When you insert your SD card into your PC using a card reader, you may find that the card stops working properly. Is there any solution when the SD card stops working? This post will introduce you to some solutions and a powerful file recovery tool - MiniTool Power Data Recovery to recover files from a corrupted or damaged SD card.
Why Does My SD Card Stop Working?
SD cards are very popular due to their versatility and convenience, but sometimes SD cards can have problems, such as SD cards suddenly stopping working. Here are a few common reasons why an SD card stops working on a Windows computer.
- Physical damage: Physical damage to the SD card or the card reader can lead to connectivity issues. Moreover, like any other storage device, SD cards have a limited lifespan and their performance can degrade over time with repeated use. Continuous read/write cycles can cause wear and tear, eventually making your SD card not detected in PC. It is wise to replace damaged or old SD cards promptly.
- File system corruption: If the file system of the SD card gets corrupted due to improper ejection, sudden power loss, or other factors, it may become unreadable by your computer, causing “SD card not working”.
- Driver issues: Outdated or corrupted device drivers can prevent your Windows computer from recognizing the SD card properly. Updating or reinstalling the corresponding drivers may resolve this kind of issue.
- Compatibility issues: Some SD cards may not be compatible with certain card readers or Windows versions. To avoid your SD card not working, you need to ensure that the SD card is compatible with your PC and the card reader.
- Malware and virus attack: Sometimes, SD cards may be infected by malware and viruses, which can disrupt their functionality. You can use antivirus software to scan your SD card to fix this issue.
- Write protection: If the SD card is write-protected, you won’t be able to write new data to it or modify existing data, resulting in “SD card stops working”. Check if the write protection switch on the SD card is enabled and disable it if necessary.
Fix 1: Change to Another Port or Connect the SD Card to Another Device
When your SD card is not reading, restarting your computer is often the first and easiest troubleshooting method to solve it. A sudden system glitch or software conflict can cause the SD card to malfunction, and restarting your computer may resolve the issue.
If restarting doesn’t resolve the issue, you need to check if the connection between the SD card and your computer (or card reader) goes well. Verify if your SD card has been inserted into the card reader properly. If so, try using another port on your computer to insert the card reader.
If your computer still cannot recognize the SD card, you need to confirm whether there is some wrong with the SD card itself. To do this, insert the SD card into another computer, your phone, or a camera to see if it works.
Fix 2: Run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
Sometimes, there may be some problems with your computer, but because you rarely use the SD card on it, you don’t notice these issues. Microsoft provides corresponding troubleshooters for Windows to solve different types of problems. To resolve USB and SD card issues, the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter is needed.
This tool has been removed from Settings in the new versions of Windows (10/11). Fortunately, you can use it through the Command Prompt. Here is the guide.
Step 1: Press Win + R to open Run, then input cmd and click OK.
Step 2: Copy the command msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic, then press Ctrl + V to paste it into the cmd window and hit Enter to run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.
Step 3: Click Next to start the detection process. If there are any fixes, choose Apply this fix.
Fix 3: Check for SD Card Errors
It’s possible for your SD card to develop errors for various reasons. Fortunately, Windows provides an error-checking tool that can detect file system errors, and it’s suitable for scanning USB drives and SD cards.
Step 1: Insert your SD card into your computer and open This PC.
Step 2: Right-click on your SD card and select Properties.
Step 3: Go to the Tools tab and click Check in the Error checking area.
If a window appears and shows You don’t have to scan this drive, you can click Scan and repair drive to continue to scan your SD card.
Fix 4: Use the CHKDSK Command
Besides using the error-checking tool, you can use the chkdsk command in the Command Prompt to check your SD card.
CHKDSK is a Windows utility that scans and fixes errors in the file system of storage devices like hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, and SD cards. It helps maintain the health and stability of the storage device by identifying and repairing logical file system errors.
To fix the “SD card stops working” issue, follow the guide below.
Step 1: Keep your SD card connected to your PC, then open the Run window by pressing Win + R. Next, type cmd and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt.
Step 2: Input chkdsk /f /x *: into the Command Prompt window and press Enter (you need to replace * with the drive letter of your SD card). Then, this utility will automatically fix errors in your SD card.
Fix 5: Change the Drive Letter of the SD Card
In some cases, SD card not showing on Windows may be caused by a missing drive letter. You can fix this issue by assigning a new drive letter to the SD card.
Here is how to do it.
