Download the recovery tool. JetFlash Online Recovery (Recovery Tool) download for free without registration and SMS! Key Features and Functions

Having problems on your Android phone or any other with a memory card? Can't read data from it or your Android phone/tablet doesn't detect it?

You can repair a damaged micro SD card if it is damaged using a computer, check it for errors, or completely reformat it.

In general, the fact that the SD card is not readable is not something unusual. If you have a lot of data stored on it and you use it extensively on your phone, there is always a chance that you might have trouble reading the content.

But this does not mean that the card should be thrown away immediately. There is always a chance to restore the SD card.

If you fail to fix the memory card, you can restore the files on the damaged memory card -

Sometimes the solution may be to check the file system for errors in saved files, repair bad sectors, format the card, or completely delete the partition (card structure) and re-create it. Below we will look at all these solutions.

How can I restore the functionality of an external SD card?

To fix a damaged SD card you will need:

  • computer or laptop running Windows;
  • any way to connect an SD card directly to a computer.

You can connect it to your computer using an adapter - if not, you can buy a USB card reader.

Method one - repairing a damaged file system CHKDSK

If your device says sd card is damaged, here's what you can do. The first and easiest way is to use the Windows system disk recovery tool, that is, CHDSK.

This tool is from Microsoft and is only available on Windows computers. CHKDSK does this without deleting any files, so you won't lose any card data.

First, connect the SD card directly to your computer or laptop and launch “My Computer” or “This PC” (Windows 8 and later).

In the list of drives, find the included SD card and note which drive letter it was assigned to. For the purposes of this guide, let's assume the card has been assigned the letter "D".

Press the Windows + R key combination to bring up the Windows Startup window. In the Run window, enter the following command to enable the command prompt: CMD.

A new command prompt window will appear. Now you must enter the appropriate command that will scan the memory card and fix the errors on it. The command looks like this:

Chkdsk D: /f

Of course, instead of "D:", write your drive letter (don't forget the colon). Press the "Enter" button to start scanning.

After scanning, you can check your memory drive and see if everything is working.

Method two - formatting a damaged SD card

The second way to fix a damaged SD card is to format it by deleting all data. This option can help if CHKDSK failed to check and you are still having problems (for example, errors reading individual files).

Of course, you will lose all your data, but chances are that formatting will fix the card.

To do this, connect the drive to your computer, and then call “My Computer” or “This Computer.” In the list of drives, find the connected SD card and right-click it.

Select Format from the context menu. A new format window will appear for the specified drive (SD card in this case).

Click the "Default Allocation Size" button and make sure "FAT32" is selected as the file system.

You can format with the “Quick Format” option selected, but to get more accurate results I recommend that you uncheck this box - formatting will take much longer, but is done more carefully, which can help solve problems with the card.

After formatting, reinsert the card into your smartphone, tablet, digital camera, or whatever device you are using and make sure the card is working properly.

Method three - completely delete all partitions and re-create them again

An SD card is no different from a regular disk - it can have one or more partitions. By default there is always only one section.

You can format the card in such a way as to completely remove the partition and leave it unallocated.

This is called low-level formatting. Please note that this will also permanently delete all data on the memory card.

After formatting, you can create a new partition. This often helps when the memory card appears as "RAW" after connecting and does not show any partitions that can be accessed.

For this formatting, you can use a program called “HDD Low Level Format Tool”. You can download it below.

Connect the drive to your computer, and then run the Hard Drive Low Level Tool.

You'll see a list of all your drives on your computer, including your connected external drive. Find your SD card in the list and select it.

Make sure you choose correctly. Once selected, click Continue and go to the Format this device tab.

The card will be completely formatted and all partitions will be deleted. This will now be a clean, undistributed surface.

That's not all - the card is in such a state that it will be useless. Now go to the Start menu and find the Windows Administrative Tools folder and select Computer Management.

A new window will appear. In it, select “Disk Management”. A new window will appear displaying all drives, both internal and external, connected via USB.

Find your drive, the surface of which is displayed in black. Right-click on the black unallocated area and select New Simple Volume.

You will see a wizard that will guide you step by step through the process of creating a partition. You don't need to change anything, just click Next. Pay attention to the File System field and make sure that FAT32 is selected instead of NTFS.

Confirm the creation of the new partition. Your micro SD card will now appear in the My Computer window with a drive letter automatically assigned. You can disconnect it from your computer and connect it to your phone or tablet. Good luck.

