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Question

My SD card wont format

Mar 25, 2016 5:31AM PDT

My SD card wont format and apparently it has no free space or used space and im just so stressed as it was an expensive sd and it has data on it. Help

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: SD card won't format
Mar 25, 2016 5:45AM PDT

If it has data on it, you shouldn't format it, because then you lose all that data. So it's quite good you can't format it.

Only try to format it after you copied all data on it that you want to keep to (1) a safe place, and (2) a equally safe backup. When you have those 2 copies, you can try to fix the card or throw it away if that doesn't work.
If copying doesn't work on your PC, try another card reader or another PC.

If for some reason you can't read all data from the card, and you don't have a backup of that data on some other medium, I'm afraid you lost those. That's a well-known risk of not having a backup.

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it says it needs to format as i cant get into the files
Mar 26, 2016 4:43AM PDT

it says it needs to format as i cant get into the files

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Re: need to format
Mar 27, 2016 2:29PM PDT

Yes, that can happen. As I said: "If you don't have a backup of that data on some other medium, I'm afraid you lost those. That's a well-known risk of not having a backup."

Did you try everything suggested below by other members?

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Lost? not necessarily ...
Mar 28, 2016 6:44AM PDT

... there is still the hope that some recovery software that can "scrape" some or all of the files from that card. In that case your chances are also better if you don't format the card first!

But since you have tried to format and your system wouldn't, there is a chance that the card is beyond repair. The only way to be really sure is to let a reputable data recovery lab try their luck. That will cost you - usually only if they are successful - and you will have to make up your mind how much it is worth to you. The fact that the card once was expensive is neither here nor there now, because the current value of that card (minus the data) is what it would cost to replace it at today's price, and it is quite likely, especially if it is a bit older, that you will get lots more for a lot less. Two parameters here: Capacity and speed. Okay, and reliability Wink

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Answer
no format sd card
Mar 25, 2016 8:13PM PDT

First, make sure all of your files are copied off the card, to another card or drive.

Depending on the brand of the card, there may be software available for 'tricky' cards, which I suggest using first.
Secondly, be sure the lock isn't being toggled, when the card is inserted. Some readers are like that. Certainly, be sure that it is pushed in all of the way, & simple things like that.

If formatting on one device doesn't work, try it in another device. That is, camera, laptop or what have you. Computer reformatting usually is going to be the best route.

Finally, sometimes the card is just bad, or 'goes' bad. You then would want to check the warranty for this.

Extreme, I have had some older cards, where I started to reformat them, & actually removed them from the drive. After, I rebooted the computer, inserted the card & successfully reformatted the card. I have also done the first step, & just installed it in my camera, & let that software reformat it.

These I did on cards that had no warranty left. After that, I regularly reformat my cards to keep them fresh, & haven't had any major issues. Good luck on getting this done quickly.

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Answer
need details
Mar 25, 2016 9:27PM PDT

how were you trying to format it? in computer or in a device like a tablet or camera?

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re:
Mar 26, 2016 4:42AM PDT

On my computer

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try chkdsk
Mar 27, 2016 1:49PM PDT
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re
Mar 28, 2016 3:07AM PDT

for some reason its a raw drive and wont change into a different type of drive like FAT or FAT32

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No...no...no!!!
Mar 27, 2016 2:33PM PDT

DO NOT FORMAT! unless you don't need the files in there..but that is not so here. Correct? This SD is not working for some reason. Got to get that data out first before you do anything.

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re
Mar 28, 2016 3:05AM PDT

ive tried but it said it was currupted and needed fixing and then it need to take the files out when terying to repair it and keeps going in a circle

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Re: corrupted
Mar 28, 2016 3:25AM PDT

- How do you mean "it need to take files out"? I've never seen such a message.
- What circle exactly does it keeps going in?
- At 2:33 you said it was "raw". Now at 3:05 you say it is "corrupted". So something changed in between. You didn't tell what you did and what happened to change that card during that half hour.

Better tell the whole story and be consistent.
Or even better, just give up, throw the card away, buy a new one and in the future don't forget to backup.

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Yes, but!!!
Mar 28, 2016 6:54AM PDT

There is a lot that software says sometimes, but if you want to still get data off that card you keep it out of computers and devices that are likely to try something final (i.e. fatal to your data) and let a data recovery program run over it - if that can't be done on your computer, which is quite likely, you need someone with experience and scanning software that will read sectors off a raw unformatted device have their (not so) wicked way with it.