Memory card not working on Samsung
The computer does not see the SD memory card
SD cards will remain a popular storage format for a long time to come. The standard has become very closely entrenched in the photo and video equipment market, and therefore the need for card readers has been, is and will continue to be. From time to time, users encounter a problem with the operation of SD cards (or card readers) in computers running Windows 10. The card is inserted into the appropriate port, but the computer cannot recognize it and the SD card is not displayed in Explorer. This is a very common and rather unpleasant problem that, fortunately, is very easy to fix in the vast majority of cases. In this article, you will find some tips to help you if your computer does not see your memory card.
Although in this manual we are mainly talking about SD cards (the ones that are larger), the instructions are also relevant for microSD cards. Modern computers (Surface tablets, for example) are often equipped with microSD slots lately. The tips in this article also apply to these devices.
The computer or laptop does not see the memory card. what to do
First you need to make sure the card is working. To do this, insert it into another device with a slot for SD (or microSD using an adapter) cards. It can be a camera, camcorder, second computer, tablet, smartphone or any other device equipped with a corresponding slot. If the memory card is not recognized in this device or works intermittently, then it is either damaged or needs cleaning the connectors.
Take a cotton ball, ear stick, or piece of cotton wool, lightly soak them in alcohol or an appropriate cleaning agent (in theory, plain water will do, but either a special cleaning agent or plain alcohol will do the job best) then lightly walk over the metal contacts on back of the memory card. Important: do not pour liquid onto the card (you only risk killing it) or insert it wet into the port. Make sure the contacts are dry and clean, and then try again to connect the memory card to the computer.
Check for dirt in this area of the memory card or adapter you are using.
If after this procedure the memory card works in other devices, but does not work in the computer, then it makes sense to also clean the slot itself. Perhaps there is too much dust in it, which prevents the computer from reading information normally. You can clean the memory card slot in a computer or laptop using compressed air.
Another tip: make sure you insert the card the right way round. The computer should show which side to insert the card. Some slots use a latching mechanism to secure the card into the slot. In such a computer, you cannot insert the card upside down as it will not lock. Other computers may not have this mechanism, so make sure the memory card is installed correctly. Do not use force when connecting or removing a card, as you risk breaking the slot, card or locking mechanisms.
Let’s say the memory card is working, you insert it in the correct direction, the slot in your computer is clean, but the PC still does not see the SD card. In this case, there are some more tips that should help.
Check if the memory card is detected in the disk management interface. If a letter is not assigned to the memory card, the drive will not be displayed in Explorer, although both the slot and the memory card are physically working.
- Unplug any flash drives from your computer and leave only your SD card. This will help streamline the process.
- Click Win X and select Disk Management.
- At the bottom of the utility’s interface, your hard drives and SSDs will be displayed first. They are labeled as “Basic”. Any removable drives (flash drives, memory cards, external hard drives, and so on) are marked as “Removable Device”. See if it’s on the list. Disk Management should display the type of media, its size and the label “Online”. this means that the card is working properly.
- Check if a letter is attached to the card. If there is no letter ((G :), for example) next to the name of the map, then it is because of this that it is not displayed in Explorer.
- Right-click on the map and select Change Drive Letter or Drive Path. In the window that appears, click Add, and then select the Assign Drive Letter (A-Z) option. Choose any letter you like and click OK.
- After that, the system should inform you about the new found disk and the memory card will appear in Explorer.
Check if the memory card slot is enabled in the BIOS settings of your computer. Sometimes it happens that the card reader on the PC motherboard is simply disabled for some unknown reason. You can check this by simply diving into the BIOS settings. Restart your computer and during startup press F2 / Delete (or another button chosen by your manufacturer) to get into the BIOS. Each computer has its own BIOS (UEFI), which differs depending on the manufacturer or motherboard model, so we cannot publish all the options here. You need to find the section with ports and devices (Onboard Devices / Miscellaneous Devices and so on), and then look for something like “Media Card Reader”, “SD Reader”, “Enable ExpressCard” and so on. Make sure it is turned on, then save the settings, restart the computer and try again to connect the memory card.