Developer:
http://hddguru.com/

OS:
Windows

Interface:
English

Conventional USB drives and removable cards have become so firmly established in our lives that many users increasingly prefer storing information using such devices. But sometimes it becomes necessary to format them, for example due to damage or software failures. Since SD cards are one of the most common today, let's look at why micro-SD and how to fix such a problem. Several basic methods will be given as methods. But if they don’t help, you can say goodbye to the device.

The micro-SD flash drive is not formatted: what to do first?

When such situations arise, before deciding in favor of any particular method of correcting them, you should find out the root cause that led to the failure.

The simplest and most common case is when a micro-SD flash drive is not formatted (the device is protected and the system simply does not start the formatting process). Everything is simple here: apparently, on the adapter for the card, the write lock lever has been moved to the on position. But this is the simplest thing that can be.

It also happens that the device is busy with some processes, which makes formatting impossible. In the simplest case, you just need to remove the drive from the card reader and insert it again to repeat the operation. Sometimes using the “Task Manager” can help, in which you need to display all services, hide Microsoft processes and stop all others, and then try formatting again. Perhaps this will work.

It's much worse when it turns out that the drive has file system damage or physical problems. Here you will have to use other methods, some of which may seem quite complicated.

What to do if standard formatting doesn't work?

If, after using the standard method of calling the procedure from Explorer, the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted, you can try to start the process using the partition

It can be accessed through the “Run” console, where the diskmgmt.msc command is entered. In the window with the location of all currently connected devices, we find the card (in most cases it will be located at the very bottom of the list), and then use the right-click menu to call the formatting command. Sometimes this helps (but not always).

Using special utilities

The micro-SD flash drive is not formatted again, and the system displays a message about the impossibility of completing the procedure? Alternatively, you can use programs that allow you to

One of the most popular is the simple free utility SDFormatter. In the start window, after launching the program in devices, select the drive type, and then click the properties button at the bottom right.

In the new window, in the formatting type, you should specify Full Erase, and just below, activate the automatic sector alignment setting (value ON). We return to the previous window and start formatting. In most cases this helps. Again, not always. What to do if the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted even after such measures? We will have to use what is called “heavy artillery.”

Hidden features of Windows systems

First, call the command line with admin rights from the “Run” console (Win + R) and write diskpart there, then enter the command list disk and find the device you are looking for in the list (you can determine the card by its size). At this stage, you need to remember the device number in the list, otherwise you can destroy data in other sections.

Now the next line is select disk Y (Y is the disk number set above). After it there is a line to clear the reading attributes attributes disk clear readonly. After successful completion of the process, we check the attributes using the attributes disk line. If it is indicated that only the read attribute is missing, exit the console by entering the exit command.

(micro SD is not formatted)?

In some cases, you can try to restore a non-functional card before formatting. In this case, the recovery will affect not only the information previously contained on it, but also the file system.

You can find plenty of programs for this, but the most powerful utility is the R.Saver application. The algorithm of actions in it is very simple: first you need to select your device, and then press just one button to start the analysis and recovery process. Next, the program will perform all actions without user participation, although this process can take up to several hours. It all depends on the degree of damage to the drive and its capacity. When the recovery is complete, formatting can be done without problems.

If all else fails

If such actions do not have any result, and the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted again, you will have to use the last resort - flashing the controller.

To do this, you need to find out the unique identifiers DEV and VEN, which can be done in the “Device Manager” through the properties menu on the details tab, where the device ID is selected from the drop-down list (for completeness of information, it is better to use the longest line in the list), or use programs for this like UsbFlashInfo.

After this, you will have to visit the equipment manufacturer’s resource and use the numbers found to download the latest firmware version, and then start the process itself using the downloaded executable file. In principle, you can find the firmware on other sites, but for security reasons it is better to turn to the manufacturer’s resource. At the end of the process, formatting should start normally.

Finally, if none of the above helped, alas, you can say goodbye to the card, since it will no longer work. But, as practice shows, even with damaged microcontrollers, you can revive the card, and with the use of flashing tools and the R.Saver program, you can also restore data.

In some cases, when a user tries to format their flash drives, the system displays the error “Windows cannot complete formatting.”

Sometimes this happens when working with HDDs, DVD RWs and other drives, but most often Micro SDs are affected by this problem.

Why does Windows write this text?

This happens because the OS for some reason cannot perform formatting on its own, or the reason is a malfunction of the SD card or hard drive itself.

It is also possible that the memory card was previously used on a different operating system (Linux, Mac OS, etc.) and the file system is incomprehensible to Windows.

