Recovery sd flash drive. MicroSD Recovery: A Guide to Recovering Lost Data

Often, users are faced with a situation where the memory card of a camera, player or phone stops working. It also happens that the SD card began to give an error indicating that there is no space on it or it is not recognized in the device. The loss of performance of such drives creates a serious problem for owners.

The most common causes of memory card failure are as follows:

  • accidental deletion of information from the drive;
  • incorrect shutdown of equipment with a memory card;
  • when formatting a digital device, the memory card was not removed;
  • damage to the SD card as a result of a breakdown of the device itself.

Consider ways to restore an SD drive.

Method 1: Formatting with special software

The truth is that the only way to recover a flash drive is by formatting it. Unfortunately, without this, it will not be possible to restore its performance. Therefore, in the event of a malfunction, use one of the SD formatting programs.

Also, formatting can be done through the command line.

If all of the above does not bring your storage media back to life, only one thing remains - low-level formatting.

Method 2: Using the iFlash Service

In most cases, you need to search for recovery programs, and there are a huge number of them. You can do this using the iFlash service. To restore memory cards, do the following:


The same applies to other manufacturers. Usually on the official websites of manufacturers, instructions for restoration are given. You can also use the search on the iflash website.

Sometimes data recovery from a memory card fails due to the fact that it is not recognized by the computer. This may be caused by the following issues:


If the memory card is detected on the computer, but its contents are not readable, then
check your computer and SD card for viruses. There is a type of virus that makes files "hidden" so they are not visible.

Method 3: OC Windows Tools

This method helps out when the microSD or SD card is not detected by the operating system, and an error is thrown when trying to format.

We fix this problem using the diskpart command. For this:


Now the SD card can be formatted with standard means OC Windows or other specialized programs.

As you can see, recovering information from a flash drive is not difficult. But still, in order to prevent problems with it, you need to use it correctly. For this:

  1. Handle your drive with care. Do not drop it and keep it away from moisture, strong temperature changes and strong electromagnetic radiation. Do not touch the contacts on it.
  2. Properly remove the memory card from the device. If, when transferring data to another device, you simply pull the SD out of the connector, then the structure of the card is violated. You should remove the device with a flash card only when no operations are being performed.
  3. Periodically defragment the map.
  4. Do it regularly backup data.
  5. microSD keep in digital device and not on the shelf.
  6. Do not fill the card completely, there should be some free space in it.

Proper operation of SD cards will prevent half of the problems with its failures. But even if there was a loss of information on it, do not despair. Any of the above methods will help you get your photos, music, movie or other important file back. Good work!

Sometimes a flash drive, after formatting or incorrectly ejecting, starts to incorrectly display the size of the memory - for example, instead of 16 GB, only 8 GB or even less is available. There is another situation in which the declared size is initially much larger than the actual volume. Let's look at both cases to figure out how to restore the correct drive size.

Step-by-step instructions for restoring volume

To restore the actual size of the flash drive, you need to perform a low-level format. As a result, all data will be deleted from the flash drive, so first transfer the information to another medium.

You have received a completely clean media, now you need to re-partition it. This procedure is performed through the task manager:


After formatting is complete, the drive will return to its original size. If you have a flash drive from Transcend, you can restore it to its actual size using free utility Transcend Autoformat. This program independently determines the volume of the flash drive and returns its correct display.

The utility from Transcend will carry out low-level formatting, after which the actual available memory will be displayed in the properties of the flash drive.

Working with Chinese flash drives

Chinese flash drives bought on Aliexpress and other similar online sites for little money often have one hidden drawback - they real capacity significantly lower than stated. The flash drive says 16 GB, but you can read from it no more than 8 GB - the rest of the information is not actually written anywhere.

