Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
How to Recover Deleted Photos from SanDisk Memory Card?How to Recover Deleted Photos from SanDisk Memory Card?

Many Memory card users have experienced a photo deletion issue, and it is quite common too. If you are using any memory card and accidentally deleted some photos from it, do not panic as you can recover them. There are some popular photo recovery methods that you can use to recover your lost photos from SD cards. If you are using a SanDisk SD card and facing such an issue, make sure your card is not formatted or inaccessible. In this article, we will help you to know how to retrieve deleted photos from a SanDisk memory card.

Can You Recover Lost/Deleted Photos From a SanDisk Memory Card?

Yes, you can recover lost or deleted photos from a SanDisk Memory Card. You must know that when you delete any file from the SD card, it is not completely erased. Instead, it marks the space of that file available for re-writing in your computer’s OS. Even if you are unable to access the file, it is still there until your camera or other device overwrites it with something else. You can use SD card recovery software to get your pictures back. This means you can get your old photos back only if you haven’t taken too many new photos after the data loss.

If you have accidentally lost or deleted photos from the SanDisk SD card, you must stop using the memory card. Also, avoid removing the memory card from your camera and set it idle. If you do not stop using the device, the photos you’ve lost will get overwritten. This can make you unable to restore them back.

There are some popular recovery software that you can use to recover photos. Before opting for any such tool, check all its features and reviews. These software helps you to scan the SD card and then recover the deleted data if any.

Quick Prerequisites to Recover Deleted Photos from SD Card

Before knowing the exact SD card recovery process, you must be familiar with a quick plan of action to try. If your photos have gone missing from your memory card by mistake, keep the following points in mind:

  • Stop using the SD card: This is mainly done to avoid overwriting data as it can make the photo recovery process quite harder. Just take the card out from your camera or phone and leave it idle.
  • Properly scan the memory card: Immediately scan your SanDisk SD card with the free trial versions of any recovery software. You can use tools like Stellar Photo Recovery for scanning purposes. Both the software offer free trial versions and are quite easy to use.
  • Recover the lost pictures from the SD card: When the photo recovery software detects the deleted photos, you can buy its premium version to recover lost photos. If you don’t want to buy a license, then you can try the free alternatives.

Effective Methods to Recover Deleted/Missing Photos from SanDisk Memory Card

There are several Memory card recovery methods that you can try to recover lost photos. These methods actually vary as per your requirements. Let’s discuss each one of them in detail in this section:

Method 01: Assign a new drive letter

Usually, you face problems while accessing photos from your memory card if your computer does not detect the card. The driver letter of the camera card will not appear in the connected drives list. This generates an error message, indicating ‘Please insert the disk into drive E:’. In such cases, you need to assign a new drive letter to the memory card by applying the following steps:

  • Press the Windows+R key, and type diskmgmt.msc in the Run dialogue box.
  • Click the “OK” button or press Enter key to open the Disk Management window.
  • Locate and right-click on the Memory card.
  • Choose ‘Change Drive Letter and Paths’ and save the changes.
  • Restart your system and connect your memory card.

Method 02: Reinstall the driver

Sometimes the photos or other files get deleted from your computer due to outdated or corrupt computer drivers. Any issue with the drivers makes it unable for your system to access the photos on it. You can reinstall the drivers on your Windows PC. All you have to do is:

  • Navigate to the “My Computer/ This PC” folder and right-click on it.
  • Click on Manage and then go to Device Manager located on the left pane.
  • Double-click on Disk Drives from the list.
  • Right-click on the memory card and then click Uninstall.
  • At last, click the OK button.

Method 03: Perform Chkdsk in command prompt

If you are getting an error message asking to format the camera SD card to open it, then perform Chkdsk in CMD. You should follow the below-mentioned steps in order to perform Chkdsk in the command prompt:

  • Type cmd in the Search box located in the bottom-left corner of your Windows.
  • Right-click on Command Prompt from the navigation pane and tap the “Run as Administrator” option.
  • Type chkdsk < SD card drive letter>:/f (for example, chkdsk E: /f).
  • Press the Enter button.

Method 04: Use a recovery software

A good SD card recovery software works in various cases, like deletion, formatting, virus infection, corruption, etc. There are many photo recovery software available, which you can use to restore the lost photos from your SD card. However, before choosing any software, make sure it is safe to download and free from any threat.

Software like Stellar Photo Recovery can help you to recover all kinds of memory cards, SDXC, SDHC, microSD cards, memory sticks, etc. This software supports various image formats like BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, MOS, MEF, PSP, DJVU, and more. You can even restore deleted photos from the RAW file format of popular DSLRs like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Pentax, Minolta, etc.

Follow the steps given below to know how to recover deleted photos from SanDisk Memory card using Stellar Photo Recovery software:

  • Download Stellar Photo Recovery software, and install it on your Windows/Mac device.
  • Now, connect your SanDisk SD card to the device on which you have installed the software.
  • Launch the software and select the storage media from which you have to recover Photos.
  • Once the scanning process gets complete, all the recoverable photos will appear on the screen.
  • Preview recovered photos and save them at the desired location.

There’s also some other popular photo recovery software that you can try to recover your deleted photos.

Disk Drill Data Recovery Software: It is a full-featured data recovery tool that allows users to recover photos and videos of multiple file formats. The application not only recovers SD card photos from the Windows system, but you can also even try it on your Mac devices.

PhotoRec SD Card Recovery Software: PhotoRec is one of the data recovery apps and is mainly known for its compatibility with several operating systems. Being a reliable software, it can easily restore any kind of file from any kind of storage media. In contrast, the software isn’t very user-friendly because of its text-only interfaces.

How to Avoid Photo Loss from SanDisk Memory Card?

It is very painful when you are looking for any important photos in your camera and realizes that your memory card is empty. To avoid such situation, you need to protect the photos and videos stored on your memory card:

  • Always format the memory card before fresh use.
  • Carefully insert or remove the memory card from your camera or computer.
  • Switch off the camera before taking out the memory card from it.
  • Never remove the card from the camera/computer while transferring the photos.
  • It is good to use multiple SD cards of small capacities rather than one large-capacity card in your camera.
  • Backup your photos on

Wrapping Up

Sometimes your memory card does not work properly, or you may be unable to find the photos saved on it. Don’t panic and try the above methods to get your pictures back. Tools like Stellar Photo Recovery can help you easily recover deleted photos from all types of SanDisk memory cards. Always follow the best practices preventing your photos from any kind of deletion or loss from the memory card.

By admin