Memory card recovery

Memory cards are quite common devices for storing data, which are typically used in cameras, phones, in a car audio system. The memory cards can be of different types - SD, MiniSD, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, or MMC. However, in terms of storing data, they are absolutely the same. From the data recovery point of view, the difference in these types of cards is only how you will connect the card. For example, often laptops and PCs have a built-in SD card reader, but for other memory card types you either need to buy a special adapter or buy a card reader. Read more about how to connect the memory card to your computer properly.

How to recover data from memory card using ReclaiMe

  1. Stop using the memory card immediately once you discover a data loss. Do not take any more recordings onto it. If you take a new shot, it overwrites the lost data, making recovery impossible.
  2. Connect the memory card to the PC using a built-in card reader or a standalone one.
  3. Download, install, and run ReclaiMe File Recovery software.
  4. Identify the memory card you want to recover in the device list. Most likely, it falls into the "USB devices" category. If you do not see the memory card in the device list of ReclaiMe and all the connections are correctly set, then it may be a zero size issue.
    5. Memory card recovery with ReclaiMe
  5. Double click the memory card in the device list to start recovery.
  6. Estimate the recovery result. For this, select an image file (like .jpg or .png) and see whether it is displayed correctly. If the file looks good, most likely other files are recovered also good.
    7. Memory card recovery with ReclaiMe
  7. Purchase ReclaiMe Standard license and start to copy the data.

Additionally, have a look at the phone memory cards page if you deal with a memory card from a mobile phone.

Recovery time

The memory card recovery takes about the same time it takes to transfer the cardfull of data to the computer normally. Examples:

  • 2GB SD card recovery - less than 5 minutes.
  • 32GB Compact Flash card recovery - about 40 minutes.

Notes

As for a memory card format procedure, there are two types of format that are significantly different. After using one of them, data can still be recovered but after the other - data is unrecoverable. Learn more about the format procedure.

All the steps on video

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