Step 1: Ensure your SD card is properly connected to your computer. Now right-click Start and choose Disk Management in the list.
Step 2: In Disk Management, your SD card will be displayed. Check if there is a drive letter on it.
Step 3: If not, right-click on your SD card and select Change Drive Letter and Paths. Then click Add… and choose a drive letter from the drop-down menu to the right of Assign the following drive letter:. Next, click OK.
Now open This PC, and your SD card should appear this time. If you still cannot find it, go to the next fix.
Fix 6: Update the SD Card Driver or Reinstall the USB Controllers
If your SD card stops working, it can also be due to outdated or incompatible device drivers. Outdated or incompatible device drivers can contribute to system instability, causing some problems like system errors and crashes. In such cases, the SD card reader may fail to function properly or may not be recognized by the operating system.
Updating the corresponding driver will fix such an issue.
Step 1: Ensure your SD card is connected. Type Device Manager in the search bar and open it (or you can right-click Start and choose Device Manager).
Step 2: Double-click Disk drives to expand it. Then right-click on your SD card and choose Update driver.
Step 3: After that, a window will appear. Next, click Search automatically for drivers. If there are any possible drivers, follow the on-screen instructions to install it. Reboot your system after updating a new driver to ensure it works correctly.
If the window tells you The best drivers for your device are already installed, you can try to reinstall USB controllers to fix the SD card stops working issue.
Step 1: Open the Device Manager, and expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
Step 2: Right-click on your USB Host Controller and select Uninstall device, then click Uninstall in the pop-up window.
Step 3: After the uninstallation, restart your computer. Then Windows will automatically search for the best USB controller for your computer and install it.
Fix 7: Format the SD Card
If your SD card is not formatted correctly, the Windows computer will not show it in File Explorer. You can resolve this issue by formatting your SD card to the correct format.
However, formatting SD card to FAT32 or other file systems will erase all your data on the SD card, so you need to recover data from the corrupted SD card in advance to avoid data loss.
How to Recover Data From a Corrupted or Damaged SD Card?
To recover your data efficiently, you can use the professional data recovery tool – MiniTool Power Data Recovery. As an excellent data recovery software, it can not only restore data from SD cards but also hard drives and other storage devices. With its brief and user-friendly interface, you can easily master it.
One of the key features of MiniTool Power Data Recovery is its versatility. It supports the recovery of various file types, including documents, photos, videos, audio files, and more. MiniTool Power Data Recovery offers you secure data recovery services, and it can recover your data from various situations, such as SD card not recognized or logically damaged, drive formatted incorrectly, system crash, and so on.
Whether you’re a home user or business owner, you can find the right MiniTool Power Data Recovery license type to regain access to your valuable files and minimize the impact of data loss incidents. For example, MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free allows you to recover up to 1GB of data without charge.
Come to get the free edition now and start your data recovery by following the guide below.
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Step 1: Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery and go to the Devices tab. Here, you can see all your internal disks and the external storage devices connected. Now put your cursor on your SD card and click the Scan button to start the scan process.
Step 2: When the scan is complete, you can begin to select which files to recover. You can use some features to find your files more quickly and easily.
- Path: The scan results will be displayed as a tree structure in this tab by default.
- Type: Under this tab, the scan results will be classified by the file type.
- Filter: You can add specific filtering rules to filter files, like file type, modified date, file size, etc.
- Search: It allows you to search for a certain file by inputting the file name and press Enter.
- Preview: This feature allows you to preview files up to 2GB in size. It is especially useful with the free edition, as the free recovery quota is limited.
Step 3: After you have selected the files you need, click the Save button. Then you need to select an appropriate location as the save directory.
How to Format the Corrupted SD Card?
Now you can start to format your SD card to an appropriate format. Here we take FAT32 as an example.
Step 1: Right-click Start and click Disk Management.
Step 2: Right-click on your SD card and choose Format.
Step 3: In the pop-up window, click the button on the right of File system: and choose FAT32. Then click OK in this window and OK in a new pop-up warning window.
Now the file system of your SD card has been formatted to FAT32. Open This PC and check if your SD card is displayed.
Besides using Disk Management to format your SD card, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to format the SD card too. This is a comprehensive disk management software designed for Windows to manage and optimize disks. You can use it to solve SD card errors or other partition problems.
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End Words
We have provided you with 7 ways to solve the problem of SD card not reading, and you can try them one by one. If you want to recover data from a corrupted SD card, you can use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to do so.