This effect is achieved by flashing the controller. If the recorded files do not exceed the actually available volume of the flash drive, then you will not understand that you have been deceived until you encounter the fact that some of the information has disappeared. But you can determine the size of the drive in advance, without bringing the matter to an unpleasant situation:


If the actual size of the drive corresponds to the declared parameter, then the test will end with the phrase "Test finished without errors". If the memory of the flash drive is actually not so voluminous, then you will see a report in which there will be two lines - “OK” and “LOST”.

“OK” is the real memory of the flash drive, the amount that you can fill with data. "LOST" is a fake value, an empty space known only to the flashed controller. In order not to get confused, you need to restore the real volume of the drive. You can do this with a free Chinese program MyDiskFix. The utility does not have a Russian-language interface, so you will have to navigate by the screenshot.

Controller software failures.
Any flash drive has a controller chip installed. It is responsible for transferring data between the computer and flash memory. The controller is controlled by firmware. Part of the firmware is written in the memory chip (and these are mainly memory parameters, translator, various identifiers and flags, for example, the write prohibit flag). In case of various power failures, incorrect extraction and other reasons, the controller firmware fails. As a result, the controller is blocked and does not respond to requests. operating system. Also, blocking can occur due to wear of the memory chip - the appearance of defective blocks or exceeding the threshold of write cycles (then the controller itself marks the block as unused and often blocks the flash for writing). This is done so that new data is not written to bad sectors and it is only possible to read existing uncorrupted data.

When connected to a computer, such a flash drive may be recognized as " unknown device”, be in RAW format, or may be seen on the system as a zero capacity disk. When you try to access it, you may see the messages "Insert disc" or "Cannot access the disc."
Sometimes, the flash drive becomes read-only. The data is visible and readable, but when you try to create a file, erase or format, a message is displayed - "The disk is write-protected." In this case, the controller enters the data protection mode when errors are detected in the firmware or flash memory to prevent its further destruction (the NAND memory installed in the flash drive is damaged mainly when data is written).

Most recovery utilities perform a complete formatting of the memory, so if you need to save important data and not lose it forever, contact information recovery specialists. With the help of special equipment, information will be read and decrypted directly from the NAND memory chip, bypassing a failed or faulty control controller.

How to restore a flash drive.
1. You need to find out the model of the controller chip in order to find a utility to work with it. This can be done in two ways. The first is to open the case of the flash drive and see the name of the controller model printed on the chip case. If it is problematic to open the case, we use the second method. It consists in determining the model by the VID and PID codes hardcoded in the controller firmware. VID is the manufacturer ID and PID is the device ID. VID and PID are available in any USB device. These codes can be read by such programs as CheckUDisk 5.0, UsbIDCheck, ChipGenius, USBDeview, as well as operating system tools.

If VID & PID cannot be read or the values ​​are empty, then you can try to put the controller into test mode. How to do this is described. If this does not help, there is a high probability of electrical damage to the microcircuit. In this case programmatic ways the drive can no longer be cured.

2. So, we managed to calculate VID&PID, which means there are already chances for recovery. Further, by VID & PID values, you can find the manufacturer of the flash drive and the model of the installed controller (for example, using the iFlash base). Having determined the controller, we proceed to the search for a service utility to work with it.

3. A suitable utility can be found on the manufacturer's website or in the site's utilities catalog For convenience, the utilities are sorted by controller manufacturers.

For example:
You have determined that the VID of your flash is 1005 and the PID is B113. According to the iFlash database, we find that the PHISON PS2136 controller is installed in the flash. Utility for this USB 2K REL90 controller (PS2231-UP12). And if the controller type was determined by opening the case, then we immediately go to the file directory and look for a suitable utility.

I will not describe how to work with the utilities, since there are quite a lot of utilities and the order of operation of some of them is described in the instructions that can be found in the archives with the utilities or read in the comments to them.

After the controller is restored, there is a high probability of pulling out at least some data from the memory of the flash drive. To do this, you can use the program PhotoRec.

If the data is no longer needed or the information is completely destroyed, it is recommended to test the flash memory for bad sectors. It can be done Flash programs Memory Toolkit 1.20 PRO, MyDiskTest v2.42, Victoria 4.3 Beta or Flashnul 0.99.