The checkbox that is responsible for activating the built-in SD card slot in the BIOS of Dell computers. If the checkbox is not checked, the port will not work.
In the case of desktop computers, it is also possible that the SD card slot on the front of the case is not connected to the computer’s motherboard. Here you will have to open your case (before that, completely disconnect the computer from the outlet) and see if the wire is connected from the front panel of the case to the motherboard. The wire with a 9-pin connector must be connected to the appropriate comb on the motherboard.
Sometimes the source of the problem may be an adapter that does not work as expected. This is the case if you are using an SD adapter for microSD cards or other format cards paired with an adapter. Of course, an extra adapter is not always on hand, but this option is also worth considering if you can’t get your computer to work with a memory card. Fortunately, the adapters cost mere pennies and it will not be difficult to find them.
You can refer to the system’s built-in diagnostic and troubleshooting methods. Perhaps Windows itself will be able to find the cause and successfully fix it.
- Click Win I and go to Update & Security.
- In the left menu, click Troubleshoot. Find Hardware and Devices in the list. Click this item and then click Run the troubleshooter.
- Wait while the wizard checks your system and reports the results. If he does not find anything, proceed further along this instruction. If the diagnostics still find something, apply the tips suggested by it, and then try to reconnect the card to the computer.
The next option is to turn off and on the card reader. Perhaps a trivial bug in the operating system or controller led to the failure of the card reader.
- Press Win X and select Device Manager. Alternatively, you can press Win R and enter devmgmt.msc.
- In the list of devices, look for Host Mass Storage Adapters. This is your SD reader. Expand it and the adapter controller should appear on the screen. This can be a Standard SDA Compliant SD Host Controller, some Realtek PCIe CardReader, or an adapter from another manufacturer.
- Right click on the adapter and select Properties. Go to the Driver tab and click the Disable device button. Confirm Action.
- Then reopen the properties and turn the card reader back in exactly the same way.
If a peculiar reboot of the adapter does not help, you can try reinstalling or updating the card reader driver. Go to your manufacturer’s website and check if there is a new driver version. If there is, download and install it. Previously, you can remove the old version of the driver in the Device Manager.
- Press Win X and select Device Manager.
- Expand Host Mass Storage Adapters, then click on the adapter and select Properties.
- On the Driver tab, click Uninstall device. Confirm deletion.
- After that, download the driver on the manufacturer’s website and install it. Restart your computer and then try plugging in the card again.
- If the slot stopped working after a recent driver update, click Roll Back on the Driver tab to revert to the previous version of the driver. Please note that the function to roll back a driver to a previous version will only be available if you have updated the driver at least once. If there are no previous versions of the driver in the system, the Rollback button will be grayed out, as in the screenshot below.
It should be understood that none of these methods will help if your computer slot is damaged or broken. If the memory card works in other devices, but is not detected in your computer in any way even after all these dances with a tambourine, then you need to contact a specialist who will check the physical health of the port, repair or replace it. To extract information from the card, insert it into another device (the same camera), and then connect it via a USB cable to your computer, or transfer the data you need from another PC.
We hope these tips will help you fix the problem and you will not have to contact a service center, repair your computer or change a memory card.
How to enable memory card on Samsung Android phone
It is not difficult to turn on the SD memory card on any Android tablet or phone, more precisely on a Lenovo, Nokia, LG and so on smartphone, but here I will focus on Samsung j1, j2, a5, j3, duos, and if there are pictures, they will be used with Samsung Galaxy a3.
When switching on, check if it is inserted correctly. Make sure your phone supports the type (e.g. microSD. etc.)
Make sure your smartphone supports, for example, 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB otherwise it will not be able to catch it.
If you have Android 6.0, then in comparison with previous versions it has undergone significant changes in the use of maps.
Unfortunately, Google has not explained these changes to users, and they are not as straightforward and straightforward as it seems.
When Android 6.0 detects the format of the card, it offers to use it as memory, which practically changes from previous versions.
This is where we lose the ability to move apps to the memory card (this option was reserved only for marshmallow cards formatted as internal memory).
Of course, after getting root rights, a lot can be changed, it’s not easy to do this in Android 6.0.
