We all store important information on these little devices called SD cards . Be it photos, videos, documents, we want to have a backup, many prefer to use it as internal storage of their mobile phones and we can be surprised if this error appears when inserting it in another device “the SD card is not compatible or is empty”.
We can ask ourselves what happened? Where is my information? Can I get it back? Below we will help you clear up your doubts and the options you have to resolve this error.
Index( )
- Why is my SD card not working? Most frequent causes and reasons
- Virus
- Improper disconnection from sd
- Physical integrity of the SD
- Recovering your media files from your SD card
- Possible solutions for your problem
- Restart system
- Reinsertion and cleaning of the DS
- Format
- How to repair your card from your PC
- Run chkdsk
Why is my SD card not working? Most frequent causes and reasons
Many times the message that appears on your device “the SD card is empty” does not mean that your files have disappeared. It is a common mistake but we must know the possible causes.
Virus
A virus is capable of erasing information on SD cards or creating files to the point of filling it up and rendering it unusable. In this case, it is best to connect the card to a computer with a good antivirus and try to eradicate malvare with that software. If you can’t, you may need to format the SD card.
Improper disconnection from sd
Improperly inserting an SD into any device could cause the problem, as well as incorrectly ejecting it and then trying to access it the same thing could happen. If the SD card has been used in a device with a virus, it is another reason for throwing this error.
Physical integrity of the SD
A beaten or abused SD card can completely stop working. Given this, check the card in its entirety and see if there is any physical damage, if so, check if it works in another device and if not, you will have to change it .
Another cause can be the corruption of the system files or various sectors with defects on the card, something dirty that causes obstruction in the slot , among other things. Let’s look at several ways to fix this error.
Recovering your media files from your SD card
You can try to recover the information from an SD card using recovery software. There are many, for example, you can recover files with iBeesoft Data Recovery , EaseUs and many others. Undoubtedly it is a good option to avoid losing the valuable information of your SD memories.
Possible solutions for your problem
With everything mentioned before we can solve the error in most cases. Let’s recap: If the card is in an Android mobile, the first thing we can do is restart the phone. When I start again the error disappears in most cases, what if you can’t fix it?
You can remove the SD card from the device and clean the slot, for this we recommend turning off the device and cleaning with a little cotton and alcohol. Wait a few seconds, once the alcohol has completely evaporated you can re-insert the SD memory and turn on your device, this solution helps us when we have inserted the card incorrectly or due to an obstruction in the slot.
Restart system
If you inserted the memory when the cell phone was on, it may be necessary to restart the phone . In fact, sometimes people confuse that the SD card is blank and does not support this failure.
Reinsertion and cleaning of the DS
You may have put the micro SD card wrong, in turn, excess dust can cause problems. Given this, clean the SD card and reinsert it in your mobile in the appropriate way, preferably when it is turned off.
Format
A virus or any other problem can create the feeling that the SD card is blank or not supported. This can be solved by formatting the card , something that you can usually do from your mobile or PC.
How to repair your card from your PC
In any case, if nothing works from the mobile, it is best to try it from the PC , the best alternative being to use the chkdsk tool provided by Windows.
Run chkdsk
If after performing these steps the problem persists, you can choose to perform a “checkdisk” . To do this you will need a pc with Microsoft Windows operating system, insert the SD memory ( making the pc read the SD card ) and press the Windows key + R a dialog box will open.
Then type “cmd” and pressing the keys ctrl + shitf + enter in this way will open a command prompt window. Once the user accounts window appears on the screen, click yes to approve the administrative permissions.
In the command prompt window you must type the command CHKDSK, which will scan the files to determine any errors in the SD. When finished you can remove the card from the pc and insert it into a mobile , there you will see if the error has been solved.
In most cases the problem is usually solved after this step, if your case is different, your memory may have some hidden files that throw the error What can we do? The following steps will help you solve it
Insert the card into the pc, press the Windows + R keys and in the run box write “control folders” press enter, it will open the file explorer options window, there you will go to the view tab and select the hidden files and folders option . In advanced settings, you must select the option to show hidden files and folders and click on apply.
Then go to SD Card and if you find transparent icons delete them, as they are hidden files. Once this procedure is finished, remove the card and insert it into your device and see if the error has been solved.
As a last solution we have the formatting of the SD card, although doing so will delete all the files that are in it, however it will remain as new and you can use it again on any device. You can recover your files before formatting it.