The inability to work with the file system is the most common cause of this error.

This error looks like the one shown in the figure.

But what to do when the system produces such an error? There are several ways.

The simplest of them is performed using standard Windows tools and is available for both Windows 7 and Windows 10, and even for the good old Windows XP.

Solving the problem using the system

Step-by-step instructions on how to remove this error when formatting a removable drive are as follows:

  • Press the combination of Win + R buttons on the keyboard. This opens the Run dialog box. The image shows which keys need to be pressed on the keyboard and the window that should appear after this (circled in green).

  • In this window you need to enter the following: diskmgmt.msc and press Enter on the keyboard. Thus, we opened the Disk Management program.
  • In the window that appears, you need to find the designation of the memory card. You can recognize removable media by the corresponding “Removable device” inscription at the bottom of the program and by the image of a memory card, which differs from other media at the top.

  • In one of the places indicated by green frames in the photo above, you need to click the right mouse button. As a result, you can see the drop-down menu shown in the figure.

  • In this menu you need to click on the inscription “Format...”. Then the flash drive will be formatted using a slightly different algorithm than in other cases.

Clarification! Perhaps the problem is that the media is simply not allocated. Then the inscription “Delete volume” (highlighted with a yellow frame in Figure No. 4) will be active, not dim, that is, you can click on it. Try this. After this, you will need to create a new volume.

Creating a new volume

To create a new volume on unallocated media, you need to right-click on it and select “Create a simple volume...” from the drop-down menu.

After this, the “Simple Volume Creation Wizard” will open, in which you should not change any parameters - we leave everything as standard and just click the “Next” button several times.

After this, in the Disk Management program, “Fixed” will be written opposite the flash drive, as shown in Figure 6.

After this, you can again try to format the flash drive using standard means - through “My Computer” by right-clicking on the desired media and selecting “Format...”.

Disabling a foreign process in the system

It is possible that some extraneous process in the system is preventing the formatting of the flash drive.

To exclude this option, you must do the following:

  • Restart the computer in safe mode. To do this, open the “Start” menu, then click on the button circled in green in the image and select “Restart” (this is for Windows 7).
    The computer will turn off and immediately turn on again. So, immediately after shutting down, you should press the F8 button and wait for it to load.

  • After this, you should run the command prompt as an administrator. There are many different ways to perform this action.
    The simplest of them is to hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and right-click on any free space on the desktop. In the menu that appears, select “Open command window”.

  • In the window that appears, you need to write the following: format [drive letter]:. To find out the drive letter, you need to go into my computer and look at what is written next to the drive, as shown in the picture (indicated by arrows).
    In our case, this is the letter “e”, so in the command menu we write “format e:”, as shown in the photo below (circled in blue) and press the Enter key.

If this does not help, you will have to use outside help, that is, third-party recovery programs.

Disk recovery programs

One such program is D-Soft Flash Doctor. It is very easy to download it on the Internet. The program window looks as shown in the figure.

In this window you need to select our media. You can recognize it by its letter (in our case it is “e”).

To do this, you just need to click on the symbol of the flash drive at the top of the program (highlighted in orange in the photo above).

After this, you can select “Recover media” (indicated by a red frame). Recovery will occur, after which you can try to format the disk again.

You can also select the “Scan for errors” option.

Then the scanning will begin and the user will have the opportunity to find out what is wrong with his media.

If the flash drive not only does not format, but also shows that the volume is 0 MB, EzRecover helps a lot. By the way, you can also find out the size of the flash drive in “My Computer”.

In the figure, red lines highlight the places where the storage capacity is shown.

In our case, it shows 5.18 GB, but if it shows 0 MB, feel free to download EzRecover.

EzRecover automatically finds removable media; you don’t even have to specify anything here.

After opening the program, the user only has to press the “RECOVER” button and wait a little.

There are many more programs on the Internet for recovering flash drives, you can try others. If none of these options produces results, the only thing left to do is throw away the flash drive.

The video below clearly shows how to format a disk using standard Windows tools.

Flash drive cannot be formatted, repair using Windows

Solving the problem - Windows cannot complete formatting

When trying to format a USB flash drive, SD/MicroSD card or other removable media, the system may display an error. If Windows or the disk is using standard means, there are enough ways to solve the problem: from using safe mode to formatting through the Disk Management service.

Reasons for the error

Windows usually fails to complete formatting if the removable media has been improperly used or removed. The problem is relevant both for older versions of Windows 7 and XP, and for the new 10. The frequency and chance of the error occurring is not affected by the media file system - FAT32, NTFS, exFAT.