MicroSD recovery problem Nowadays, it is more popular than ever, and very much in demand. Flash drives often break, but half the trouble is when it just breaks, the second “bad” part is that the information on it is also lost, which is undesirable.
That is why the Internet often asks questions about how to get information from a broken flash drive.

Problems in this can be very diverse, someone simply cannot restore the media, while others give errors.
Specially for recovery there are special programs to restore the microSD card. The user only needs to point to them.

1. MicroSD Recovery Programs

Cold Recovery
Perfectly copes with the task of restoring photos, audio recordings, videos and more. The program cannot recover ordinary files, so it is only suitable for those media that are used on cameras, phones and music players.

How to use CardRecovery:
1. Downloading the program. Launch and continue with the "Next" button.
2. Choose in the special section " drive letter”, and then the device type “Camera brand and ....”, where we set the required checkboxes in front of them and specify the folder for data recovery. " Next».
3. We are waiting for completion and " Next».
4. Look at the list of recovered files. Check the box next to the ones you want to save. Again " Next". Recovery completed.

PC Inspector Smart Recovery
The program surpasses the past in its functionality, it will restore all the required, available file types. It can also work to restore fixed and removable hard drives.

It's easy to use:
1. Download Smart Recover;
2. In the start window, select the desired item, in our case it is “recovery of logical files”.
3. Select the required disk.

R-studio
On the forums and the official website, they write that this software is the most “comprehensive”, and it will restore most of the files intact. Users agree to this.

For data recovery when help R-Studio, required:
1. Download R-Studio to your PC.
2. Select the section " Drivers”, where you will need to select the media from which the data will begin to be restored. The Properties section should now begin displaying the properties of the object being restored.
3. In the next section " Folders» folders are shown, while the other « content» - data (files) of this folder. To restore them, you will need to click on the item " Recovery».

Easy Recovery
Many professional users praise the program and its file recovery capabilities.

There is only one way to check the operability of recovering files from Easy Recovery:
1. Install it before downloading.
2. When starting, press " Proceed", then select " Memory card».
3. Press again " Proceed". Next go to " Data Recovery”, and check the box under this item.
4. "Continue" again. Now it remains to wait for the completion of the scanning process for all deleted files and making a list. Each file can be restored separately. Select it, right-click on it and select "Save As ...".

Flash Memory Toolkit
Functional program for file recovery. It can perform a variety of functions, including testing and destroying any information, backing it up and obtaining additional data.

To recover data, select the desired flash drive in the “Device” section, look for the item “ File Recovery» on the left and follow the software instructions.
It may happen that microSD recovery using the programs provided above is not always successful.

2. Possible problems with microSD recovery

microSD not defined
It happens that the recovery of the MicroSD card needs to be performed, but the PC simply does not see it. If this happens, there are three options to solve the problem at once.

1. If the flash drive is indicated when connected simply by a letter. Then you need to open the "disk management" program, to call it you need to enter a command in a special execution field called by a keyboard shortcut Win+R, and enter the command diskmgmt.msc. Select a flash drive, and then click "Change drive letter or path to it." After that, you will need to select any other letter of the alphabet, and save the changes.


2. Lack of drivers. In some cases, a new PC may simply not have a special driver for the media. The way out is to install them. This is done, most successfully, through offs. Website. Of course, a special Driver pack " Driver Pack Solution ". She can independently determine all connected devices to the PC and install or update drivers for it. This method is very attractive and convenient, since user actions, in this case, are minimal.


3. The last option is to simply disconnect this flash drive and connect it to another device, which will give a chance to read the files on it, or restore them using software.

The computer does not see the files on the microSD flash drive
This means that the computer does not see the flash drive as a whole, but only partially, that is, some files are there, others are not. Often users immediately come to a simple conclusion - the problem is in the flash drive and it needs to be restored, but the problems, most often, are much simpler.

