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Solved Mini SD card not being read

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Alistair_

PCHF Member
May 20, 2024
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#1
I had it on the phone, all of a sudden stopped working, I've tried inserting with the adapter to a PC but it's not being recognized. It would be a shame to lose the data on it as I don't really have a full back-up. What could I try to revive it or access it? Thanks.
 
#4
When inserted in the PC, is Windows assigning a drive letter to the SD card?
Does the card show up in Disk Management or Device Manager?
Does Windows throw up an error like "card unreadable" or "drive needs to be initialised"?
 
#5
As others have mentioned - does the card show under diskpart? If not then the card has failed.
If it does & shows a drive letter but can’t open it then you may have limited success using disk imaging software like Macrium Reflect to image the drive which you can then mount to view &/or copy the files.
 
#6
Reastarting the PC with the SD card in didn't work.

Windows is not assigning a letter to the card.

No, the card doesn't show in Disk Management.

Still have to try the Linux suggestion.

If the card has failed, means no chance of ever getting some data recovered?
 
#9
The adapter works fine with another SD card so I assume it's not the adapter the issue.

Easiest way to try with Linux? Is installing Linux on a computer the only way? I had an old laptop on which I installed Linux but not anymore and currently I don't have a laptop I could be tampering with.

"Specialist recovery" would mean taking it to a PC store/repair shop, right?
 
#11
The use of a forensic data recovery lab is only an option if a) you have no backup of the contents and b) the data is critical.
These mobs charge VERY handsomely for their services. But they do tend to either guarantee results, or no fee is charged.
In the past I have had people use them and have paid as little as $450 and as much as $3500 - so yeah, you really need to be able to justify that.
Which is why we backup, and important data never lives on only on location!

Grave robbing programs like Recuva or Disk Drill require the drive to be assigned a drive letter, so they won't help you here.

Your last roll of the dice will be putting a Linux distro on a bootable USB stick and booting your PC with that USB stick set as the first boot priority.
 
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#12
The card is burning hot and not recognized, I was documenting myself on the issue and apparently getting hot is most likely a symptom of physical damage.
I'll try the Linux option once I understand what that involves. I'm afraid definitely not worth paying hundreds and hundreds to a professional :(
 
#15
I finally managed to do it, inserted the SD card but I think it's not reading it (and it's not burning, like when it's inserted when Windows is operating). See photo, this means it's not recognized, right? :(

IMG_20240531_153813.jpg
 
#17
That is correct, nothing happens. But I must say I tried today with another Mini SD card that is recognized on Windows (same adapter used for both cards), and Ubuntu did not give any kind of response either, so not sure what to make of that.
 
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#18
Alistair_ said:
That is correct, nothing happens. But I must say I tried today with another Mini SD card that is recognized on Windows (same adapter used for both cards), and Ubuntu did not give any kind of response either, so not sure what to make of that.
Click to expand...
Good point.

While in Linux, open a Terminal. Type sudo fdisk -l hit Enter.

Copy and paste in your next post, please.
 
#19
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/loop0: 1.5 GiB, 1553670144 bytes, 3034512 sectors

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes





Disk /dev/sda: 232.9 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disklabel type: gpt

Disk identifier: 748B6F8A-FC6A-4224-A2CE-A1E43AD33437



Device Start End Sectors Size Type

/dev/sda1 2048 206847 204800 100M EFI System

/dev/sda2 206848 239615 32768 16M Microsoft reserved

/dev/sda3 239616 487328695 487089080 232.3G Microsoft basic data

/dev/sda4 487329792 488394751 1064960 520M Windows recovery environment









Disk /dev/sdb: 3.8 GiB, 4026531840 bytes, 7864320 sectors

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disklabel type: dos

Disk identifier: 0x000ef160



Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type

/dev/sdb1 * 2048 7864255 7862208 3.8G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
 
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