Most often, Windows cannot format a USB flash drive or CD card for the following reasons:

  1. The flash drive or card was removed from the phone/camera/other equipment, after which it stopped working correctly and formatting became impossible.
  2. Unsafe removal of device. The media was disconnected from the computer (power) while data was being written.
  3. Power or electrical failures, especially when reading or writing to a flash drive.
  4. Disconnecting the drive from the system while programs are running or files are open from the flash drive.
  5. Consequences of using programs designed to work with disk partitions.

Regardless of the reason, Windows displays the message “Windows was unable to complete the format.” Sometimes the system doesn't even allow you to start formatting because the disk is write-protected. In this case, you need to deactivate the protection, and then start formatting the drive.

Often the system itself writes what exactly the problem is:

  1. Windows cannot format the flash drive. End all other programs. The system cannot delete files that are currently in use. You should check whether all documents and programs that use files from the flash drive are closed. You can use Safely Remove the Device to let the system close everything itself, and then try to start formatting again.
  2. The disc is write protected. You can remove protection using the Group Policy Editor, the command line and the system registry. The Group Policy Editor is not available in all versions of Windows.
  3. Check that the connection is correct. Check that the drive and disk connections are correct, make sure the disk is not read-only, and then try again. Again, you need to remove the protection, if any, and also try to connect the media to another USB port.

Formatting using programs

Problems with formatting a flash drive or other storage medium do not depend on the type of file system or the manufacturer. The chance of an error occurring is the same for flash drives and memory cards from Transcend, Kingstone, Silicon Power, SanDisk or another company.

Manufacturers of flash drives and memory cards are aware of this problem, which is why large companies have their own proprietary utilities. For example, Transcend JetFlash Online Recovery for flash drives from the manufacturer Transcend. Official programs are good because they are guaranteed to cope with the problems of formatting flash drives from specific companies. If such software is not on the official website, or it does not help, it’s okay, there are universal free solutions.

  1. EzRecover- a free program with basic functionality. To restore a flash drive, you need to run the file and click the “Recover” button. Helps complete formatting and corrects the error when Windows sees 0 MB of free space on the flash drive.
  2. D-Soft Flash Doctor is another free solution with simple functionality that allows you to complete formatting a problematic USB drive. It is possible to create a flash memory image. The recorded image can subsequently be written to another, working flash drive or card.
  3. AlcorMP— software for recovering media with Alcor controllers.
  4. Format Utility For Adata Flash Disk— a program for formatting, searching and correcting errors on A-Data USB flash drives.
  5. Kingston Format Utility— solution for flash drives from the manufacturer Kingston.
  6. Flashnul— Software for diagnosing problems and fixing problems with flash drives. Copes not only with USB flash drives, but also with memory cards and other types of media.
  7. JetFlash Online Recovery— a new version of the utility for solving problems with Transcend drives. You can not only erase the data to zero, but also try to correct errors while saving the recorded information.

Not all of these programs have official websites from which downloads are available. In other cases, these sites turned out to be inaccessible. To keep your computer safe, you should be careful when downloading and running files from the Internet when searching for programs, and also check all downloads using an antivirus. There is another way - try to solve the problem with Windows capabilities, without installing additional software.

Mechanical protection on flash drives and cards

Many memory cards and flash drives have mechanical protection that reliably protects the device from being written to. The security lever can also be pushed into the latched position by accident, after which the media will stop working normally and it will be impossible to format it.

The solution to the problem is simple: you should inspect the device for a mechanical switch and put it in the desired position, if necessary.

It looks something like this:

Formatting in Group Policy Editor

The Local Group Policy Editor is not available in all versions of Windows - it is absent even in basic versions of Windows 10, remaining a privilege of the Pro version and corporate OS. If Group Policy Editor is present on your computer, you can use it to remove write protection on a flash drive in a few steps.

Removing the write lock from a flash drive:

  1. Click “Start” - “Run”.
  2. In the “Run” window, in the “Open:” field, enter gpedit.msc and press Ok/Enter. An editor window should open.
  3. You need to follow the following path: “Computer Configuration” - “Administrative Templates” - “System” - “Access to Removable Storage Devices”.
  4. Find the lines “Removable drives: Deny reading” and “Removable drives: Deny writing”. Remove restrictions, if any, by changing the desired property to the “Disabled” status.

