Data Recovery

SD Card Not Accessible – Resolve the Recover Data from It

Suppose you are taking some pictures from another mobile device and suddenly an SD card not accessible error is displayed, You may not understand what is happening in such a case.  You calm down and think that this issue may be caused by the low memory of the card. After checking the available space, you find out that there is space available to download your favourite TV series. Confusing situation? Well, don’t worry. We will help you understand things pretty well and give solutions to resolve SD card access denied Windows 10 issue.

Uninstalling applications may not help in such a situation, as this issue is not with the memory or space available in the SD card. Your SD card could be corrupted, causing such an error. But, for what reasons? Find out below:

Reasons for Corruption: SD Card Not Accessible

The most common reasons among dozens for SD Card corruption are:

1. Transfer Procedure (to or from) being interrupted
2. Bad Sectors growing in the SD card
3. Inserting SD card improperly
4. Virus Attack
5. Corruption in file system
6. Defects in manufacturing process

Now, you must be thinking of formatting your SD Card. That wouldn’t be a wise option, as once your data is gone, it cannot be recovered. There is no possible way to retrieve your data manually. For it, you will have to use a third-party tool. If you want to format your SD card, you will again need to use this tool, as the corrupted data will not be of any use and the backup will fail. First, check how you can determine the available space in the SD card using another method.

Read More: How to Recover Deleted Files from USB Drive After Format?

Check the Available Space to Understand SD Card Inaccessible Error

You can check the availability of sufficient space on the SD card this way.

1. You have to first connect your SD card to the system.
2. Create a zip file and add some files to it.
3. Copy the folder to the SD card and insert it.
4. Reconnect your SD Card and extract the files from the zip folder.

If you are not able to extract zip files, your SD card is corrupted, which is why you see the memory card not detected issue. These electronic storage devices are prone to get damaged or corrupted with time. It would be suggested that you always have a backup of your data.

If you have not taken a backup of the data stored in your SD card, you can only recover the data as the only possible way out. Since there are no ways to backup your files once the card is corrupted, and there are no manual methods to retrieve lost data, use the automated tool as mentioned above. Find out which tool you should take support from that is capable of solving your issue in the following section.

How to Fix SD Card is Not Accessible Issue? Manually

Here, we have given all the possible manual methods to solve the error. These solutions are as follows:

Case I: Insert SD Card in Different Device

You should check if your SD card access denied windows 10 in your smartphone or it is not working at all. Insert it in another smartphone and if it is not accessible, connect it to your computer via a card reader. Then copy, use the software mentioned above to retrieve your files and then format your SD Card by following the below steps:

1. Find the SD Card connected under the “Devices and Drivers” menu.
2. To format the SD Card, right-click on it and select the “Quick Format” button.
3. Choose the “Start” option to format and hit “OK”.

If this method doesn’t fix the SD Card not accessible error, you might need to perform the next task.

Case II: Cached Data Clearance from Smartphone

The SD Card inserted in your smartphone may not be accessible due to the cached data stored in your mobile’s internal memory. The cached data is just the junk data or temporary data present in your smartphone occupying space, which is delectable. You just have to go to the “Settings” option icon on your phone, select the “Storage” option and hit “Clear Cached Data” option.

In case clearing the cached data doesn’t help either, use the command prompt method as mentioned in the following section.

Case III: SD Card Not Working Via Command Prompt

To Solve the SD Card inaccessible error, first of all, you have to check the drive letter assigned to your SD Card. To do so, open the “This PC” windows and choose the “Devices Management” option. There you will find the drive letter for your card.

Once you know the letter, enter cmd in the search box and input “chkdsk m:/r” command (m being the assigned drive letter here). Still not able to solve the error? Use the next solution but it has some limitations.

Read More: How to Recover Data from USB Shortcut Virus?

Case IV: Change the Drive Letter

If you insert your SD card into your computer and can’t find it in File Explorer, you should check Disk Management. The destination drive may not have a drive letter. This problem can be easily resolved.

1: Select the Win + X tab and choose Disk Management from the WinX menu.

2: Find the target drive and right-click on it.

3: Select “Change Drive Letter and Paths” from the context menu.

4: Select Add from the pop-up window.

5: Choose the drive letter and assign the following one. Then, press the OK button to save the changes.

Case V: Make Changes Locally in the Group Policy Editor

You can check your local group policy to see if incorrect policy settings are preventing you from accessing your SD card.

1. Press Win + R to open the Run window.
2. Type or write gpedit.msc in the text box and hit Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
3. Go to Computer Settings > Administrative Templates > System > Removable Storage Access.
4. Scroll down and find “Removable Disk.”. Deny access to executable files in the right pane.

5: Double-click and select “Disable” in the window that opens.

6: Click Apply and OK to save your changes.

7: Repeat steps 4 to 6 to disable the “Removable Disks: Deny Read Access” and “Removable Disks: Deny Write Access” policies.

Case VI: Cleaner Software

This software is used to clean all the junk or temporary data from the SD Card and also monitor your system browse safely. The temporary files are removed that take up most space on the SD card, causing a memory card not detected error.

However, there is a limitation with this utility, i.e. it deletes some of the required multimedia files from the card. You can also use the following solution to resolve this issue:.

Case VII: Corrupt SD being Scanned

If there is any virus or malicious code, it will be eliminated using the anti-virus software. It will scan the programs and remove any type of virus from the removable devices that are connected as well. All the types of malware, along with the virus corrupting your SD card, will be removed but, again, the risk of data being deleted will still be there.

On to the Final Say

The SD card not accessible issue is caused by corruption in your SD Card. You can recover your data from the corrupted card and not take a backup since the data is also corrupted. There are no manual methods to retrieve the corrupted data, which is why it is recommended that you use the software for safe and quick recovery to fix the SD card not working error.