If the SD is used as internal memory, this leads to the loss of access to the built-in and the ability to store only programs and their data on it (again, if you have ROOT rights, you can bypass this) and SD becomes invisible in other devices (because it is encrypted).
Hope this brief description helps you decide what to do with your memory card in Android 6.0.
If the memory card still does not turn on, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with ten reasons and solve this issue.
Saving Files to Samsung Directly to a Memory Card
Judging by the questions in Samsung, there really is a problem with saving files directly to a memory card via Bluetooth and downloading applications.
In this case, we try to do the following. Go to Settings, go to Memory and select Default Memory. Then we indicate where to save. Done!
If there are no such options on your Android smartphone, then without ROOT rights, it will be difficult to transfer files, and it is impossible to get them in stock firmware (on Android 6).
Also, the impossibility of transferring already installed applications to the SD card may work if the developer did not foresee such a situation.
You can solve this problem with Root rights and installing the Link2SD application. Only if you want to get the rights yourself.
I do not want to describe how, since it does not always end successfully. Yes, I did not fully answer the question “how to enable a memory card on a Samsung phone”, but this is only due to the fact that there is no built-in method, especially in new versions of android.
I also recommend watching the video instruction on how to properly turn on the memory card in the phone. Success.
Cleaning your phone from unnecessary files
If your Android phone’s memory is full, we recommend first uninstalling apps, downloads, and system junk. The largest amount of space on a smartphone is taken up by the download folder and installed applications. An effective way to free up enough memory is to remove all unnecessary.
How to clear internal phone storage:
- Analyze all applications on the smartphone desktop. Most likely, you will be able to find several unnecessary or little useful applications that have not been used for a long time. It is better to delete them in order to free up memory;
- Another common reason why the phone memory is full is that it contains a lot of videos and photos. We can filter out bad photos and useless videos. This may already solve the problem. If all the media data is needed or deleting it did not help free up enough memory, all that remains is to transfer the files. We recommend moving the data to a USB flash drive or transferring it to a computer;
- Clear downloaded files from instant messengers. By default, they download the sent photos to the phone. Because of this, various postcards, greetings, photos of strangers, etc., accumulate in the smartphone’s storage. The easiest way is to clear this section. use a computer. Through the explorer, we can open the folder of the same name from the messenger and remove its contents;
- Check the folder where the browser downloads all files. A lot of data accumulates here, cleaning it will help free up a lot of space.
These are the most effective ways to free up space on your phone, but they don’t help everyone. Did you still have an out-of-memory problem?. Read on.
Android phone is empty but memory is full: 5 tips to fix the problem
How to clear Android phone memory? Is a question that interests many smartphone users. Lack of memory is one of the most common problems, as it can appear even on smartphones with large storage capacities. Typically, the problem is reported by the system message “Memory full”. At the same time, there really may not be free space on the device, and sometimes there is enough of it. This problem leads to a ban on downloading, updating, creating photos and videos. The phone turns into a device of little use, devoid of most of the functions.
The way out of the situation is to free up space or change the settings. We will show you 5 effective ways to eliminate the lack of free space on your smartphone.
Clearing the cache
Another way to painlessly free up space on your phone is to delete the cache. Caches are temporary files designed to speed up data processing. Actively used data is placed here. Instead of reprocessing the data when loading the application, it is simply taken from the cache.
As in the past, small amounts of cache are useful, but large amounts. able to slow down the smartphone. Such a procedure is ready to give from 500 MB to 2-4 GB of free space and even more.
How to clear phone storage by deleting the cache:
- Open the “Settings” application.
- We are looking for the section “System and Device” and click on the item “Storage”.
- After calculating the data occupied by the cache, click on the item “Cache data”.
- In the “Settings” menu, look for the “Applications” section.
- Select “All Applications”.
- Find the line “Google Play Store” and click on it.
- Below, click on the “Clear” button and select “Clear cache”.
Helpful! Often they use special applications to delete the cache, they do not require root access and they do everything in a couple of clicks. For this we can use CCleaner or Clean Master.
Changing settings on an Android smartphone
Now let’s find out about a method that is ready to give more free memory than any other method. This is a radical way to free up memory on the phone, the essence of which. reset settings to factory state. The local storage will be formatted. As a result, we get a completely clean smartphone.
