, and drones. Therefore, it has significantly improved the success rate of SD card file recovery. Later, we will also give more details about this software and other ones for your reference.
Undoubtedly, many software programs on the market for SD memory card data recovery. Perhaps you're wondering why iBeesoft Data Recovery is recommended as your first one? Its advantages go far beyond its simple interface. It also has the following features sufficient to help you handle almost any data loss situation.
If iBeesoft Data Recovery doesn't work or you're still undecided about using it, you can take a look at the following ones. They performed very well in our tests.
By searching, you will find that there are thousands of software programs for SD card recovery, but few can offer the additional features in Disk Drill, such as disk health monitoring, data protection, and disk cleanup. In its latest version, you will notice an "Advanced Camera Recovery" option. This feature claims to better recover photos and videos from SD cards in devices like cameras and drones. However, in our actual tests, the scan results were identical to those of general algorithms.
In terms of price, Disk Drill is more expensive, but given the features it offers, we think it's worth it. If you're looking for a program that can perform both SD card file recovery and management, then it's worth trying.
As its name suggests, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is very easy to use. It supports deep scanning, which is great for handling data lost from SD cards due to deletion and formatting. However, for damaged SD cards, the recovered files may be unopenable.
Compared with other similar tools, the price of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is disproportionate to its functionality. Therefore, we suggest you consider it as an alternative option.
R-Studio is a data recovery program for professionals that can perform several tasks simultaneously. While its scanning speed is generally slow, it can recover almost all lost data from SD cards, even from corrupted or deleted volumes.
There are multiple versions of R-Studio. When purchasing, please ensure it supports the SD card file system. For example, the basic version only supports FAT, Ext, and exFAT.
This is a command-line program that requires users to have some knowledge of storage device configuration. While this may deter many users, it remains an ideal option if you want to recover files from an SD card for free. From the name, you might think it only supports photos? In fact, PhotoRec supports over 400 file types.
Even without using third-party software, there are many other options for recovering lost photos or videos from an SD card. Some of these work in specific conditions, others require backup files, while some try to fix certain errors.
Unlike Windows, when you connect the SD card to your Mac and delete photos or videos from it, they are moved to the Trash. If you realize the deletion is a mistake, follow the steps to recover deleted files from an SD card via the Trash.
Many digital devices today, such as those from Canon, Sony, GoPro, and DJI, automatically upload photos or videos to the cloud when a Wi-Fi network is detected. Consequently, if your SD card was used in a device with this feature, a copy of your lost files might exist in the cloud.
Windows and macOS both have built-in backup solutions (File History and Time Machine) to protect personal data. If you have the habit of regularly backing up important files and the lost files are exactly those on the SD card, you can easily restore them. However, before you start, connect your external hard drive used to store backups to your computer.
Sometimes, you might lose files on your SD card not because of deletion or formatting, but because you lose permission to access them. Improper removal, sudden power outages, bad sectors, etc., can all damage the SD card file system, causing error messages when accessing the device itself or its files. Fortunately, built-in operating system tools can scan the file system and its metadata to repair potential problems. They are very easy to use.
Note: If you see the message "CHKDSK Is Not Available for RAW Drives," it indicates that the file system on your SD card is severely damaged. To fix this error without losing data or formatting, use "Partition Rescue" > "Repair RAW Partition" in iBeesoft Disk Partition Wizard. Otherwise, you will have to use the software mentioned above to recover files from the SD card before formatting it.
Have some files on your SD card suddenly disappeared? This might be because you accidentally modified their properties. Since this operation doesn't cause any damage, the system won't issue a warning, so you might not be aware of it. It’s simple to show these files.
If you do not want to restore data from an SD card by yourself, the above-mentioned methods do not work, or the SD card is severely physically damaged, then contacting a data recovery service is another solution. They can not only disassemble the SD card to replace or repair damaged components but also use
The price of data recovery services is generally not low, but they follow the rule "no data, no charge". If the files you lost are critical, we think it is worth a try. Contacting them is easy, too. Simply search on Google or local apps to find a provider near you.
In any case, we believe the methods above can ultimately help you undelete or unformat an SD card, but it may take some of your valuable time. Therefore, we recommend following the tips below to keep your SD card or its files safe.
Just as there are many scenarios for losing photos and videos, there are various methods to restore data from an SD card on Windows/Mac. However, before attempting recovery, you should first follow our recommendations to minimize the risk of permanently losing them. Although these methods might take some time and effort, they are certainly worth trying in an emergency.
There is no timeframe for that. If you stop using the card immediately after deleting the files, you can recover them regardless of how long it has been. Conversely, even if you perform SD card data recovery right away, it may still fail. This is because any new files saved to the SD card may overwrite the deleted ones.
It's not possible. While the primary functions of CMD are for troubleshooting, task automation, and system administration, it can indeed assist in recovering deleted files from the Recycle Bin. However, it is important to note that files deleted from an external hard drive are not put in the Recycle Bin. In such cases, if you need to recover data from an external drive, file recovery software and professional services are the right options. With the former, you must manually perform the entire recovery process yourself, whereas with the latter, a professional engineer will assist you in completing the task.
It is possible. If there is sufficient storage space on the SD card, newly taken pictures might be saved to empty sectors without overwriting the deleted ones. And you can still use a program like iBeesoft Data Recovery to recover SD card photos.
Here are some popular free options. There is no limit to the functionality, but the amount of data that can be recovered varies.
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