The solution to this popular problem is as follows: viruses, most often Trojans, must be removed. Indeed, the Trojan can hide some or all of the files. Therefore, just turn on the USB flash drive in your PC and scan it with an antivirus.

3. MicroSD cards. Recovery from different manufacturers.

microSD transcend recovery
For such cards, manufacturers have created their own, original software to recover lost files. Called Software RecoveRx. The provided software takes into account all the features of the map, and is also able to perform a number of functions better than any other software. RecoveRx can format the microSD and also set a password on it.

microSD recovery Transcend
1. Naturally downloading the program from the official site.
2. Select desired types files.
3. Wait for the end of the process.

MicroSD Kingston Recovery
The problem with this manufacturer is the Phison controllers. Which means that only a low-level restore can be performed.

Other methods simply will not bring results.
1. Define the Product ID and Vendor ID parameters to search the best utility. This is done using another program - USBDeview. Open the software and find the required card on the disk. Right-click, select "html report: selected items". Scrolling the window below, we see the two required IDs.


2. Go to the site flashboot.ru/iflash, then enter special parameters in the required fields. As a result, you will see all the problems that have ever occurred with a particular map model.

MicroSD Kingmax Recovery
Kingmax got its own software. In general, there are two programs - one is PD-07 and U-Drive, and the other is Super Stick. Their use is as simple as possible: start - select the drive.

microSD sandisk recovery
Users note that in case of any problems, Sandisk will only help for full formatting. After that, the flash drive works like it was just bought. The program is also very easy to operate.

MicroSD Smartbuy Recovery
This is a very interesting manufacturer with "unique" flash cards. In the case of SmartBy, if the flash drive suddenly stops working, then after a while (a day, a week, a month, up to when), it can start working again on its own. But if you don’t want to wait, then you can try to restore it with special programs.

Especially for such flashes there is a program " DiskInternals Uneraser". The app looks like regular folder. Select the desired media and click on the " Recovery", she is" Recovery”, you can restore files at the end of the process.

MicroSD Qumo Recovery
Qumo flash drives are notorious for stopping working all of a sudden. They just don’t work anymore and there is almost nothing specific to identify signs of their “life”. Some experienced users suggest using for flash drives Qumo programs « R-studio", or " CardRecovery". But this may not always be effective.
MicroSD A-Data recovery

In this case, it doesn't help much. The most effective with flash drives of this format is only " Paragon Partition Manager Free". At first, the program will ask for formatting, and then the creation of a new partition.

MicroSD Oltramax recovery
Best for them the usual one will do full formatting using a special SD Card Formatter.

4. Recover damaged microSD

It happens that when using the drive, an alarm message “Memory card is damaged” or something else may appear on your screen. The following programs will come to the rescue here:
- Smart Data Recovery - will help you select the media and press the "Find" button, after that the search will occur desired files that can be restored.


- Recuva- after starting, click "Analysis", and wait for the process to complete.


- BadCopyPro- select Memory card, and double-click "next".



The same operations can be performed on a tablet or Android phone. Here are some other apps to help:
- GT Recovery for Android - select the desired item in the program and wait for completion;


- Wondershare Dr. Fone for Android- run the program, select the required files.

5. Prevention

It is best to start using the flash drive correctly so that no bad problems happen to it. Here are some tips to help you avoid breakage:
1. Try not to drop the flash drive, do not hit, do not bend, in general, do not subject it to hard physical impact.
2. Avoid all kinds of radiation, including x-ray machines and exposure to direct sunlight.
3. Do not touch the contacts with your fingers, and try to keep them closed at all times.
4. From time to time, completely defragment the flash drive and use it as often as possible - flash drives do not like to be idle without work.
5. Create backups flash drives so that in case of malfunctions you can restore it.
6. Leave free place on the drive.
7. If the card is installed in a smartphone, tablet, speaker, try to remove it less often.
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