Important! We recommend this method only if the other methods did not help.
- We enter the “Settings” menu and find the item “System and device”.
- Open “Advanced settings” and at the end of the page click on “Restore and reset”.
- At the bottom of the list, select “Reset settings”.
- Click on “All files on the phone” and confirm the action.
Finally, we left another good method that requires a small investment.
Removing information from.thumbnails folder on Android
Probably few know, but when browsing the gallery, the Android system creates thumbnails. these are small snaps of pictures. Their main purpose is to increase the speed of the next file download. It is easy to guess that these sketches take up space and have minimal practical use.
What to do if the phone memory is full:
- We connect the smartphone to the PC and turn on the “File Transfer” mode.
- Open the “DCIM” section in the phone section.
- Go to the directory “.thumbnails”.
- Press Ctrl A and delete all content.
Over time, this section accumulates data for 1-2 GB. Only deleting them will help the phone, perhaps it will even stop slowing down.
Important! We recommend that you perform this action at regular intervals. Depending on the activity of using a smartphone, this is 1-3 weeks. If we forget to clean up, the same number of files will accumulate in the section again.
Replacing the memory card
We can just get a larger microSD card. Modern smartphones usually support 128GB drives. With such a storage volume, there should be no shortage of space.
Important! Many smartphones have a combo slot. This means that we can install either a 2nd SIM or a microSD card in the second slot. Have to prioritize correctly.
Brief summary: Memory shortages can be easily remedied by deleting temporary and useless files. If you want to save all the data, we can simply install a more capacious USB flash drive. If a lot of data from your phone is outdated, it makes sense to transfer everything you need to your computer and format your smartphone. Factory reset frees up the most space.
How can you restore the functionality of an external SD card
When the memory card does not work only on the phone, you can try to restore its performance on your own in several ways.
- stationary PC or laptop;
- Removable media reader or SD card adapter.
Method two: formatting a damaged SD card
The method is almost universal, but it erases all data from the media. You need to format the USB flash drive to correct the reading of individual sectors through a computer. After formatting, no data will remain on the media, but there is a chance to return the card to its previous state.
To do everything right, follow the instructions:
- Connect the memory card to the computer and wait for it to be recognized.
- Open the “Computer” folder in the explorer and find the desired volume in it.
- On disk, right-click the drop-down menu.
- Select “Format” in the list.
- In a new window, set the file system to FAT32 only.
- Activate default distribution size.
- Uncheck the “Quick Format” checkbox for deeper cleaning.
- Click “Start”.
Upon completion of the process (it will take a few minutes), the card must be safely removed from the computer and inserted into the phone
Incorrect formatting
To restore the card’s operability at the software level, it is recommended to format it. The method works with media of all formats:
- micro;
- mini;
- SD and others.
You can perform the procedure directly in the phone if the device recognizes the card, but does not open the data.
When the carrier is not even detected by the phone, it is necessary to check it through the computer, perhaps the card has the wrong file system. A prerequisite for formatting is setting the file system to FAT32 only, since Android does not support other formats.
The memory card on the phone does not work: causes of failure and how to fix the problem
The memory capacity of modern smartphones can meet the needs of most users, but some still need to expand it.
Frequent and active use of an additional file disk leads to certain problems with access to information. The material will consider options for why the memory card on the phone does not work and how to fix its failure yourself.
Method one: repair the damaged chkdsk file system
If the phone does not see the card, but the computer recognizes it, software damage to the media can be corrected with a standard Windows tool.
It is available in all versions of the operating system and is designed specifically to restore the performance of system drives without deleting files from them. For most users, saving data is a priority, so it’s worth trying.
- Connect memory stick to PC.
- Open the explorer and remember what symbol is used for removable media.
- Call the command line with the WinR key combination and write CMD in the line that appears. You can simply write “command line” in the search for the “Start” menu.
- Enter the chkdsk “drive letter” command: / f.
- Press Enter to activate the process.
Upon completion of scanning and fixing bugs on the memory card, you can remove the media and check its performance in the phone.
