Recover Data from Micro SD card for Micro SD card data recovery

How to recover data from Micro SD card? This tutorial offers you three options for Micro SD card data recovery and other ways to prevent data loss.

Penny

By Penny / Updated on April 3, 2024

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How can I recover data from a Micro SD card?

   
   
   
       

My girlfriend gets a new phone, but all of her pictures were saved on the Micro SD card of her old phone. She has put the Micro SD card into her phone, and now the Micro SD card is empty. I think she has formatted it unknowingly as everything is gone. Is there any way to recover pictures from a formatted Micro SD card? Thanks.

       

- A user from Overclockers

It’s easy to see that the Micro SD card could hold large volumes of data in smartphones and small cameras (action cameras) that benefit from its tiny size. But it also brings potential risk for data loss with great convenience. For instance, photographers could be in a data loss situation if they cannot view photos on their Micro SD card. If you need, read and get feasible solutions to recover data from Micro SD card below.

Part 1. 3 Ways to recover data from Micro SD card

How to recover data from Micro SD card? Select a suitable solution to perform Micro SD card data recovery among the attrib command, Windows File Recovery, and a third-party tool. Please stop using your Micro SD card or other electronic devices after data loss.

Option 1. Recover hidden data from Micro SD card

Some of you could fail to access files from the Micro SD card because these file attributes are hidden. That means your needed files are just invisible to you instead of missing.

In this situation, we’d prefer to recover hidden data from the Micro SD card using the attrib command because ATTRIB aims to display or modify the file attribute of a file or folder in Windows. And this method is also suitable for recovering hidden files from USB.

Step 1. Connect your Micro SD card to the computer. Then press the “Windows + X” keys, and select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option.

Step 2. Enter “attrib –h –r –s /s /d G: \*.*” and press the “Enter” key. You can replace “G” with the drive letter of your Micro SD card.

attrib-cmd

After the process, you’ll find your desired data in the original location.

Option 2. Recover data from Micro SD card via Windows File Recovery

However, if the attrib command is not working, which suggests your files or folders are deleted instead of hidden. Likewise, if you can ensure you’ve suffered data loss because of deletion, formatting, or more, skip the first method and go to the last two solutions.

You can try to recover data from Micro SD card with Windows File Recovery released by Microsoft. It interacts with users through a command-line interface because there is no accessible graphical user interface.

In other words, you need to use CMD to recover files. Nevertheless, the practice has proven this command-line software indeed is a powerful tool. To be more specific, you are allowed to recover the lost files from your local storage media (HDD/SSD/USB/SD card/Micro SD card), and you cannot find these files in the Recycle Bin.   

Notes:✎...
It allows you to recover Word, PPT, Excel, ZIP, PDF, PNG, MPEG, and JPEG.   
The destination drive (where to save your retrieved files) is different from the source drive (the Micro SD card saves your needed files before deletion/loss).
Two basic modes (Extensive and Regular) and two advanced modes (Segment and Signature) support NTFS, FAT, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.
Click “This PC” > the source drive > “Properties” to figure out your file system.

check-file-system

Select a suitable mode according to your file system and data loss scenarios.

File system

Scenarios

mode

NTFS

Deleted recently

Regular

NTFS

Deleted for a while

Extensive

NTFS

Formatted disk

Extensive

NTFS

corrupted disk

Extensive

FAT and exFAT

Any

Extensive

Resemble your needed command lines with the following form according to winfr source-drive: destination drive: [/mode] [/switches].

Switches

Definition

Supported mode(s)

/n

Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc.

All

/y:

Recover specific extension groups.

Signature

/k

Recovers system files.

NTFS Segment​​​​​

/u

Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin.

NTFS Segment

Step 1. Download Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store, then install it on your PC.

microsoft-store-get

Step 2. Click “Open” after installation. Then put your adjusted command lines in the window. If the drive letter of your Micro SD card is “C,” and you’ve deleted the PDF files for a period, you need to enter “winfr C: D: /extensive /n *.pdf” in the command prompt window to retrieve it and save it in the D drive in Windows.

winfr-extensive-pdf

Step 3. Press the “y” key to continue. You can also press the “Ctrl + C” keys to stop the recovery process.

Option 3. Recover data from Micro SD card via MyRecover

It’s undeniable that these complex command lines have discouraged non-tech users from using Windows File Recovery. If you’re not proficient in computers, you can utilize a handy data recovery software to perform Micro SD card data recovery.

Supported by advanced high-tech, MyRecover could help you recover files at ease. Compared with the command-line software above, there is no need for you to type corresponding command lines using this user-friendly. Please have a closer look at the following functions of this powerful software.

Recover the deleted/lost files from SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, Micro SD card, and other storage media.

▶Recover 200+ types of data: Word, Excel, PPT, Photos, Videos, Audios, Emails, Webpages, and Compressed files.

▶Retain its original format for the deleted and lost data. You can even get the original filename for the deleted files.

▶The combined scanning method of Quick Scan and Deep Scan can search all the deleted files and other lost files.

▶Handle deleted file recovery, formatted file recovery, system crash, and more.

▶Support NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, and ReFS in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Windows Server.

Step 1. Launch MyRecover on your PC. Then connect the Micro SD card to the computer.

Download SoftwareWin 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

Step 2. After loading the disk, hover the mouse over the Micro SD card and click Scan.

external-hard-drive-start-scan

Step 3. The tool will run Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically, then you’ll see all the deleted files and other lost files on your Micro SD card.

external-hard-drive-scanning

Step 4. Confirm the scanning results and select the files you want to retrieve. Then click “Recover x files” and save these retrieved files in a new location.

external-hard-drive-recover-files

Part 2. How to prevent data loss for Micro SD card?

Micro SD card saves data like photos on your mobile phones or digital cameras. Are you seeking ways to prevent data loss for the Micro SD card? Perhaps you can consider the following pertinent suggestions. 

❥Connect and eject your Micro SD card with a card reader gently.

❥Avoid external forces damaging your Micro SD card as much as possible.

❥Develop a good habit of making regular backups using professional backup software. We’d like to introduce the best freeware backup tool, AOMEI Backupper.

Wrapping up

This guide lists three efficient solutions to recover data from Micro SD card. If you’re not sure whether your files are hidden or not, you can begin with the attrib command. If it cannot work for you, you can discontinue using it and select other methods.

Most users could be more inclined to the latter data recovery software to perform Micro SD card data recovery because it’s hard for newcomers to use Windows File Recovery. Besides, you can also get practical ways to prevent data loss on this page.

Penny
Penny · Editor
Penny works as an editor at AOMEI Technology, while she's a tester and editor for AOMEI Data Recovery Tools. She enjoys helping users with data recovery issues on Windows and iPhones using simple and practical solutions. Outside of work, she has a strong affection for pets, particularly giant pandas.