Mobile phone memory cards

There are several different types of memory in the modern mobile phones that include

• a built-in phone memory,
• a SIM card memory,
• an option to use an additional memory card.

Generally, a built-in phone memory stores a phone book data, SMS messages, calls list and other service records. It is assumed that data from the such a phone memory is not recoverable without specialized equipment.

A SIM card memory mainly stores an account identification data, as well as an additional information such as phone book entries. However, a SIM card memory has a relatively small capacity, so in the modern mobile phones this memory is used only to store the service account data. Because a SIM card memory contains almost no user data, in most cases you just don't need to recover it. Anyway, you can't extract any data from a SIM card at home, because both special equipment and software available only in service centers are required.

Today, almost all mobile phones are equipped with additional removable memory cards. Typically, these cards store digital images that have been taken using a phone camera as well as your files (music, video, text documents and the like). In most cases, all this data can be restored. To recover data from a removable memory card follow the instructions in the general reclaimation manual. However, take into account the following:

• If you have a removable memory card, it is best to remove it from your phone and insert into the appropriate port of a card reader device. For more information on how to choose a card reader please refer to the article How to connect a memory card to the computer properly. Your memory card is then displayed as an USB device in the list of devices. As far as the disk name is concerned, in the case of our Sony Ericsson w880i we saw "PHONE_CARD".
• If for some reason you do not want to remove the memory card from your mobile phone then try to connect it to the computer using the phone. Please read Six reasons to use a card reader instead of connecting the device before doing so. If you still want to connect the memory card to the computer through the mobile phone, then find the cable (it is typically supplied with a phone) to connect the phone to the computer via USB. If you connect your phone to the computer for the first time, you need the installation CD (also supplied with a phone). Once you have connected your phone to the computer, you should see your phone memory card in the device list as an USB device.

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