Why SD Card Doesn’t Work
Flash drives can fail for various reasons, and the solution to the problem depends on this. Often the SD card does not work due to poor contact or destruction of its sectors, but more serious failures can occur. How to solve the most common problems on your own is described below.
Incompatibility with the device
Storage expansion cards for phones are in micro SD format. It is divided into several generations, the difference between which is in the amount of memory and the speed of work.
In the technical specifications of most smartphones, manufacturers immediately indicate the maximum amount of memory that can be considered a device. If you insert a larger memory card into the phone, then the gadget simply does not recognize it.
The opposite is true with less memory. Any volume less than the maximum will work on the phone without failures, regardless of its generation.
Useful videos
Instructions: how to check the SD card for errors:
Question answer
Further, useful information will be presented in the format of answers to frequently asked questions from readers of various forums and thematic resources. I have collected the most valuable recommendations. Perhaps among them there is a solution for you.
But a week later I noticed that the transferred files were gone. I opened the explorer. all the folders are in place, but they are empty. And where the information has remained, it gives an error when trying to reproduce. The strangest thing is that I rearranged the card into an old gadget. everything opens and displays without any problems. By the way, after a reboot, sometimes the problem disappears, but not always. Is there a defect in the phone? What should I do, advise.
Wrong SD format
If the phone does not see the memory card, it is likely that it has the wrong file table format or it is damaged.
SD Card Not Detected || SD Card Not Inserted || SD Card Not Showing Samsung/Android Without PC [Fix]
- Memory markup failure;
- The user has formatted with incorrect settings;
- MicroSD previously worked with a file system unknown to the gadget, has specific markup that Android does not accept.
Most modern flash drives with a volume of more than 32 GB are marked in exFAT format, which not all phones “see” (especially outdated models). Therefore, if your external memory is of a similar size, then you should first copy important data to your computer, insert the card into your smartphone / tablet, switch to Recovery mode, select the action “Wipe cache partition” to format and create a table of FAT32 files. It is perceived by all devices without problems.
But I would recommend a simpler and more reliable option. using the app SD Formatter, which is installed on the laptop. You will need a card reader. I recommend watching the following video explaining the procedure for working with the program:
You can perform the procedure and built-in Windows tools. I already talked about them in the article. link. But now I will repeat myself again.
- You can connect a phone to a computer via a cable, but I would advise you to use a card reader for the purity of the experiment. Anyone will do. For example, I have one like this:
- We insert a card into it directly or through an adapter (depending on the presence of certain slots in the reader):
- When connected to PC, go to “Explorer” (My Computer) and there should be displayed a new disk. Click on it with the right mouse button and select the “Format” command.
- A window will open where we specify the FAT file system (exFAT). We do not change the other parameters, we immediately click on the button to start the procedure.
Another option very rarely helps. select the type of FS. NTFS. Some devices can work with it. It is worth trying if all else fails.
What if there is no computer nearby? You can use the built-in Android tools. But not all versions have this functionality. You need to go to “Settings” and in the “Memory” section find the line “Format SD” (it can also be called “Clear SD”):
Do not forget that in this case all data will be completely deleted with a minimum likelihood of subsequent recovery. Please note that there is also a button for safe removal in the specified menu. This is for good reason. you need to resort to this event every time you want to remove the microSD card. So you will not harm the information stored on the carrier and extend its life. But, alas, many are accustomed to using “hot-fetch” right in the process. This is not entirely correct and may cause crashes.
The computer does not see the SD card either
Situation: connected a mobile gadget to a PC via a USB cable, the phone screen displayed a choice of connection modes, indicated “Mass Storage”, but the new “storage” was not displayed on the laptop.
The solution is simple: just disconnect the device and then plug the cable back into the laptop, but now you need to select the “Media Device” (MTP) mode.
The phone stopped seeing the memory card: a failure at the software level
Diagnosis: Certain Android app does not recognize external storage, while others do it without issue. recording, playback proceeds as expected.
What to do? Most likely, a different location for saving data (internal “disk”) is specified in the utility settings. It is enough to open the parameters and make the necessary changes. This behavior often helps to eliminate defects in the standard software “Camera” and “Gallery”.
