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How to Recover Deleted Photos from SD Card

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Sumeet Manhas
How to Recover Deleted Photos from SD Card

How to Recover Deleted Photos from SD Card

SD cards are commonly used to increase the internal capacity of your electronic device. These tiny external memory cards significantly increase your ability to take and store a large number of digital images and videos.

Whether you use a digital camera, tablet, or other camera-equipped devices, you may need a photo recovery software for an SD card at some point. You’ll especially need this if your SD card formats or becomes corrupted. That’s why we will show you how to recover photos from an SD card.

 

How photo recovery works

You may be surprised to learn that when you erase a file from an SD card, the data isn't immediately removed; instead, your device marks the space as open for re-writing. This means that the files are still there even though you can't access them. The files will be gone once your camera or machine overwrites them with something else.

How the system works gives you the possibility to get those old files back as long as you don't store new files on your SD card. So, if you've inadvertently deleted or lost files from an SD card, the first move is to avoid using it.

If you keep taking pictures, you could overwrite the ones you've lost, and you won't be able to recover any of them. Remove the SD card from your camera and set it aside. Don't take any more pictures.

Usually, when an SD card fails to function, an error message appears. If not managed correctly it may result in permanent loss of your images and videos, making SD card recovery challenging. Don't format or alter the file system of your SD card in the hopes of getting better results. Simply use a trustworthy file recovery method to ensure that your files are restored properly.

How to recover lost images from an SD card

This is where data recovery software will help. It will assist you in extracting this inaccessible information before some other action overwrites it. Consider using a reputable data recovery tool to restore data from an SD card that has been lost or deleted.

When you try to find a reputable data recovery software, you might find there are gimmicky programs that cannot fulfill your expectations. This is why you need to try Wondershare Recoverit. It is a very reliable data recovery software available in both Windows and Mac.

If you have not installed Recoverit on your computer, you can go to its official website and download the application for free. If you want to get more features, you can get the pro and ultimate subscription as well.

Now that you have installed Recoverit on your computer, run the application, and then you can start recovering the images and videos on your computer. Also, don’t forget to safely unmount the SD card from your device and insert it into your computer. If your computer lacks an inbuilt card reader, try using a dedicated third-party module to mount your SD card.

  1. Selecting the SD card

On the home page of the Recoverit data recovery program, you can see various location options after you run it on your computer. You should see there are internal drives, partitions, and attached external devices, such as flash drives and SD cards. Your SD card is located under the External Device tab.

  1. Scanning the SD card

After the SD card is selected as the source location, click the “Start” button to begin the data recovery process. Sit tight and wait while Recoverit Data Recovery performs a thorough search of your SD card.

Since the process may take some time, make sure your SD card is connected to the device at all times. There will be an on-screen indicator showing how far the scanning has progressed.

  1. Previewing and recovering the deleted data on your SD card

Right after the scanning process, you'll see the extracted content shown under different categories. You can preview all of the images, videos, papers, and other files that have been extracted here. The files you want to restore can then be chosen.

If you think it is too hard to pick up files from the list, you can use the search feature instead. On the upper right part of the screen, there is a search bar, input the name of the files there and you will find your files immediately.

If you have selected all the files you want to recover, click on “Recover”. A new window will appear and you will be asked where to save the recovered files. According to Recoverit’s official website, it is better for you to not save your files on the SD card to avoid any error.

Tips for keeping memory card healthy

Your camera won't work without an SD card, and if the SD card doesn't work properly, you might lose all of your pictures and videos from a day of shooting and filming. The great news is that by following a few easy maintenance tips, you can keep your cards in prime condition and avoid losing any of your data.

  1. Regularly format your SD card with your camera

Formatting your SD card using your camera can help to ensure that it works properly with the camera's system. If you have more than one camera, it is not recommended that you use the same SD card in multiple cameras unless you’ve already backed the images up on your computer, and reformatted the card in the other camera beforehand.

  1. Pay attention to your SD card’s capacity

When you shoot, you’ll see the image counter on your camera’s screen. It will tell you how many images can you shoot and store on your SD card. It is a big no to go past that number! Attempting to capture more pictures than your card can store can result in some of the images being corrupted or deleted.

  1. Develop a backing-up routine

Make backing-up an inseparable part of your shooting and filming routines. Many great images are captured in unusual and unrepeatable circumstances, so losing them is not a choice. Never remove photos or format your SD card until you've transferred them from the card and backed them up on your computer to ensure you’ll have them when you need them.

  1. Rotate your SD cards

Build a rotating system to keep track of your SD cards. It is to identify which cards have been used and which are still empty so that you don’t have to fumble around figuring out which card is still available for use.

Conclusion

As you can see, if you mistakenly removed any images from an SD card on your Windows PC or Mac, you have a number of options to recover your images and videos. If your device recognizes the SD card, it is recommended that you search the corrupted SD card with SD card recovery software to retrieve as many files as possible while you can.

Recoverit is one of the best SD card recovery software available 2021 out there. It is easy to install and use. More importantly, it comes from a reputable developer so you don’t have to worry about your computer’s security when using Recoverit.

 

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