After this, you should exit the editor and try writing or formatting again. If there was no ban initially or if lifting it did not help, you should try other methods described in the article. It should be remembered that there is a small chance that the flash drive can be damaged mechanically. In this case, no software solutions will help revive it. But before burying the device, you should try one more method - removing the Read-Only mode via the command line.

Removing protection via the command line

Using the command line allows you to resolve the error when the command interpreter does not work correctly as an administrator. The good thing about this method is that the command line is present in all versions of Windows, and therefore the method is universal.

Removing read-only mode from a flash drive via the command line:

  1. Run the command line as an administrator: “Start” - “Run” - “cmd.exe” or “Start” - “Accessories” - “Command Prompt”.
  2. Enter diskpart and press Enter.
  3. Enter list disk and press Enter.
  4. See what number in the list that appears is the problematic flash drive. Enter select *, where “*” is the serial number of the flash drive in the list - 1, 2, 3 and so on. For example, enter select 2, if the flash drive is number 2, press Enter.
  5. Enter command attributes disk clear readonly, press Enter.
  6. Enter exit or close the command prompt window.

These actions do not format the flash drive, but only remove write protection from it. After this, you can try to complete the formatting again.

Removing protection through the system registry

Before making changes to the registry editor, you should make sure that the file itself is not write-protected, and not the USB flash drive or card. This method should be used as a last resort, or if you have certain PC skills. Making erroneous changes to the registry can lead to the loss of functionality of the entire system.

Removing write protection through the registry:

  1. Click “Start” - “Run” or the Win+R key combination.
  2. In the window that appears, enter regedit, press Enter.
  3. The Registry Editor will open. On the left side of the window you need to follow the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM \CurrentControlSet \Control.
  4. Find parameter StorageDevicePolicies, double-click on it with the left mouse button. If there is no parameter (there is no line with that name), you need to right-click and select “New” - “DWORD”. The parameter should be named StorageDevicePolicies and set to 0 (zero).
  5. In the window that opens, set the value 0 (zero).
  6. Save changes, close the registry.
  7. Remove the device and restart the computer.

After the reboot, Windows will start with the protection removed, and the formatting process can be completed successfully. If none of the above methods help, the flash drive or CD card itself may be damaged. To be sure, you should try formatting the device on another computer using the instructions provided.


Good day, dear readers. Today we will talk about formatting memory cards that are used in cameras, mobile phones, tablets and other portable devices.

Then in the section " File system» selected « FAT" and pressed " Begin».


Once the process of clearing the memory card was complete, I loaded it with new songs, safely removed them from the computer, and decided to listen to what was recorded on MP3. It turned out that somehow the previous tracks (which were there before clearing all the files) and the new ones overlapped each other and the result was a kind of “musical mess”. The only way out of this situation is to reformat the memory card again, but this time completely.

To do this, I decided to use third-party software. I’ll tell you right away that it was possible to clean the micro SD flash drive normally using the first program, but for you I decided to describe the three best ones at once, otherwise you never know.

AutoFormat Tool

This is a very easy to use utility with a user-friendly interface. I liked it because it doesn’t contain anything unnecessary. You can download AutoFormat Tool below:

To clear a flash card using this utility you need to:

1. After downloading, right-click on the utility shortcut and select the command “ Run as Administrator».


2. Then the window of the utility itself will open. Select at the top Disk Drive– the letter in the name of the flash drive you want to clean.
3. Next, check the SD box and simply press the “ Format».


4. A dialog box will appear warning that all files will be deleted - click the " Yes».


If you cannot format a memory card in the usual way, then you will not find a better utility than the AutoFormat Tool. By the way, I forgot to mention that this utility also formats USB flash drives.

HDD Low Level Format Tool

A fairly multifunctional program that can clean disks, flash drives, and memory cards. I usually use it to more completely clean removable drives, since the HDD Low Level Format Tool allows for low-level formatting.

The most important thing that you should take into account is that it will no longer be possible to recover data from a flash card after formatting using this program.

Well, let's start cleaning. You can download HDD Low Level Format Tool below:

1. After downloading and installing, launch the program. In the program window, select the flash drive and press the button Continue».


2. Next, go to the section “ LOW-LEVEL Format" and click on the button " FORMAT THIS DEVISE».


3. We wait for the process to finish and everything is ready. The only downside is that you have to wait a little.

SDFormatter

This is a specialized utility, just for our current needs. According to the developers, formatting using SDFormatter allows you to clean up the memory card better than using standard Windows tools.

1. First, download the utility itself and install it on your computer (or laptop):

2. After launching in the field " Drive» select a flash card (if several removable drives are connected to your computer).