Why the phone does not see the SD or microSD card. all solutions
The owners of smartphones with the Android operating system are interested. why does the phone not see the microSD card? This happens infrequently and can be caused by various factors. I have collected all possible causes and solutions in this article. The material is weighty and will certainly help get rid of problems with the “invisible” SD not only on mobile gadgets, but also cameras, cameras and other devices with a slot for expanding memory.
Standard procedure
First, we will consider the basic steps for troubleshooting, and then in the article I will tell you in detail about all possible causes, methods of correction.
If the phone for some reason does not see the memory card, you should:
- Perform a normal reboot (turn off-turn on). This sometimes helps to get rid of software glitches. Did not help? Let’s move on to the next solution;
- We turn off the smartphone, remove the back cover, remove the battery and wait a couple of minutes. Then we return everything to its place and check the operability of the microSD:
- Suddenly the previous option did not work, we try to remove the “card”, check the integrity of the contacts and put it back tightly:
As soon as you do the above manipulations and do not get a positive effect, proceed to viewing the methods below.
MicroSD inoperative, out of order
This can be both mechanical damage to the media and thermal (due to severe overheating), as a result of which the SD card stopped working not only on the tablet, but also on any other device.
Unfortunately, in such cases it is customary to say: “Medicine is powerless”. Nothing can be done, except to purchase a new drive. Alas, it will not be possible to save the lost data either. That is why I always recommend backing up important information. in the “cloud”, on your computer’s hard drive. As practice shows, “dancing with a tambourine” is useless here. Don’t waste your time looking for a “life buoy”. Life is harsh
Top reasons why Samsung phone stopped seeing memory card
There may be several reasons. Before looking for it and fixing a health issue, there are several steps you can take that can bring the punishment to work:
- restart Samsung. Restarting the operating system can correct the situation, the flash drive will become visible again. This means that a system failure has occurred;
- if the Samsung model has a removable battery, remove the battery for a few seconds, then reinsert it. It is worth remembering that the extraction is carried out only on the switched off smartphone;
- checking contacts. both on the card itself and in the smartphone. They must not be deformed or oxidized. The contacts on the carrier should be wiped with a soft, lint-free cloth.
If the above steps did not help to fix the situation and Samsung still does not see the memory card, they search for another reason. It can be in both the carrier and the smartphone. If the flash drive is damaged, it will have to be replaced. They cannot be repaired. Phone problems can be solved by yourself or at a service center.
Software glitch in the phone itself
The “invisibility” of a flash drive can also be explained by a software malfunction. For check:
- reset the gadget settings to standard;
- in the “Storage” section, set the removable version as such.
In addition, you may need to update the firmware to the current one, which will help “cure” all failures. Updated software versions are freed by developers from critical errors, bugs.
Problems with the memory card itself
In this case, the card will not be detected by a smartphone, tablet or computer. Breakage can occur due to:
- Removing and reinstalling media without a special mode that ensures safe removal;
- overheating;
- oxidation;
- mechanical damage.
If Samsung does not see the memory card due to its breakage, the gadget should be replaced.
Why Samsung phone can’t see SD or microSD card
Modern smartphone models have a large amount of internal memory. But removable media hasn’t lost its popularity. However, problems may arise with them. One of them is that the device does not see the carrier. Let’s find out: for what reasons the Samsung phone does not see the SD or microSD memory card, what you can do yourself and what is the threat of such a situation.
What is fraught with such a situation?
The main trouble that threatens in the event of a removable media failure is switching to the internal one, its overflow and slowdown in the operation of the device. Even if the user pulls out the USB stick from Samsung and inserts a new one, the problem may remain. The preset amount of memory will quickly fill up and your device’s performance will be compromised. Various applications will stop working stably, the operation of the operating system will be prone to failures.
Incorrect flash drive format
The most common reason for the “invisibility” of the card is the wrong format. Usually they are not read by devices, ask for formatting and give other error codes. This is due to:
- the markup or file system cannot be read by Android;
- the memory markup is out of order;
- formatting was done with incorrect settings.
How to fix Samsung A10, A20, A30, A50 SD card Not detected
This is because the flash drives come from the factory configured to work with the exFAT file system. It is not accepted by all phones, tablets or computers. The way to fix it is formatting. Methods:
- Run the process under FAT32 using Recovery mode. Note that this method is effective, but laborious and not suitable for inexperienced users.
- Using the SD Formatter application on a personal computer. The procedure is simple. You will need to download a free utility to your computer, insert a mobile media into it using a special slot or card reader. Select SD in the system menu and start formatting by selecting the required file system.
- Using standard Windows tools. The difference from the previous method is that you do not need to download the utility. It is enough to select in the list of SD drives, right-click the menu and start the process.
- Use standard Android tools. In this case, the microSD does not have to be removed from the mobile device. There is a special item in the mobile memory settings. The method is suitable only if the smartphone or tablet sees SD, but cannot read it.
Often the problem is fixed immediately after changing the format.
EzRecover
EzRecover is a simple utility designed to format flash drives. It automatically detects removable media, so you do not need to specify the path to it. It is very easy to work with this program.
- First install and run it.
- Then an informational message like below will pop up.
Now reconnect the media to your computer again.
Windows Tools
Insert the memory card into the card reader and connect it to the computer. If you do not have a card reader, you can connect your phone via USB to a PC in data transfer mode (USB storage). Then Windows will be able to recognize the memory card. To use Windows tools, do the following:
-
In the “Run” line (called by the WinR keys) just write the command diskmgmt.msc. then press “OK” or Enter on the keyboard. Or go to the “Control Panel”, set the viewing option. “Small icons”. In the section “Administrative Tools” select “Computer Management” and then “Disk Management”.
Find the memory card among the connected drives.
If the line “Status” says “Good”, right-click on the desired section. From the menu select “Format”.
Memory card is not formatted: reasons and solution
We have already written about how to fix the problem with the aforementioned Windows error. But in this guide, we will look at what to do if other messages occur when working with microSD / SD.
Most often, problems with a memory card begin if there were power problems when using a flash drive. It is also possible that the partitioning programs have been misused. In addition, there may have been a sudden shutdown of the drive while working with it.
Errors can also be caused by the fact that write protection is enabled on the card itself. In order to remove it, it is necessary to move the mechanical switch to the “unlock” position. Viruses can also affect the performance of the memory card. So it’s better to scan the microSD / SD with an antivirus just in case if there is a malfunction.
If formatting is clearly necessary, then it is worth remembering that with this procedure all information from the media will be automatically deleted! Therefore, you need to make a copy of important data stored on the removable storage device. Both built-in Windows tools and third-party software can be used to format microSD / SD.
HDD Low Level Format Tool
HDD Low Level Format Tool is a low-level formatting tool. This method can restore the performance of the media even after serious failures and errors. But it’s important to remember that low-level formatting will completely erase all data and fill the space with zeros. In this case, the subsequent data recovery is out of the question. Such serious measures should be taken only if none of the above solutions to the problem yielded results.
- Install the program and run it, select “Continue for free”.
- Select a memory card in the list of connected media, click “Continue”.
Click on the “Low-level format” tab.
This program also helps very well with low-level formatting of removable drives, which you can read about in our tutorial.
A guide for when the memory card is not formatted
A memory card is a versatile storage device that works great on a wide variety of devices. But users may face situations where a computer, smartphone or other devices do not perceive the memory card. There may also be times when it is necessary to promptly delete all data from the card. Then you can solve the problem by formatting the memory card.
Such measures will repair damage to the file system and erase all information from the disk. Some smartphones and cameras have a built-in formatting function. You can use it or carry out the procedure by connecting the card to a PC through a card reader. But sometimes it happens that the gadget gives an error “The memory card is faulty” when trying to reformat. And an error message appears on the PC: “Windows cannot complete formatting”.
D-Soft Flash Doctor
The program has a simple interface that is easy to understand. Its functionality includes the ability to create a disk image, scan the disk for errors and recover media. To work with it, do this:
- Download and install D-Soft Flash Doctor on your computer.
- Run it and click the “Recover media” button.
After that, the program will very quickly split the media memory according to the configuration.
